Preview
  • Ship of Magic

  • The Liveship Traders, Book 1
  • By: Robin Hobb
  • Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
  • Length: 35 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,951 ratings)

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Ship of Magic

By: Robin Hobb
Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
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Publisher's summary

Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships---rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. The fortunes of one of Bingtown's oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia. For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her---a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim.

For Althea's young nephew Wintrow, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard ship, Vivacia is a life sentence. But the fate of the Vestrit family---and the ship---may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider. The ruthless pirate Kennit seeks a way to seize power over all the denizens of the Pirate Isles...and the first step of his plan requires him to capture his own liveship and bend it to his will.

©1999 Robin Hobb (P)2010 Tantor
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Critic reviews

“The characterizations are consistently superb.... Kudos to the author and encore!” ( Booklist, Starred Review)

Featured Article: 16 of the Best Fantasy Authors Ever


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What listeners say about Ship of Magic

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READ the book

What made the experience of listening to Ship of Magic the most enjoyable?

There was nothing enjoyable about listening to this Narrator.

What didn’t you like about Anne Flosnik’s performance?

I can't begin to count how many books have been ruined by this Narrator. I never knew how many r's there were in Herrrrrrr

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I wish I could say at this time. I'm reading the actual book.

Any additional comments?

I've been told not to blame the author for the narration but I do. It is her books. She should have taken the time to pick the best narrators for each series. 3 books down the drain.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome story. Tip for stomaching narrator!

What does Anne Flosnik bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Narrator is reeeeaally slow and painful to listen to at first. This really is a bad combination with Robin Hobb's already slow style. However!!, if you listen to the book at 2x or 3x speed, the narrator, amazingly, sounds really quite good! I absolutely loved the book after speeding it up a few notches. I was about to quit after the first hour of listening to the intolerable narration.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow - as good as the Farseer trilogy!

I did not think I would enjoy this trilogy as much as I did Farseer. I was wrong. I absolutely LOVED this book and hungrily devoured it in a short amount of time. On to Book 2 now!! Must have more!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

love the story, book was great

I did not like the narrator. I grew bored with her and kept turning off the book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story (so far), terrible reader

Reader nearly put me to sleep more than once, though the story is pretty good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love Robin Hobb!!

One of the best fantasy writers I’ve ever read/listened too. I started in the middle of her Farseer trilogies. It didn’t matter.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story.

But oh how I wish for a different narrator... Delivery is too forced and drawn out. Even at 1.25 speed it's hard to keep focused on it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

the reader

can't understand her just really wish they use the same reader as the last 3 books..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ship of Magic

This is an adventurous story full of interesting characters and a complex plot. Robin Hobb has written another excellent trilogy well worth your time and attention. I also enjoyed the narrator's performance. She brought the story alive with her vivid rendition. I highly recommend Ship of Magic to any fantasy fan who loves action and a multitude of evil and heroic characters.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating, but definitely adult content.

The story line is really good, Characters are incredibly formed, conflicts are intriguing with some ironic twists. I don't like the narrator. I strongly don't like her. She reads like a slow British slug. I have young children, and this is one I can't play around them on certain parts. Too much vulgarity and sexual content to be comfortable to me. I did like Robin Hobbs "Assassin's Apprentice", so I thought I 'd try this one. I do want to finish the series, because I want to know how it ends up, but I think I'll do it on hard copy instead.

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