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Ship of Magic
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Ship of Magic Paperback -

by Robin Hobb

Demonstrating world-building finesse, Robin Hobb begins the climatic story of a seafaring clan and its tangled destiny. Though expected to inherit her family's newly quickened liveship, Althea Vestrit loses the honor to her scheming brother-in-law, who plans to use it as a slave ship. The ruthless pirate Captain Kennit also sees a captured liveship as his key to success. Soon Althea is forced to fight both men to regain the animate, intelligent liveship, her family's most treasured possession.


About this book

Ship of Magic is a 1998 fantasy novel by Robin Hobb. It is the first in her Liveship Traders Trilogy, followed by The Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny. Hobb started the series after her successful The Farseer Trilogy, also set in the Realm of the Elderlings. The Liveship Traders takes place in the sea and island around Bingtown, a hub for Liveship Traders whose ships made of wizardwood were known to ensure prosperity to their owners. As Althea Vestrit fights to regain control of her legacy via the liveship Vivacia, pirates, sea serpents and other obstacles get in her way.

Hobb has been praised for her subversion of gender identities within her series, and her presentation of women’s stories in particular. 


From the publisher

The first novel in Robin Hobb's beloved Liveship Traders Trilogy--now featuring a stunning new cover

"Even better than the Farseer Trilogy--I didn't think that was possible."--George R. R. Martin 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. Now 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. For Althea's young nephew, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard the ship, the Vivacia is a life sentence. But the fate of the ship--and the Vestrits--may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider: the ruthless buccaneer captain Kennit, who plans to seize power over the Pirate Isles by capturing a liveship and bending it to his will.

"A truly extraordinary saga . . . The characterizations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with love for and knowledge of the sea."--Booklist Don't miss the magic of the Liveship Traders Trilogy:
SHIP OF MAGIC - MAD SHIP - SHIP OF DESTINY

From the rear cover

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....

From the jacket flap

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....

First Edition Identification

The first edition of Ship of Magic was published in the UK by Harper Collins in 1998. First edition has a full number line beginning with a 1 and a dust jacket stamped £17.99. First US edition printed by Spectra, with John Howe illustration on dust jacket. 


Details

  • Title Ship of Magic
  • Author Robin Hobb
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 848
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Del Rey Books
  • ISBN 9780593724309 / 0593724305
  • Weight 0.81 lbs (0.37 kg)
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

About the author

Robin Hobb is the author of the Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Soldier Son Trilogy, and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. She has also written as Megan Lindholm. She is a native of Washington State.
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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy) [Paperback] Hobb, Robin
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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)
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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)

by Hobb, Robin

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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)

by Hobb, Robin

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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)
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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)

by Hobb, Robin

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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)
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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)

by Hobb, Robin

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by Hobb, Robin

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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)
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Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders (Liveship Traders Trilogy)

by Hobb, Robin

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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