The Liveship Traders (2) - The Mad Ship [Mass Market Paperback]

High heroic fantasy has rarely paid enough attention to ships and sailors, the lifeblood, after all, of trade and survival in a non-technological world. In her Liveship Traders series, Robin Hobb more than makes up for this with a sequence in which economic survival is the principal objective of the merchant family, the Vestrits, who provide most of her viewpoint characters. The Mad Ship takes up their adventures where Ship of Magic left off, with young would-be priest Wintrow the captive of the pirate Kennit and bonded to the living figurehead of the family ship Vivacia; and his sister Malta caught up in the affairs of the changeling traders of the Rain Wild. Their aunt Althea, who feels she should have had command of Vivacia, is off having adventures as a sailor, and the mysterious Amber is trying to heal and repair the shattered mad hulk Paragon, who killed his crew and lies abandoned in the sand dunes. All this and war and conspiracy too--Hobb gives us a rich portrait of a world and a family in turmoil and raises some interesting questions about what it is to be used and make use of. --Roz Kaveney

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.'
The Times

Assassin's Apprentice:
'A gleaming debut'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Assassin's Quest:
'Assassin's Quest achieves a bittersweet, powerful complexity rare in fantasy' LOCUS

'Robin Hobb writes achingly well'
SFX

Praise for The Liveship Traders series:
'Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible'
George R R Martin

'Hobb is a remarkable storyteller.'
Guardian.

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.'
The Times

Assassin's Apprentice:
'A gleaming debut'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Assassin's Quest:
'Assassin's Quest achieves a bittersweet, powerful complexity rare in fantasy' LOCUS

'Robin Hobb writes achingly well'
SFX

Praise for The Liveship Traders series:
'Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible'
George R R Martin

'Hobb is a remarkable storyteller.'
Guardian.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

The second volume in this superb trilogy from the author of The Farseer trilogy continues the dramatic tale of piracy, serpents, love and magic.

Althea Vestrit has found a new home aboard the liveship Ophelia, but she lives only to reclaim the Vivacia as her rightful inheritance. However, Vivacia has been captured by the pirate, ‘King’ Kennit, and is acquiring a keen bloodlust. Meanwhile in Bingtown, the fading fortunes of the Vestrit family lead Malta deeper into the magical secrets of the mysterious Rain Wilds Traders. And just outside Bingtown, Amber dreams of relaunching the Paragon, The Mad Ship…

Althea vestrit, has found a new home aboard the liveship Ophelia, and in her she has discovered a dependable friend. Even so, she lives only to reclaim the Vivacia as her rightful inheritance and captain her on the high seas. What Althea does not yet know is that Vivacia has been seized by 'King' Kennit, the ruthless pirate captain, and is now sailing through the perilous waters of the Pirate Isles, acquiring a keen bloodlust and enjoying the thrill of the chase.

Meanwhile, in Bingtown, the Vestrits anticipate the return of their liveship, certain that her arrival will restore their fortunes. As Malta's relationship with the mysterious Reyn Khuprus of the Rain Wilds develops, so does her character: and her encounters with Reyn through the dream-box he has given her will unlock the magical, dangerous powers of a hidden world that even she could never have dreamed of…

And just outside Bingtown Harbour lies the Paragon – still broken and bitter, but not quite so lonely: Amber the bead-maker now spends much of her spare time with him, trying to win his trust. But will she succeed in her dream of bringing him back to the world of the living and seeing him sail as a proud ship once more? In order to achieve this she will need to persuade the Ludluck family not to break him up and sell his wizardwood to greedy newcomers in the town.

For all the Bingtown Traders, times are uncertain and the foundation of their world, which had seemed immutable, appear to be resting on shifting sands. Corrupt Satrap Cosgo is deeding away their ancestral land to upstart 'New' Traders, and a growing traffic in human flesh is eroding the boundaries of a civilized society. Sea serpents are lingering ever closer to their shores, and to their liveships – between them a mysterious and unsettling relationship is developing…

"If Patrick O'Brian were to turn to writing fantasy, he might produce something like this"
'Booklist' on 'Ship of Magic'

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Robin Hobb was born in California in 1952 and majored in Communications at Denver University, Colorado. Assassin’s Apprentice was her first novel, and was followed by the equally successful Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest. She lives outside Seattle, Washington.