Despite all the negative reviews I've given Robin Hobb's books in the past, I keep coming back. The only way I can explain it is that, even though I finish every book unhappy and a tad disappointed, I have trouble denying that they are well written (certainly far above the curve for fantasy) and that the plotlines are usually well fleshed out. This book was no exception. Overall thoughts:

PROS:
Strong worldbuilding, story doesn't feel rushed, good characterization, wide array of different, equally interesting plotlines.

CONS:
Formatting! - I don't understand why chapters randomly switch narrators midway through. These should just be new chapters a la GRRM. It's not copying his idea if it's the best way to write third person with multiple viewpoints.
Pace - This is both a pro and a con. I love that the story is not rushed, and that all the characters are analyzed in detail so that they are realistic, but sometimes Hobb's books seem to move at a glacial pace. While I'm not sure if this is really a con, or just a personal frustration with her writing, it definitely keeps me from placing her amongst my all time favorite authors
SADISM - Hobb has this insane fascination with her characters being maimed, killed, or writhing in some sort of agony (either emotional or physical). While it is often realistic in the context of her stories, it makes her books overly depressing to read. To be honest, this book was less painful than the books of hers that I'd read previously, because it is not written in the first person (and thus isnt ALL about a single narrator's pain). I still am frustrated by this aspect of her writing, and really wish, just once, one of her characters would actually be happy for a few chapters.
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I'm afraid I'm yet another disappointed "Farseer" reader. In fact, I may be one of the originals. I purchased both, the first book in the Farseer trilogy, Assassin's Apprentice and Ship of Magic the 1st Live Ship Trader book shortly after they were each released. In spite of an uncertain jacket synopsis on Ship of Magic, I’d hoped for a continuation of the well tempered, 1st person character driven action I'd found in the Farseer books. ( I didn’t much like how that series ended, but I loved ‘em while they lasted) Instead, I discovered a potentially good, remotely "Farseer" related story shuddering under the weight of too much inconsequential 3rd person prose and unappealing characters. I put the book aside after only a few chapters. That time.
Fortunately Robin Hobb (apparently AKA Megan Lindholm) who I genuinely think to be a fine writer, continued her Farseer Trilogy. She then drew some of the same engaging characters and quickened pace of "Farseer" into the Tawny Man series, (soon to release it's third book). The 1st book, The Tawny Man, centers on an adult version of the mysterious "Fool" an important secondary "Farseer" protagonist. With the second Tawny Man book, The Golden Fool, I became aware that this same character makes a revealing appearance, in the too slow, too thickly character-ed and plot vacant, Live Ship Traders books.

What's an avid reader to do? I tried again. This time I pushed on through this minutely font-ed book to the "quickening” of the Living ship, Vivacia, a pivotal character herself. If that couldn't engage me as a reader all was lost! ..And so it was. I set the book down for the evening at page 162 and felt disinclined to start the effort again in the morning. I concluded that one might expect the setup of an epic adventure to be somewhat dispiriting at the outset as the challenges ahead are exposed, but Ship of Magic failed to offer what all good adventure send-offs must: impetus for the reader to read on. I think this impetus might have been achieved with fewer characters each offering more interest and dimension in themselves, or perhaps, a possibility of future excitement, or some `Just-plain-fun-Dammit!'

I have to admit, I find Hobb to be such an imaginative story teller that I'm sure there is something good in this book. Somewhere. But it has taken far too much wading through Dreck and Drear with too little gratifying adventure to continue through the next 647 pages of, Ship of Magic, and the subsequent books in the Live Ship Traders series. While, I am regretful that I can't glean enough interest in these characters to troll through and find that good; I have abandoned ship.

To learn more about the mysterious "Tawny man" as I await the third book in that series, I've taken the expedient of reading AMAZON reviews of the Live Ship Traders for synopsis, hints & spoilers. (Thank you, all who've provided clues to the "Amber" character.)

Having read these reviews, I know other, happier readers will chide me; "if you'd just read on, you'd have found the appealing charters, mystery's clues and `Just-plain-fun-Dammit!' you’d sought." To those readers, and Robin Hobb, herself, I say - Thank You; No. Two attempts are enough.
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After the flaws in the Farseer trilogy, I wasn't sure about tackling another huge Hobb saga, but so far I am enjoying it a lot more. The set up of ships, including liveships animated by an intelligence, pirates and the politics of Bingtown, torn between the Old Traders with their secrets and contracts with the mutated Rain Wilders on the one hand and the crass New Traders, given illegal land grants by the corrupt and drugged up satrap of Jamaillia, provides far more interest and conflict, and does not require characters to constantly behave stupidly to make the plot work. Some characters do act stupidly, such as Malta, the spoiled brat, and the odious Kyle, but their behaviour arises from their character flaws - there is far more character development in this book than in the Farseer books. There are also the odd sections from the POV of some of the sea serpents who keep attacking ships, especially the slaver ships, which throw dead bodies over the side, and I expect they will turn out to be more important than at first appears. And I can't help wondering if Amber is like the Fool in the Farseer books. Anyway, I am interested to see how things develop in book 2. ( )

really enjoyed the whole series, pretty much one after the other! ( )

Not quite as engaging as the previous and following trilogies, but still well worth reading. ( )