Ship of Magic

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**Title** **Ship of Magic**
1st edition cover
Author	Robin Hobb
Cover artist	John Howe
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Liveship Traders Trilogy
Genre(s)	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Voyager Books
Released	January 9, 1998
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	667 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-00-225478-6
Followed by	The Mad Ship

Ship of Magic is a 1998 fantasy novel by Robin Hobb, the first in her Liveship Traders Trilogy.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ship of Magic is the first book of the Liveship Traders series and can be considered reminiscent of Patrick O'Brian's writing style concerning the details and subtleties of ship life. It follows the fortunes of the members of the Vestrit family, centered around the liveship Vivacia. A liveship is a ship made up of Wizardwood, which is a mystical substance that is an important factor in Bingtown's success, giving it magical properties. However, this wizardwood is very valuable, and the Vestrits, a prestigious Bingtown merchant family have a four-generation old debt that is still being repaid. When three generations of the ships owners die on board the ship, a liveship "quickens", meaning that the ship finally awakens and becomes a sentient being yielding all the memories of the ancestors that have contributed to the ship's quickening. Despite this, however, there are certain responsibilities to be had in the Old Trader Family, and privileges as well. The Rain Wild Trade is one such privilege, though the Old Trader Family must be responsible with keeping contracts with the Rain Wild Trader families, either in blood or gold. The liveships have been constructed by the Rain Wilders, and in order to compensate for such a rare construction, there is a massive price to be paid. Captain's Vestrit's grandmother was the one who had ordered the liveship Vivacia, yet the Vestrit family is still in debt to the Rain Wild Trader family, even before the ship was quickened. However, despite the price one must pay, only a liveship is capable of braving across the perilous Rain Wild River, thus enabling merchants to trade with the Rain Wilders, who wield various valuable goods plundered from an Ancient Elderling ruin.

The Vestrits live in Bingtown, which is surrounded by the sea, Jamaillia, Chalced, and of course, the Rain Wilds. Their charter comes from the country of Jamaillia; however, the current leader of Jamaillia had disregarded the promises that his ancestors had made with Bingtown, which causes political outrage amongst Bingtown's citizens. Chalced is a country whose influence is slowly spreading throughout the world, such as the slave trade that is increasingly becoming more popular because it's very profitable. Coincidentially, Chalcedean customs are changing Jamaillia, which in turn is having an effect on Bingtown, where there is conflict among the New Traders and the Old Traders.

The story begins when Ephron Vestrit dies on the decks of Vivacia and quickens it. His daughter, Althea, who had always assumed that the ship would come to her after her father's death, is shocked to see that her father had given the ship to her sister, who in turn had given all rights of ownership to Kyle, her husband. Deeply humiliated, she had disappeared from the scene on the day Vivacia had just quickened, unable to see such a legacy denied to her for inheritance. Kyle, a Chalcedean, believes that he can restore the family fortune by entering the slave trade. Ephron Vestrit, being a traditionalist, had always abhorred such acts which led to Vestrit family debt. Kyle condemned Althea to never sail the Vivacia. He said he would only allow her aboard the ship if she proves her seamanship by showing him a ship's ticket. From that point on, she leaves home after Kyle demeaned her in front of the entire family and sets off to prove she is a capable sailor on her own. Meanwhile, Kyle discovers that he is unable to control the ship, as Vivacia will sail only with a blood relative on board. Without Althea, the only other alternative is to force his son Wintrow, who was on his way to be a priest, to serve aboard the ship. Wintrow finds it very hard to adjust to the rough life on the ship. Despite his bitter attitude towards being torn away from priesthood, these emotions are constantly conflicted with the fact that he has a growing bond with the ship that he can't ignore.

Paralleling all this, the ambitious pirate Kennit desires to become more than a pirate: he wishes to unite all pirate townships under him as the proclaimed king. Partnered with Sorcor, Kennit's first mate, and Etta, a whore from a brothel in Divvytown, Kennit sails the Marietta and pursues slaver ships in order to free the slaves while throwing the slavers overboard. The freed slaves then crew the captured vessels that form a pirate fleet under Kennit's command. A crafty, calculating, and manipulative man with a gift for foresight, Kennit realizes that if he helps free the slaves, he'll gain the allegiance of their family and friends. From these actions, Kennit has gained a reputation among the Pirate Isles as word spreads about him. However, there is a vital aspect of the pirate fleet that is missing, and that is a liveship. Kennit desires to capture a liveship of his own to be the head of the fleet, and through circumstance, he targets none other than the Vivacia herself, who was transformed into a slaver ship under Kyle's persuasion. Also, we have a glimpse in the minds of sea serpents, who are on a journey to find She Who Remembers in order to regain memories they have forgotten while the rest of serpent-kind are deteriorating. She Who Remembers holds a significant role in leading the serpents to a place that has been long forgotten for important reasons that have also faded from memory.

Complications ensue throughout the book as all the work Althea has put forth the Reaper, a slaughtership, under the identity of Athel was turned null whenever the captain of the ship refused to give her a ship's ticket that proved her worth when he discovered her true namesake. Kennit finally managed to capture the Vivacia after a successful raid while acquiring the status of captain aboard her. Still resilient in regaining her rights, Althea manages to rally together Brashen Trell, the original first mate from the Vivacia, the mysterious woodcarver Amber and the mad liveship Paragon to her cause, which then leads to the next installment of the Liveship Trader series, Mad Ship.

[edit] Editions

A British English paperback edition was issued in London by Voyager/Harpercollins in 1999 with ISBN 0-00-649886-8. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.