Ship of Magic
1997 • 880 pages

Ratings222

Average rating4.2

15

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.


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Series

Series

3 primary books

#1 in The Liveship Traders

The Liveship Traders is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1997 with contributions by Robin Hobb.

#1
Ship of Magic
#2
The Mad Ship
#3
Ship of Destiny

Series

16 primary books19 released books

#4 in The Realm of the Elderlings

The Realm of the Elderlings is a 19-book series with 16 primary works first released in 1985 with contributions by Robin Hobb, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Aliette de Bodard.

#0.5
The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince
#1
Assassin's Apprentice
#2
Royal Assassin
#3
Assassin's Quest

Series

2 primary books

#2 in Die Zauberschiffe

Die Zauberschiffe is a 2-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1997 with contributions by Robin Hobb.

#2
Ship of Magic
#6
Ship of Destiny

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

2015 re-read

Originally read in 1995. Still awesome.

October 8, 2015

This is such an amazing book. I love all the stories and the world.
Usually I don't like stories of pirates an ships, however there is something about this story that makes me want to read more and more.

February 28, 2023

I could not put this one down. And I was not disappointed. Very good read.

March 29, 2012

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