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Ship of magic is the first instalment in the The Liveship Traders trilogy and the 4th novel in the Realm of Elderlings universe. Although it is a follow-up of the Farseer trilogy, the novel can be read without exploring that series first. So far they have nothing in common. Nevertheless, the Farseer trilogy is wonderful and I cannot recommend it enough.

The Liveship Traders is a series about living ships. They awake when three members of the owning family die on board. Vivacia is one of these ships and Althea Vestrit was supposed to inherit it after her awakening but her father changes his mind at the last minute. The heir, Kyle, Althea’s sister husband, is an asshole. He forces his 13 year old son, Wintrow , to leave his calling as a priest-in training in order to make him an apprentice on a ship. A blood relative of the original owners of the ship have to be on the vessel and Wintrow was the only related male. Women were no good for Kyle (an ashole, told you). Captain Kennit is a pirate who wants greatness. To achieve it, he plans to steal a liveship. Althea runs away from home to prove herself the deserving heir. Wintrow tries to bond with the ship while planning his escape.

Robin Hobb is an excellent writer of people. Her novels are focused on the development and the interior thoughts of the characters. They are always complex, never only positive or negative. The plot is slow and it is secondary. If you want battles and fast pace action from your fantasy, this book is not for you. If you can stomach a slow burner with beautiful writing and well-constructed world building, then look no further.