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A review by fitzbff
The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The weakest Hobb book yet. I loved (almost) every page of it. The Mad Ship picks up exactly where Ship of Magic left off. Both the characters and the reader are left to grapple with the new circumstances that they're in, and we don't miss a single interaction. While this does make for a rich and detailed read, I will admit that at some points during the first half, it really dragged. During my read of Ship of Magic, I felt that every word was necessary, but I don't think that's the case here. This could have maybe been trimmed a little to the book's benefit. Some characters stagnated and never really recovered from this. I feel this most in the case of Wintrow. He was one of my favourites in the last book, but he didn't grow or change all that much in this one. He was used almost exclusively to further develop Kennit, which worked out great for Kennit, but very poorly for Wintrow. I also felt disappointed by Keffria. Malta and Ronica are still with her in this book, and I feel like every word in these parts of the book were given to Malta's development. She truly blossomed, wholly transforming from a frustrating brat to easily my favourite character in the series. Keffria was, unfortunately, left behind with not a whole lot to do. Ronica suffered a little too, but not as much. All this to say that while I felt like every character in Ship of Magic was given an equal amount of love and development from Hobb, in The Mad Ship, it was a lot more uneven.
However, while this does gives us some disappointing arcs, it also gave us some fantastic ones. I already mentioned Malta, my favourite, but I also really liked what was done with Brashen, Kennit, and Paragon. Brashen got a lot more time on his own in this book, and his internal struggle with his addiction and low self-esteem really helped me come around to him. He may not be as interesting as a pirate or a talking ship, but, just like with Malta, Hobb writes regular people so well. They all feel so real and believable. Paragon, and by extension Amber, got a lot more time in the spotlight, which was brilliant. We get a lot more detail about how the liveships work, but it only comes after a lot of character development for both Paragon and Vivacia, which made these big revelations hit a lot harder. Not only do we wonder what this means for the world at large, but also for these characters for whom we have come to love. It's the best possible outcome for what could have been a mildly interesting info dump if it was explained at the start of the series. This is something I'm realising Hobb does really well: every detail and revelation feels impactful. Obviously some are going to stand out more than others, but they all feel important. You never once wonder why something is being explained or what the point of a detail is. She has built up a lot of trust as an author, which gives me great hope for the next book that all my questions will be answered satisfactorily.
Before I move on from characters, I also want to mention Kennit. He is easily the most interesting character in this series. I loved every moment I was in his head just as much as I loved seeing how other characters viewed him. We get POVs from Wintrow, Etta, and Vivacia, who all add a lot to his character. He ends up adding a lot to these characters too (except Wintrow), which made every POV in this section of the story feel important. I especially loved his interactions with Vivacia, the liveship, as it gave some more depth into an aspect of the series I really hoped would be explored. The gendered implications of ships being alive are ignored in Paragon's sections, but explored in Vivacia's, and I found that this aspect added a lot to what Hobb is saying about women throughout this series. I also liked Althea's sections, they added to this theme too, but unfortunately I still don't have many strong feelings towards her as a character.
There are a few new POVs introduced in this book. Serilla, from way down south in Jamaillia, is a Companion to the Satrap of Jamaillia. I really liked this addition, as it expanded the politics of the Bingtown women's story to include the other side of the ocean, while also giving us another compelling character to follow. She isn't given nearly as much page time as the other major characters, and so she does feel a little underdeveloped, but I still felt satisfied with her sections. We also get POV sections from Reyn, member of a Rain Wild Trader family, introduced in Ship of Magic (though I can't remember if we get sections from his POV in that book). This also further expands the world, as we see more about the Rain Wilds, which was even more interesting than the Jamaillia setting.
So, while I felt that the character development was a bit uneven across the board, and the plot stagnated a little before it got really interesting, I loved how the book expanded the world of the Liveship Traders, and perhaps most of all, I absolutely adored the ending. It makes writing this review hard, because it ends up overshadowing some of the more underwhelming aspects of the book's first half. The last 100-150 pages contained a few different climaxes for the different groups of characters, but each felt equally exciting and tense. They expanded the world and history of the series while also testing the characters' limits. It's in moments like these that I'm glad to have read so many pages of character growth, because every little thing these characters do in these climactic moments is fully within their motivations but at the same time unexpected. I especially loved Kennit's group's final chapter, probably the best chapter in the whole trilogy so far.
While The Mad Ship does not entirely live up to the expectations set by its predecessor, it is still a very worthy follow up, expanding both the detailed vibrant characters and the vivid world Hobb has created. Needless to say, I am very excited to conclude my pirating adventure with Ship of Destiny; never before has a 900-page tome looked so good.
However, while this does gives us some disappointing arcs, it also gave us some fantastic ones. I already mentioned Malta, my favourite, but I also really liked what was done with Brashen, Kennit, and Paragon. Brashen got a lot more time on his own in this book, and his internal struggle with his addiction and low self-esteem really helped me come around to him. He may not be as interesting as a pirate or a talking ship, but, just like with Malta, Hobb writes regular people so well. They all feel so real and believable. Paragon, and by extension Amber, got a lot more time in the spotlight, which was brilliant. We get a lot more detail about how the liveships work, but it only comes after a lot of character development for both Paragon and Vivacia, which made these big revelations hit a lot harder. Not only do we wonder what this means for the world at large, but also for these characters for whom we have come to love. It's the best possible outcome for what could have been a mildly interesting info dump if it was explained at the start of the series. This is something I'm realising Hobb does really well: every detail and revelation feels impactful. Obviously some are going to stand out more than others, but they all feel important. You never once wonder why something is being explained or what the point of a detail is. She has built up a lot of trust as an author, which gives me great hope for the next book that all my questions will be answered satisfactorily.
Before I move on from characters, I also want to mention Kennit. He is easily the most interesting character in this series. I loved every moment I was in his head just as much as I loved seeing how other characters viewed him. We get POVs from Wintrow, Etta, and Vivacia, who all add a lot to his character. He ends up adding a lot to these characters too (except Wintrow), which made every POV in this section of the story feel important. I especially loved his interactions with Vivacia, the liveship, as it gave some more depth into an aspect of the series I really hoped would be explored. The gendered implications of ships being alive are ignored in Paragon's sections, but explored in Vivacia's, and I found that this aspect added a lot to what Hobb is saying about women throughout this series. I also liked Althea's sections, they added to this theme too, but unfortunately I still don't have many strong feelings towards her as a character.
There are a few new POVs introduced in this book. Serilla, from way down south in Jamaillia, is a Companion to the Satrap of Jamaillia. I really liked this addition, as it expanded the politics of the Bingtown women's story to include the other side of the ocean, while also giving us another compelling character to follow. She isn't given nearly as much page time as the other major characters, and so she does feel a little underdeveloped, but I still felt satisfied with her sections. We also get POV sections from Reyn, member of a Rain Wild Trader family, introduced in Ship of Magic (though I can't remember if we get sections from his POV in that book). This also further expands the world, as we see more about the Rain Wilds, which was even more interesting than the Jamaillia setting.
So, while I felt that the character development was a bit uneven across the board, and the plot stagnated a little before it got really interesting, I loved how the book expanded the world of the Liveship Traders, and perhaps most of all, I absolutely adored the ending. It makes writing this review hard, because it ends up overshadowing some of the more underwhelming aspects of the book's first half. The last 100-150 pages contained a few different climaxes for the different groups of characters, but each felt equally exciting and tense. They expanded the world and history of the series while also testing the characters' limits. It's in moments like these that I'm glad to have read so many pages of character growth, because every little thing these characters do in these climactic moments is fully within their motivations but at the same time unexpected. I especially loved Kennit's group's final chapter, probably the best chapter in the whole trilogy so far.
While The Mad Ship does not entirely live up to the expectations set by its predecessor, it is still a very worthy follow up, expanding both the detailed vibrant characters and the vivid world Hobb has created. Needless to say, I am very excited to conclude my pirating adventure with Ship of Destiny; never before has a 900-page tome looked so good.