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Since I started this thread, I will get the ball rolling! (unless someone beats me to it!)
Today I am reviewing the fantasy author, Robin Hobb, and more specifically her “Liveship Traders” book series.
First, a bit about what you can expect from this author. Robin Hobb is one of the best world builders you will find in fantasy. If you are looking for elaborately detailed fantasy worlds with politics and intrigue you have come to the right place. But more than world building, Robin Hobb is the best character builder I have ever found. She creates characters almost to a fault – that fault being that usually the first hundred pages of her novels are a slow paced read where you find out all about character backgrounds and subtle bits of information revolving around what makes them tick. Robin realizes that each person is a sum of their experiences, and the characters actively grow and change throughout her novels. In this regard, she truly shines.
In Ship of Magic, Book 1 of The Liveship Traders, we follow the character Althea Vestrit as she comes of age and tries to take command of her family’s trading vessel, the Vivacia. In this world, there are normal ships but there are also “Live Ships” that are made out of some sort of mystery substance called “wizard wood”. After many generations, the wood “Quickens”, and the figure head of the vessel comes alive, born out of the memories of many of the ship’s past captains. Unfortunately, Althea doesn’t get command – her brother in law, who is kind of a douche (is that a proper literary term?), takes command of the ship with her family’s blessing and then decides to trade in something rather dangerous and immoral. Althea is forced to grow up and do everything in her power to catch her ship and reclaim her.
At the sametime, we also follow a pirate captain named Kennit, who has a dream of uniting all of the pirate isles under one flag – his. His exterior persona is one, Robin Hood of the High Seas, however his internal motives and reasoning is about as selfish and downright ruthless as you can get. But before he can gain a following, he plans to do something to set himself apart from the lesser pirates. He plots to capture a liveship of his own and bend it to his will.
This book is about characters. The first hundred pages quite literally is a drag, where you question, what is the point? Why do I care? Why does this matter? It sets up the back story and shows how much of a douche the main character’s brother in law is, establishes the settings and lesser characters, and then finally when you think you can’t take the tedium any longer – finally gets under way. The book picks up speed around 200 pages in, and if you can make it to 300 you will be hooked.
Ship of Magic is just under 800 pages. It is followed by Mad Ship, the 2nd novel in the series, and Ship of Destiny, the 3rd.
Pacing (1 being an encyclopedia, 10 being an action movie): 6
Hobb’s books are never full steam ahead, but aside from the first 100 pages in any first book of a series, they aren’t a crawl.World Building: 10
The main setting of the book is the trading, frontier city of Bingtown. We also have the mysterious rainwilds, which only liveships can venture and is the source of wizard wood. And we have two nations fighting for control of it all. The level of politics involved isn’t quite Game of Thrones or House of Cards, but it’s close.Character Building: 10
As I’ve said, Robin Hobbs excels at this. Tolkien and GRRM are right up there with her.Scope of Story: 9
The world and overall story has many revelations throughout the 3 book series. Like a good D&D or Pathfinder campaign, we start with a small scope and continually expand it as the characters level upOverall: 8
Hobb’s books might not be the best you’ll ever read, but hers are books that you will always find comfort in losing yourself in.(Next I tag, Kitsunekla. Put yourself and your huge fantasy book collection to good use, and post! =P)
Today I am reviewing Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson.For those who do not know, Sanderson is well known for his Mistborn series of novels, as well as being the successor to Robert Jordan on his Wheel of Time book series. His stories often involve grand scopes, and startling revelations. Sanderson’s plots are amongst the best you will find in the fantasy genre. The only negative to this author is that his character backstories are weak, especially in comparison to writers like Robin Hobb. However, this is just a small detractor when you take into account his strengths.
Steelheart is the best anti-hero movie never made. The basis of the story is that something happens that turns people into superhuman beings, which in this story are known as “epics”. The main difference with this story that sets it apart from other superhero stories is that this book poses the question: What if power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? In effect: There are no super heroes – only super villians.
This book begins in 5th gear and doesn’t slow down at all the entire novel. It could very easily (EFFORTLESSLY) be transformed into a script for an action/fantasy movie capable of curb stomping Marvel’s The Avengers. Lets break things down:
Character Development:
There is very little time for learning backgrounds of the characters. Usually this is a detriment but this book reads so quickly and is so suspenseful that it isn’t really missed.Plot and Originality:
The superhero genre is huge, and books (many of which I refuse to read) are plentiful. However, this is a completely unique premise and completely original.Lasting Impression:
This book is not the greatest literature you will ever read. I cannot tell you it is the most fulfilling novel in existence, but I can tell you that it will hook you and keep you interested and entertained the entire way through. I can also tell you that the conflict resolution at the end will have you thinking for a very long time.If you get the chance and can find this book, buy it immediately!
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