The Liveship Traders 1. The Ship of Magic [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

"Ship of Magic", Buch 1, ist sozusagen die Einleitung, in der die Charaktere vorgestellt werden und die Story aufgebaut wird, "Mad Ship" ist Buch 2 und das Buch der Wendepunkte, nach dem nichts mehr so sein kann wie es einmal war, und "Ship of Destiny" ist das Buch der Auflösungen, in dem sich die Schicksale der einzelnen Charaktere erfüllen- sowohl in die eine als auch in die andere Richtung.

Daß ich solch eine reiche Fantasy-Welt vorfinden würde, damit hatte ich trotz der positiven Bewertungen wirklich nicht gerechnet. Die Handlungsfäden ziehen sich im Laufe der Reihe immer weiter auseinander, sind aber dennoch miteinander verbunden, so daß es einem nicht schwerfällt, den einzelnen Charakteren auf ihren Abenteuern zu folgen. Besonders gefällt mir, wie nach und nach das Geheimnis um die Liveships gelüftet wird- das ist einfach wunderbar gelungen....

Lebensnahe Charaktere, faszinierende Fantasy-Welten, und das alles auch noch mitreißend geschrieben- Fantasy-Fans kommen um diese Bücher nicht herum. Nachdem ich jahrelang aus Mangel an interessantem, originellem Lesestoff der Fantasy-Sparte ferngeblieben bin, bin ich nun wirklich begeistert, zuerst George R. R. Martin und nun auch noch Robin Hobb entdeckt zu haben. Und das Beste ist: die "Farseer“-, "Tawny Man“- und die neue "Soldier Son“-Trilogien liegen alle noch vor mir!

Ein Wort noch zu Martin (da die beiden ja oft zusammen genannt werden): im direkten Vergleich zur "Ice & Fire"-Saga würde ich sagen, daß die "Liveship Traders"-Reihe genauso reich und interessant, allerdings weniger dunkel und negativ ist. Während Martin's Hauptcharaktere seit 3 Büchern ständig vom Regen in die Traufe kommen, gibt es bei Robin Hobb hin und wieder auch mal kleinere Lichtblicke. Qualitativ stehen sich beide Autoren in nichts nach. Lesen Sie weiter... ›

Althea Vestrit is the 19-year-old daughter of a family of Bingtown Traders, the only community who can possess a Liveship, a magic vessel made of wizardwood, a precious and legendary ware. Always her father's favourite, she spent all her childhood on board the family's Liveship, the Vivacia, whom she's come to love more than anything.

Alas, the captain is very ill and is going to die soon. He has to be taken on board the Vivacia so that with his death, the third of a family member on the ship's deck, the latter can undergo her quickening. Althea knows that when the Vivacia awakens, she'll become hers to sail. Only at the last moment, she discovers that her mother and sister have convinced her father to leave the ship to Althea's brother-in-law, an execrable and authoritative Chalcedean, Kyle Haven. And as the Vestrits are crippled with debt, it won't be long until Kyle starts trading in the most profitable of goods, slaves.

Banned from her own deck, desperate to have to leave the only recently quickened and emotionally fragile ship to such a horrid fate, she decides to run away. Disguised as a boy, she'll work on a slaughter ship and try to gain a ship ticket, a token to prove Kyle she's tough enough to become the rightful captain of the Vivacia. Knowing the ship has to be comforted to sail safely, Kyle drags his 13-year-old son Wintrow from his monastery where he's studying to become a Priest of Sa, and forces him to work as deck hand. Soon though, Wintrow reluctantly admits his bond with the Vivacia.

Kennit, captain of the Marietta, is a pirate whose dearest dream is to become King of the Pirates.... He knows that if he helps freeing slaves, he'll gain the reconaissance of their families and friends, the people of the Pirate Islands. With his first mate Sorcor, he decides to stop looting merchant ships and start chasing Liveships and attacking Slavers instead...

I read Robin Hobb's astounding Farseer Trilogy more than a year ago, and it instantly became my favourite series, the one to which I've compared everything I've read since. Knowing that the third and last book of The Tawny Man, the sequel to the Farseer, will only come out in paperback in more than a year from now, I have forced myself to wait until now to read Robin Hobb's other trilogy, The Liveship Traders. So you can imagine how much I expected, how much hope I'd placed in these books, how much I feared I wouldn't like them as much. But the only thing I can tell after reading the first volume is that it didn't disappoint me. At all. The story is tremendouly gripping, the descriptions fascinating, the characterization flawless. Everything Robin Hobb touches is gold. Don't overlook her! Lesen Sie weiter... ›