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The Mad Ship

Liveship Traders, Book 2

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The Mad Ship

By: Robin Hobb
Narrated by: Lucy Tregear
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‘Hobb is a remarkable storyteller’ GUARDIAN

The second volume in this superb trilogy from the author of The Farseer trilogy continues the dramatic tale of piracy, serpents, love and magic.

The Vestrit family’s liveship, Vivacia, has been taken by the pirate king, Kennit. Held captive on board, Wintrow Vestrit finds himself competing with Kennit for Vivacia’s love as the ship slowly acquires her own bloodlust.

Leagues away, Althea Vestrit has found a new home aboard the liveship Ophelia, but she lives only to reclaim the Vivacia and with her friend, Brashen, she plans a dangerous rescue.

Meanwhile in Bingtown, the fading fortunes of the Vestrit family lead Malta deeper into the magical secrets of the Rain Wild Traders. And just outside Bingtown, Amber dreams of relaunching Paragon, the mad liveship …

©1999 Robin Hobb (P)2026 HarperCollins Publishers Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Historical Military Political Sea Adventures Magic Royalty Pirate
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Critic reviews

‘Fantasy as it ought to be written’ George R.R. Martin
‘Hobb is superb’ GUARDIAN
'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics'
THE TIMES
All stars
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I’ve listened to these books quite a few times, and this new recording makes them even better, the new narrator does a really great job 🙂

Good

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This audio book is 30 hours long and the narrator somehow manages to never go monotone or over the top.
The story is fantastic and is on track to be my favourite fantasy trilogy ever

Absolutely fantastic

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Loved this book. Very well written, but easy to understand. Looking forward to finishing the series.

great read

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Robin Hobb manages to write fantasy without long essays on the history but through the eyes of the character. Every character feels alive, complex and fleshed out. I also know now why she is called the queen of the slow burn, because it does feel slow, without ever losing my attention. Nevertheless, the payout is worth it tenfold.

The narrator does an amazing job at making this book feel alive. She is clear, never over the top and her infection at times is spot on. That's talent.

Beautifully written and an astounding narration.

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I came here after listening to the Farseer trilogy that had great narration. However I found the performance style of this narrator slightly irritating. They would use higher pitch and talk louder for some of the characters which made them sound a bit cartoonish, even though this book was thematically more serious than the previous trilogy.

Great book, the narrator was not my cup of tea

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