Fantasy – Page 6 – Anna Bushi

Book Review – The Mad Ship

This is book two in the Liveship Traders fantasy series. You can read my review of book one here.

I hope to one day write like Robin Hobb.

The world-building is mind-blowing.

Set in this world is a rich set of characters, each with their unique voice and arc. From Althea to Wintrow to Malta to Vivacia, this author has masterfully crafted an imaginative and emotionally satisfying story.

Middle books in a trilogy sometimes suffer from a meandering plot. Not the case in this book.

What am I looking forward to in book 3?
Malta’s arc: That child is full of surprises;
Althea and Brashen: Is there a happy ending here?
Wintrow: I want the boy to have peace. Is that too much to ask?
Vivacia: Will I see the ship fly?

Recommend this book to epic fantasy lovers.

Book Review – King’s cage

I finished reading King’s cage, book three in the Red Queen series. Check out my reviews for books 1 and 2.

Reading fantasy is like reading three romance or mystery novels. At over 500 pages, this took me a couple of weeks to read.

We have new POVs in this book, and it made this the best book so far in this series. Mare Barrow is a self-centered teen, and being in her head all through the book can be tiring.

Cal’s arc in this book was good. I cannot wait to find out what our prince will do next. Maven continues to be the most engaging character, and I cannot wait to find what mad schemes he concocts in the finale.

Magic is well thought out, and the author walks a fine line between waving a wand to save our heroes to keeping it real.

The author pulled back the curtain to reveal the command and other players in this universe. What will our red and silver puppets do in the finale under these puppeteer’s strings? Is there a happy ending for any of them? I cannot wait to find out. I recommend this book for YA fantasy readers.

Book Review – Ship of Magic

I recently read Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. This is book one in the fantasy series Liveship Traders.

I have read Robin’s Farseer trilogy before and loved it. You can read my review here.

This story is set in the same world as the Farseer Trilogy, but the magic is very different. Inate objects exhibit these astonishing magical powers, and there are unusual magical beasts.

The characters are rich and varied and written so well. This is Robin’s specialty. She narrates these intricate tales with many characters, each with well-defined traits and motives. I also love how she gives each character the room to breathe in their own bubble. The reader has time to get to know them, and understand them, and fall in love. As a writer, there are many things for me to learn from her.

I was able to easily keep track of each individual tale, and this novel did a fantastic job of keeping me hooked till the end.

Althea has a stunning arc in this book, and so do Kennit and Wintrow. Vivacia is going to be a handful in the next book, and so is Malta. Brashen, Etta, and Kyle, Ronica, and Keffria add depth to the layered book.

I cannot wait to find out more about the Rain Wild Traders, the serpents, Paragon, and the other who showed up in chapter one. There are some nice easter eggs for folks who have read the Farseer Trilogy.

Robin Hobb crafts these complex worlds with astounding characters that tug the reader’s heart. I highly recommend this book to my fellow fantasy lovers.

Book Review – Farseer Trilogy

I read all three books in the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb this year. Highly recommend this series for all fantasy lovers.

The author builds a vibrant world and populates them with empathetic characters. Apart from Prince Chivalry, who is revered by all, the other characters are flawed, and that makes for a wonderful read.

As Fitz learns about his magical abilities, so do we. The ending of book two was brilliant. If you have read A Dance with Dragons by GRRM and wonder how Jon Snow is going to come back to life, Fitz’s story provides several clues. The two books have several parallels, two bastards with combined magical abilities from their parents that allow them to save the world. Recommend this series to Game of Thrones fans.

With an epic fantasy, landing the plane at the end is hard, and Robin pulls it off. The ending ties most threads and brings the arcs to a satisfactory conclusion.

Nitpicks: magic has a plot device to save Fitz’s life happens too many times in the last book. Some meandering storylines could have been trimmed in book three.