Rating: 
Summary: An exciting build-up for the series - I couldn't stop!!
Review: This is the part where you experience twists in the plot, high adventure and great build-up that one simply can't stop! At the end of this book, I was yearning so badly for the grand finale in book three that I couldn't stop thinking of it. The build-up was superb as you learn more about the relationship between the characters, the rise and fall of Kennit, the political play between teh Satrap and Bingtown, and most of all, the mysteries surrounding the Rain Wild forest and Paragon. What is his relationship with Kennit? How did the two crews he carried die at sea, making him insane as he is? Is he truly insane? And about Vivacia and Wintrow... what is happening to her relationship with him, while Kennit seduces her with his temptations.... Mad Ship sets a faster pace for the series leading to a climatic finale to be found in the third and final book of the series. A great continuation and highly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Twists and Turns - Surprises at every chapter.
Review: They call him Paragon, the mad ship. He's blind. He had lost two crews at sea. And he had been accused of murdering his crews, both his family. But, he is the only hope that Althea Vestrit has of recovering what was hers by heritage, Vivacia, the liveship that her family had loved and strived for generations to awaken only to be forced into becoming a slaver. Together with lover, Brashen Trell, and a strange carpenter, Amber, Althea sets out on to search for Vivacia, who was meanwhile seduced by Kennit's attentions and promises of adventure in piracy. This second book in the Liveship Traders series takes a turn to high adventure, intrigue and surprising twists and turns in the plot. While Althea faces all odds against fellow shipmates on board, Martha, at her tender age, has to brace herself for political intrigue, conniving plots, power play and schemes that threaten her home, family and new found love, Reyn. And what lies beneath the wizardwood log in the caverns? What does Paragon conceal from his crew about his past, his voyages? And the sea serpents? Who are they? Why are they following Vivacia? Where are they going? What are they looking for? What is the return? Mysteries mount up as Hobb builds on to the adventure and mystic of the first book, revealing more surprises about each character at every turn. The read is hypnotic, with the finding of each answer spurring your imagination and wonder for more answers. What little was known of the characters in the first book builds up to form a more rounded person, in reality, that has a private story to tell. Unknowingly entangled in life and fate to each other, little do they realise how much a role they played in the lives of the other creatures, such as the serpents, the dragons and even the Rain Wild Forests. And as their character takes shape, so do their lives shape around their strengths and weaknesses. Moving at a faster pace than the first book, The Mad Ship is highly engaging and the wait for the arrival of the third book, its concluding chapter, is almost unbearable. An excellent build up.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Sequel
Review: "The Mad Ship" is as finely crafted a book 2 to its predecessor ("Ship of Magic") as one could hope for. All the plot threads in the first book are continued here with both an eye for detail as well as foresight towards the author's vision. If some of the serpentine plot ideas in Book 1 confused you, almost all your questions will be answered in "The Mad Ship" - but read carefully. I realised on my second round of this book that I actually "missed" a few key sentences which explain a lot. In fact, Robin Hobb excels at this - tiny details in the book can shed light on giant plot arcs in the entire story thus far. What could possibly be the relationship between the sea serpents, the wizardwood, the liveships, the wisps of memories, and the Rain Wild magic? The wonder is that Robin Hobb has created such an original story to tie up all these, without a hint of cliche. Hobb's characterization continues to impress. Rarely does one encounter characters so real and so sympathizable. At risk of garnering "unhelpful votes" from Amazon readers, I would like to point out that Hobb strongly favors her female characters - with almost no exception, all of her female characters (even the big reptilian one) demonstrate intelligence, fortitude, maturity and above all, strong will. Seeing how they grow and develop, how they deal with life, is an education in itself. On the other hand, the male characters tend to be two-dimensional, straightforward, coarse, even crass; even where they are good, they tend to be naive. There are a few sentences which clearly show what the female thinks of the "only knows how to feed and breed" male. I write the above as a statement, not as a criticism against the book. The fact remains that Hobb's characterization is first-class, and totally believable despite this "favoritism". In fact, what is most impressive is how Hobb turns an apparently "bad" character into a "good" one, an art only the best writers can achieve naturally.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing sequel to Ship of Magic
Review: WOW... i enjoyed Ship of Magic so much that i didnt think it could possibly be surpassed by book two of the series, but i was wrong. In retrospect, book 1 was merely an introduction/set-up book. This book took the plot threads that were introduced in the first book, and completely twisted them in directions you wouldnt have guessed. In addition, it introduced a LOT (and i'm not kidding here) of new plot threads. Just when you finished reading a chapter and said to yourself "that must have been the major event of the book", you read the next chapter only to encounter an even BIGGER event! The whole last half of the book was like this. Like the first book, the characterizations are superb. These characters really change with the ebb and flow of the story. The focus on main characters has shifted a little as well: Malta plays a much bigger role (i was put off by this at first), as well as Amber and Paragon. Kyle is nearly insignificant. Even Althea and Kennit have slightly different focus. Nevertheless, Hobb writes so well that you feel connected to each of the characters, even the so-called "bad" ones. Before i picked this book up, i just assumed it would follow the logical path of the first book. Not so! By the time i finished this book, i was so blown away that the first book seemed insignificant (not in a sense that i enjoyed book 1 less however). A few things are resolved, but so many are left hanging that reading the conclusion is a must. Who knows where that book will take you (i'm not going to try and guess this time). I highly recommend that if you read the first book and enjoyed it, you immediately read this book.
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Summary: Troubled Waters
Review: Hobb's maelstrom is still churning as the second book of her trilogy opens, and the tides are turning all over her world. The liveship Vivacia is finding piracy all too suitable, horrifying her soulmate Wintrow with her violence. Kennit's evil mind squishes its way to power, and with each manured step he takes flowers grow despite his intentions. Althea finds society's chains weighing heavily upon her in a world where women are seldom liberated, while her lover Brashen finds responsibility crushing on his own shoulders. A desperate plan to save Vivacia by enlisting poor Paragon the mad ship may be the worst thing they could have done, and as Bingtown explodes into fire and madness the Vestrits find themselves fleeing to their mysterious kinsmen of the eerie Rain Wilds. Poisonous Malta Vestrit finds all her childish mischief coming back to her more-adult self, and masked Reyn Khuprus shines through all his concealment as a true and generous soul. As the masks begin to fall, Reyn and Wintrow sacrifice nearly everything to release old knowledge and power. Their world is disintegrating and the skull of compulsion and slavery begins to grin ever more widely through the rotting face of Jamaillian civilization. For the sea-serpents have remembered their ancient names and aspects, and they are coming with more determination than before ... coming for the liveships.
Rating:
Summary: Magic!!
Review: Superbly written, the characters come alive through Hobb's words. All the promises made in the first installment are more than fulfilled. The story is so rich in detail, it doesn't feel like fantasy but reality. Malta has grown from a spoiled brat into an interesting young woman; Althea, Vivacia, ... all personalities are so real. Only Robert Jordan equals Hobb's in creating 'live' characters. I can hardly wait for the third part of the series. Even better than the Farseer trilogy Superb!
Rating: 
Summary: Painful, couldn't finish it
Review: The living ship idea is fairly clever, but neither the characters nor the plot ever really engage the reader. I had difficulty keeping track of who was who and the interrelationships among the characters. About half way through the book, I simply threw in the towel, which is rare for me. I've read widely in this genre, and generally insist on finishing a book once I've invested so much time in it. But this one just never gets going. There are some interesting concepts in the backdrop, but the overall story and characters failed to hold my attention.
Rating: 
Summary: Hobb does it again!
Review: 'The Mad Ship' is every bit the sequel that the explosive climax of the previous novel demanded it should be. As ever, Hobb approaches her world with originality and verve, vivid settings and distinctive action perfectly offset by incredibly well-drawn characters with real emotions, dreams and foibles. But this is also a progression in style for her, for in this novel Hobb traces the evolution of a character from childish selfish entrapment in the social graces of a traditionalistic nepotistic society to adult selfless romantic, prepared to sacrifice and endure hardships for love of family and friends. It is a transition unlike any other that I have read, and is carried off with such insight and seamless integrity that Hobb can only be described as a literary talent in a genre that is sorely lacking in such. The multi-plot story swings and bounds in each of its strands. The newly captured Vivacia's enchantment with Kennit and his Pirate Isles dream, Wintrow's reluctant induction into the pirate world, Althea's return to Bingtown, Brashen's friendship with Paragon, and Keffria's usage of the Vestrit family vote in the increasingly anti-Satrapy Trader Council are all interesting and involving, but what may come as a surprise is that the real star of this book is Malta. She begins the novel as little more than a spoiled brat, believing wholeheartedly that her father's return will set everything straight; he will punish Ronica for being so constricting and ensure that they all live in the lap of luxury and wealth. As with her other novels, Hobb is able to make us feel real heart-felt anger at this selfish individual, but as the novel progresses, and as Malta's relationship with mysterious Rain Wilder Reyn intensifies, she subtly alters Malta's self-centred viewpoint to one that encompasses the world around her, and with this change, our reaction to the character changes. Indeed, by the end Malta is holding our attention and providing us with more emotional stimulus than any other character, and considering that in the first novel her role was perfunctory at best, that's quite an achievement. Althea, the 'star' if you will of the first novel, takes a back seat in this one, whilst Ronica and Keffria become more pronounced. It only fell down from five stars because about two-thirds of the way through, the story meanders a little; this is redeemed, however, by a climax in the Elderling ruins beneath Trehaug that is even more tense than Vivacia's storm-tossed capture at the end of 'Ship of Magic.' (These exciting scenes use a 'time-slip' process reminiscent of FitzChivalry's Skill-induced visions of the Elderlings in 'Assassin's Quest', so a knowing wink to people who have read the Farseer Trilogy.) All in all, 'The Mad Ship' is a fantastic novel, exciting and action-packed cutting-edge fantasy writing whilst still intellectual, literary, emotional and political. Hobb writes with a style that is agonisingly good, gripping and moving and always entrenched firmly in a realism that sets it aside from its peers. There is as much English nineteenth-century social novel in this book as there is dragon/serpent fantasy, and as such I would recommend this to anyone, regardless of whether they are into the genre or not. And for those who are into the genre, this is a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic tale, magically written
Review: This was a really good continuation of the series. So far it is even better than the Assasin trilogy and I really hope the third book will be as good. I can't wait to read it. The characters are really likeable and even Malta becomes bearable in this book! I read this book solidly in 3 days - i really couldn't put it down - i felt woven in with the story and it was awful to get to the end!
Rating:
Summary: The World of Bingtown Grows
Review: I first learned about Robin Hobb's world in the Farseer Trilogy. I couldn't wait to start the Liveship Traders series. Ship of Magic expanded on the world of the Six Duchies and introduced: strange serpents on a search for their past, live ships 'quickened' from the lives of their owners, the mysterious Rain Wild Traders, and enough characters and substories to keep the reader challenged and interested. Mad Ship continues the story, giving several characters the chance to grow through adversity. At sea, Captain Kennit takes on an air of 'Robin Hood', with enough ruthlessness to remain true to his nature; Captain Haven gets his just desserts; and Wintrow's epiphany allows him to grasp his true mission as a priest of Sa. In Bingtown, the negative influence of Jamilla and Chalced accelerates; the Traders community challenges foreign rule; and Malta evolves from 'princess' to heroine. Will her efforts bridge the new world with the world of the Elderlings? Let the kids have their Harry Potter, Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders joins Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders on my bookshelf.
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