Heavy spoilers throughout.
Am I going mad, or is nothing happening?
Truthfully, I don’t have much to say about this book, despite its length—not much happened! Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that not much within this 900-page tome particularly inspired me.
I’m sure this was not the case for many readers; The Mad Ship scores 4.3/5.0 on Goodreads, much the same as its prequel and sequel. It’s clear that this was a solid entry in the series for most readers.
But me… I’m missing Fitz and the Six Duchies from The Farseer Trilogy…
Ah well! With one more book in the Liveship Traders trilogy left, there’s hope yet that I’ll return to Fitz in one of the later books in the Realm of Elderlings! Maybe even this year?
Most Exciting Plot Points in The Mad Ship
I wouldn’t have finished a 900-page door stopper that completely lacked excitement, and, overall, the prose is captivating. Here are my favourite moments:
- Kennit’s ‘last breath’ and his seduction of Vivacia
- Wintrow’s changing allegiances
- The disposal of Kyle Haven
- Amber’s many mysterious friendships: Paragon, Ophelia, Jek, Althea, Malta
- The freeing of the crippled serpent and (separately) Tintaglia
- The burning of Bingtown
- The sinking of Trehaug
Additionally, Hobb has an excellent skill for suggesting plots through pretty descriptions. In a book titled on Paragon, the blind, mad ship, other blind characters are bound to stand out.
Imagine my surprise when the blind cook that survives Kennit’s raid of one of many pirate ships claims to be a survivor of Igrot (p.522)—the same name that strikes fear into the Paragon. Doubtful to be a coincidence.
Yet again, when the serpent attacks Brashen’s crew, Brashen is nearly blinded too.
I wonder how this metaphor will play out in the final book, the Ship of Destiny, or whether Amber can restore clarity to her beloved friends—through tools, wisdom, or both.
Personally, I expect they’ll all end up chasing Igrot’s treasure, one way or another.
Criticisms of The Mad Ship
Well, for a book about brilliant, magic ships, named the Liveship Traders—emphasis on traders—our characters don’t get to explore very far.
Behold, characters struggling to escape:
- Althea docks at Bingtown early in the novel, and it seems like she’ll never leave.
- Brashen has a brief stop in Divvytown, only to wind up stuck in Bingtown also.
- Kennit goes places, but Wintrow rarely leaves the ship in his perspective chapters.
- Malta is more key character in this book, and she has to be dragged out of Bingtown in the book’s finale.
- Paragon, of course, is beached, which is more than half of the problem.
Unlike our favourite humans, the serpents go everywhere, but I dearly wish I could bring myself to care about their bizarre and whimsical interludes. At best, I’ve skim-read the adventures of Maulkin’s tangle in this book.
Now, it’s not just about the promise of adventure, but also the relationships between characters and how they evolve (or don’t). Althea was one of my favourite characters in Ship of Magic, but she spends most of The Mad Ship deliberating over whether she can be friends with Brashen and Grag, or whether she’s going to be controlled by her desires for physical intimacy.
Wintrow develops his relationship with Kennit and Etta, but his progression with Vivacia seems to be at a standstill.
Malta, of course, sees the most changes, but this was left-field for me. I guess I’d enjoyed disliking her in book one, and I had to learn to let go of that. Still, I am excited to see what becomes of her in the final installment, Ship of Destiny!
Summary
Overall, it was an enjoyable book, and I raced through the second half, but it’s not my favourite book in the series and I’m looking forward to taking a break to read The Awakening of Roku next!
I’m sure I’ll finish it much faster!
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