Mad Ship: The Liveship Traders [Anglais] [Poche]

Robin Hobb returns to the sea with Mad Ship, the second book in a projected trilogy set in the same world as her famed Farseer series. Many unresolved questions from Ship of Magic are answered in this tale of sea serpents and dragons; living ships made of wizardwood; the Bingtown Trader families who sail the ships; and their disfigured cousins, the Rain Wild Traders, who build them.

The Vestritt family's liveship, Vivacia, has been taken by Kennit, an ambitious pirate. Captain Haven is a prisoner; his son Wintrow, who bears the Vestritt blood, finds himself competing with Kennit for Vivacia's love as she becomes a pirate ship. Althea Vestritt, in training to become Vivacia's captain, arrives home to discover her beloved ship lost. Brashen Trell, her old friend and shipmate, proposes that they sail to Vivacia's rescue in the liveship Paragon, who has lost two previous crews and is believed mad. Malta, Althea's niece, seeks help from her suitor, the Rain Wild Trader Reyn, whose family is the Vestritt's major creditor. Meanwhile, the sea serpents who follow sailing ships struggle to remember their history and return to their place of transformation.

Each volume in this series is a major undertaking, but those who enjoy original, epic fantasy, characters who grow and change believably, and fine writing will not want to miss The Liveship Traders. --Nona Vero --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

The second book (after Ship of Magic) in Hobbs's Liveship Traders trilogy solidifies the series's promise as a major work of high fantasy, reading like a cross between Tolkein and Patrick O'Brian. Protagonist Althea Vestrit is neither unrealistically beautiful nor mindlessly dauntless. She is a very human character who has her share of doubts as she undertakes to assemble a motley crew of allies (including her former lover, Brashen Trell) to take the blind, insane liveship Paragone to sea in search of the Vestrit family's liveship Vivacia. Meanwhile, Vivacia is enjoying a prosperous career as the flagship of pirate Captain Kennit. In spite of his peg leg, Kennit is a charismatic leader, with a genius for manipulation that his mistress Etta and his prisoner Wintrow Vestrit (Althea's nephew) seem ready to mistake for virtue. And in Bingtown, Wintrow's bratty sister, Malta, finally starts growing up when her family and town face ruin and she must take refuge in the Rain Wild forests. This second installment in the trilogy reveals the connections among liveships, the wizardwood used to build them, the sea serpents and the legendary Rain dragons. Apart from an overly long subplot concerning the feckless young Satrap, the novel is tightly written, with few passages not devoted to characterization, world building or action. Again, Hobb gives high fantasy a salty nautical spin that will please a great many readers. (Apr.) FYI: Robin Hobb is a pseudonym for Megan Lindholm.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

Deprived of the liveship Vivacia, which should have been her inheritance, Althea Vestrit seeks solace in the attempt to restore the sanity of the abandoned ship known as Paragon and, through her efforts, find a way to reclaim her heritage. This sequel to Ship of Magic (LJ 2/15/98) continues the epic tale of sentient ships and ruthless trader clans in a world steeped in old magic and lost treasures. Imaginative and compelling in its attention to detail and breadth of characterization, this title belong in most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

The second volume of The Liveship Traders is as splendid as Ship of Magic. Althea Vestrit is now a seasoned sailor, and with the aid of her family, her lover Brashen Tell, and the curious wood-carver Amber, she restores the abandoned, blind liveship Paragon, the "mad ship" of the title. Aboard him (Paragon is male), they set out on a bold quest to find and recover the Vestrit family's liveship Vivacia. Meanwhile, Vivacia is thriving under the command of pirate king Captain Kennit, who has persuaded her to join his antislavery crusade, has made his mistress Etta love him, and is turning the captive Wintrow Vestrit into a more than competent pirate. Meanwhile, the satrap's intrigues culminate in the burning of Bingtown; Althea's precocious niece Malta becomes much more competent if no less hard to handle; and we learn about the long-secret connection between liveships, wizardwood, the remaining sea serpents, and the legendary dragons of the Rain Wild River's forests. Hobb controls the shifts of viewpoint, the subplots, and the cast of characters well enough to avoid most middle-of-the-trilogy problems. With her hands on the wheel, high fantasy is going to sea magnificently. It is hard to imagine any reader not coming back for The Liveship Traders' conclusion. Roland Green --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

This second (Ship of Magic, 1998) in Hobb's doorstopper trilogy about the Liveship Traders charts the briny adventures of Bingtown's Vestrit family. Now, old Ephron Vestrit's sentient liveship, Vivacia (built of magic wizardwood, she can talk and manipulate objects via her animated figurehead), has been captured by the ruthless pirate Kennit, while her captain, Kyle Haven, along with Kyle's talented, tormented son, Wintrow, are below-decks prisoners. Althea Vestrit, meanwhile, has teamed up with an old shipmate, captain Brashen Trell, to sail another liveship, Paragon, that may have killed previous crews and is reckoned mad. And Althea's headstrong sister, Malta, must travel into the magic-filled Rain Wild lands in payment of the debt by which the Vestrits obtained Vivacia. A community of intelligent sea serpents has its own agenda, and there are numerous other complications. Hobb displays a wonderful imagination but has cast aside any remaining inclination toward control. Still, this should delight fans of the first installment. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

"A truly extraordinary saga...the characterizations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with the love for and knowledge of the sea. If Patrick O'Brian were to turn to writing high fantasy, he might produce something like this. Kudos to the author, and encore!"
--Booklist

In the second breathtaking volume of Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy, a new tide of glory and terror sweeps forward the story of the Vestrit clan, their liveship Vivacia, and all who strive to possess her.

As the ancient tradition of Bingtown's Old Traders slowly erodes under the cold new order of a corrupt ruler, the Vestrits anxiously await the return of their liveship--a rare magic ship carved from sentient wizardwood, which bonds the ships mystically with those who sail them. And Althea Vestrit waits even more avidly, living only to reclaim the ship as her lost inheritance and captain her on the high seas. But the Vivacia has been seized by the ruthless pirate captain Kennit, who holds Althea's nephew and his father hostage. Althea and her onetime sea mate Brashen resolve to liberate the liveship--but their plan may prove more dangerous than leaving the Vivacia in Kennit's ambitious grasp....

In the stunning second volume of Robin Hobb's acclaimed Liveship Traders trilogy, heroine Althea employs an insane crew to battle pirates and the slave trade. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

"A truly extraordinary saga...the characterizations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with the love for and knowledge of the sea. If Patrick O'Brian were to turn to writing high fantasy, he might produce something like this. Kudos to the author, and encore!"
--Booklist