Ship of Magic, by Robin Hobb

Switching it up a little this time—instead of a sentient house, it’s a sentient ship!

Althea is sailing onboard her father’s ship the Vivacia, who is made out of a particular kind of wood, wizardwood, that will quicken after its three first captains from its family have died onboard its decks. Vivacia is already something of a living creature, and Althea knows and loves her and expects to be made captain after her father’s death, when the ship wakes into full sentience. The current captain is her brother-in-law, Kyle. They dislike each other, extremely.

But when they return to port they find that Althea’s father, the former captain, is not just unwell but deathly ill. They hustle him on board and Althea, broken hearted watches her father die and then feels Vivacia, her closest friend, come to life. Unfortunately while she was sailing her mother has manipulated her father into giving Vivacia to Kyle on his death instead of Althea. She feels that Althea shouldn’t be sailing and wants her to stay at home, but with the control of the family in his hands, Kyle suddenly reveals his true character.

Since the ship requires someone of her family’s blood to be onboard, Kyle forces his eldest son to leave the priesthood and live onboard so that Vivacia has technically what she needs, though the ship is pining for Althea. He bans Althea from the ship. He decides the family will take up slaving. When he is met with resistance he responds with cruelty, abuse, and disrespect. Althea runs away. The Vivacia’s first mate finds himself adrift without his ship as well. Kyle’s eldest son, now forced into a life he doesn’t want, faces beatings from his father, constant scorn from the sailors, and a confusing relationship with the live ship Vivacia, who is unsettled and frightened by the absence of Althea and the horrors awaiting her as a slave ship.

And all this unrest and disunity is on a collision course to meet with a Captain Kennit, a sadistic pirate with wild dreams and an unquenchable desire to own a liveship.

What is most amazing about this book is Hobb’s ability to show the dual nature of humanity and the depths of the human heart. Even as she reveals Kyle’s true nature, it makes perfect sense why his family and his mother-in-law originally believed him and trusted him.  The combination of personal charm and a job that required long absences completely blinded them to who he really was—a petulant, power hungry man who considers only himself and then punishes everyone else for the problems he has created by his greed and dishonor. (Don’t worry—no spoiler alerts needed; Kyle is obvious to the reader for who he is right up at the beginning.)

Captain Kennit is another masterful picture of perception versus reality. Hobb reveals his cold, calculating ambition to her readers while showing the rest of the world enthralled and adoring him—and it makes perfect sense, from what they can see, that they would love him. Despite only looking out for himself and behaving with complete disregard for everyone around him, he manages by pure accident to get the undying affection of all the pirate towns, his first mate and a prostitute, who help him pursue his goals. The only one who knows his true nature is the small charm of wizardwood he wears on his wrist to preserve his luck.

Fantastic writing, a most amazing and unique magic system, characters that make you want to pitch the book across the room paired with characters you love—I’m looking forward to reading the next two books in the series!