Robin Hobb follows up her successful "Ship of Magic" with volume 2 in the Liveship Traders Trilogy with the continuing adventures of all the characters introduced in the first volume. The novel, being part two of a trilogy serves to further the development of the characters while, at the same time, setting us up for the grand finale in book 3. And indeed it does. My copy of this book is 850 pages long, obviously quite lengthy for a casual reader. And when combined with two other volumes, each over 800 pages in length, some people may be scared off. However, for serious fiction readers such length is no problem and in fact, with a writer of Ms. Hobb's talent, we frequently wish we could spend even more time with the characters.
This novel boils down the myriads of plot threads in the first book into three basic parts. The first involves the crew of the Liveship Vivacia and its new captain, the pirate Kennitt, who continues to be one of the best-written "bad guys" I have yet encountered. Perhaps, Ms. Hobb's greatest talent as a writer is the believability of the characters. The good guys and bad guys aren't always easily recognizable and sometimes change roles as they respond to certain situations. Just like in real life. Sometimes the good guys stumble and make bad decisions. Once again just like in real life. That goes a long way in suspending our disbelief when we read fantasy stories.

The second plot thread centers on Althea Vestrit, and her attempts to get Paragon, the mad derelict liveship, launched in an attempt to rescue Vivacia from Kennitt. And, finally, the third plot line rests with those members of the Vestrit family that remain behind at Bingtown and are forced to deal with the rising political tensions that threaten to change their way of life forever. It is here that we see the biggest growth of characters as Malta, Althea's younger sister, transforms from a bratty young girl into a take-charge leader due to numerous events that force her to grow up in a hurry. All three plot lines relate to one another but have distinctively different approaches. For example, as much time is devoted to Althea's conflicting romantic feelings for Brashen, her one-time lover, as it is to her approach to launching Paragon. In fact, romance abounds throughout this book as all major characters struggle with their relationships.

In addition, we get to know far more about the sentient sea serpents that inhabit the waters around the ports. The first book used these creatures as a mere sideshow between major sections of the book and frankly seemed little more than teasers. But in this volume, they assume a much larger role, even entering into the action itself. Their future, and just how they relate to the dragons and to the very nature of the magical wizardwood that forms the liveships is more than just hinted at now. By the end of the book, I felt like I had most of what I needed to piece the puzzle together. Ms Hobb has left things just right to urge me toward picking up the third book in the trilogy right away.

Fundamentally, this novel is terrific. There are elements of romance, adventure, intrigue, political overtures, spoiled leaders, young love, sacrifice, mysterious magic, and conflicting loyalties. I found the beginning chapters a bit long and in places I was wishing the action would pick up a bit. It was almost as if the author were looking for the best way to approach the remainder of the story. My rating reflects this desire for a tighter editing process and I feel the book could have been done just as well with a hundred less pages or so. A couple of scenes seemed to simply add girth to the book rather than force the plot along or add depth to the characterization. But these are small matters and more than compensated for by the epic scope of the story. Part three, "Ship of Destiny" should provide a rousing finale.