Author: Robin Hobb | Narrator: Anne Flosnik
Runtime: 35h 19m | Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Seafaring Fantasy, Pirates, Dragons, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy
With Vivacia captured by pirate Kennit, Althea and Brashen risk their lives to re-float the deranged liveship Paragon to mount a rescue.
Spanning more than thirty-five mesmerizing, emotionally devastating hours, *Mad Ship* is the brilliant middle volume of Robin Hobb’s *Liveship Traders* trilogy, elevating the maritime stakes into a breathtaking exploration of trauma, identity, and mythical rebirth. Following the shocking climax of Ship of Magic, the liveship *Vivacia* has been captured by the charismatic pirate captain Kennit, who is rapidly consolidating power across the Pirate Isles. Aboard the captured vessel, young Wintrow forms a complex, Stockholm-syndrome bond with Kennit, while the living ship itself begins to transform under pirate rule.
Back in Bingtown, the desperate Vestrit family makes an audacious gamble: they must re-float *Paragon*, the infamous 'mad ship' whose carved figurehead has murdered two previous crews and clawed out his own wooden eyes in suicidal madness. Partnering with disgraced sailor Brashen Trell and enigmatic woodcarver Amber, Althea takes to the high seas aboard this unstable, violent vessel in a desperate bid to rescue *Vivacia*. Meanwhile, in the poisonous Rain Wild River, young Malta Vestrit is plunged into political intrigue and natural disaster, unearthing the earth-shattering secret of wizardwood: that the living ships are actually the cocooned chrysalises of ancient, slumbering dragons. Her dangerous journey through buried elder ruins forces her to confront her vanity, transforming her into a courageous survivor.
Narrator Anne Flosnik turns in a tour de force across the thirty-five-hour runtime. Flosnik’s portrayal of *Paragon*—tortured, raving, yet profoundly vulnerable—is an acoustic triumph of dark fantasy characterization. Her depiction of Malta's evolution from a spoiled girl into a courageous political survivor is masterfully paced. Alongside nautical sagas and epic dragon tales, *Mad Ship* stands as an indispensable audio milestone that provides extraordinary listening depth on a single credit.
The Liveship Traders Reading Order: • Ship of Magic (Book 1 – 35h 21m) • Mad Ship (Book 2 – 35h 19m) • Ship of Destiny (Book 3 – 38h 24m)
Anne Flosnik’s performance on Mad Ship is a masterclass in psychological vocal acting. Flosnik brings the blind, tortured liveship Paragon to vivid life with a raw, jagged intensity that conveys decades of agonizing trauma and buried rage. Her depiction of pirate captain Kennit’s cold, manipulative charm contrasts beautifully with Althea’s gritty resilience and Brashen’s quiet nobility. Captured with warm, crystal-clear studio engineering across thirty-five marathon hours, this production is an absolute auditory triumph.
*Note: Narrators may differ across regional releases and audiobook editions.