madship

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Book Reviews and Synopses

Mad Ship

Robin Hobb

Hobb, Robin. Mad Ship. Bantam Books. New York, New York. 1999.

Robin Hobb’s masterpiece, Mad Ship, was created in 1999 as a sequel to Ship of Magic. It is an action/adventure book that will fill readers’ minds with adventurous mythology for eons to come.

The story of Mad Ship takes place in 1540. The two Spanish conquistadors sail the ocean blue to find the legendary city of Cibola. Ramon, the captain of the “San Jose,” is accompanied by his brother Almagro and an army of 2,000 Spaniards. Almagro shouts to his brother that his ship has reached land.

Ramon started his exploration with his army. The area was the home of a thick jungle and wild, exotic animals. Months later, they were out of food and began to die of hunger. Ramon saw no hope until he and his army found a large plain with habitants living in unusual houses with large square constructions. Ramon went to see the habitants. They were very strange looking, being short and having dark skin. Then, Ramon turned his head and saw that the buildings were actually gold! Soon, there was a war between the natives and the Spanish. The Spanish, with their superior weapons, demolished the natives and took all their gold. Then, Ramon began to sail back to his home.

His previous dream having been accomplished, he was now dreaming of a perfect life being rich. All was well, until Ramon encountered the ancient curse of the land.

Robin Hobb’s masterpiece, Mad Ship, has stated the true feeling of adventure with a mix of mystery. This book will get your attention and make you addicted to this action book. Hobb is truly the master author for exploration adventure books.

4 out of 5 stars

Contributed by C. Morales

June 1st, 2011