Divvytown who Kennit has favored and who loves him, is brought on board. Kennit is attacked by a sea serpent; Etta severs his leg in order to rescue him. In Bingtown, Keffria and her mother, Ronica, attempt to manage the Vestrit family's finances. They bring Malta, Keffria's rebellious daughter, to a meeting between the Bingtown traders and the Rain Wild Traders. Malta inadvertently captures the attention of Reyn Khuprus, the son of an influential Rain Wilder family, and he begins courting her. Althea works on board a slaughtership, disguised as a young boy, in order to prove her seaworthiness. Brashen Trell, former first mate on the Vivacia and a disowned son of another prominent Bingtown family, is also serving on the ship. He keeps her identity secret and they have a brief relationship. Althea is rejected when the captain of the slaughtership discovers her true name. Althea and Brashen separate after a romantic dispute. Brashen takes a position on a pirate's trader ship. Althea joins the crew of the liveship Ophelia, owned by the Tenira family, and heads back to Bingtown to negotiate with her family. Wintrow attempts to escape Kyle and abandons Vivacia, but he is captured by slavers and is tattooed as a slave. Kyle buys Wintrow and declares him the property of Vivacia. Separation from Wintrow, the violence and suffering of the slaves, and Wintrow's negative emotions cause Vivacia to become unstable. Slaves on the ship revolt, killing the entire crew except for Kyle and Wintrow, forcing Vivacia to feel the suffering of all. Shortly after, Kennit and his crew set their sights on Vivacia and board her. Wintrow bargains with Kennit, offering to treat Kennit's infected leg and help sail Vivacia in exchange for keeping Kyle alive. Vivacia, intrigued by Kennit, agrees to become his pirate ship. Reception Ship of Magic has generally received positive reviews. Reviewers praised the novel’s complex characters and plotlines. Wayne MacLaurin for SF Site said the book "weaves an intricate web of sword play, intrigue, family conflict and personal struggle all the while dropping delicious hints of darker secrets and unknown magic." Kirkus Reviews gave a more tentative review of the book stating: “plenty of promising ideas and material, but heavily padded and with utterly inconclusive plotlines.” Criticism of the novel mostly revolves around the story length, with some feeling the book is "perhaps a hundred pages too long." References External