Robin Hobb

The triumphant conclusion to the magnificent Liveship Traders series.

Ship of Destiny

james

James Winduss

** spoiler alert **
           Upon finishing the Farseer Trilogy, I had this feeling that the ending wasn’t exactly satisfying. It felt right, given the circumstances, but not satisfying. The Liveship Traders was the complete opposite. I wouldn’t say that everyone got a ‘happy’ ending, but the endings they did get felt deserved, with the exception being Kennit (see below). While I don’t think I will ever despise a character as much as I do Kennit, I understand why Robin Hobb concluded his story in the way she did as it relates to other characters. The fact that Hobb manages to conjure up such strong feelings towards a completely made up characters is testimony to her abilities as a writer. I think Paragon is one of my favourite characters from a Robin Hobb novel so far, but he still doesn’t come close to the Fool. That being said, I’m not surprised I enjoyed Amber and her parts in this trilogy as much as I did… IYKYK.

The only true negative that I have for this book was the rape scene between Kennit and Althea. Now, I knew there was a rape scene in this series, but I didn’t know who it involved or where in the series it occurred and I have to say, it was probably one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read. Not just because of the graphic depiction of the rape itself, but also the motivations behind the rape and the way it was dealt with by the other characters after the fact. I don’t like to throw around the word ‘triggering’ because I think it is overused in this day and age but that’s exactly what this scene and the aftermath was for me. While Kennit’s actions through the series can be viewed as ‘good’ or ‘honorable’ by those who don’t know his true intentions, those actions don’t make him a good person. For everyone to essentially forgive/believe Kennit and/or disregard Althea’s account because Kennit would never do that or it didn’t make any sense in relation to his other actions etc, etc was truly disgusting. What was even worse was the fact that, in the end, Kennit got everything he ever wanted so there was no satisfaction for me as the reader in his death, except for how it related to Paragon’s closure. I love Robin Hobb, but I hated her for this. 

Despite that negative, I am still rating this book as 5 stars which just goes to show how much I truly enjoyed every other part of this book.

Three generations of Vestrit women are at the heart of the story. Ronica, the matriarch, stands alone against accusations that her family is responsible for the chaos that has overtaken Bingtown. She fights to uncover treachery and maintain the Trader's Council. Her daughter, Althea, sails on the disturbed liveship Paragon, hunting for Vivacia, the Vestrit's liveship, now the flagship of a pirate fleet under Kennit, who is both ruthless and compassionate. Her granddaughter, Malta, has disappeared following an earthquake in the ancient treasure city by the Rain Wild River. Her fiancé, Reyn, and her brother, Selden, are trapped while seeking her. They are rescued by the dragon Tintaglia, whom they helped liberate. Reyn asks Tintaglia's aid in finding Malta, but Tintaglia has her own urgent mission to accomplish, one which will change everything.

andrea

robin hobb i love you

all the characters and plots are brought up together wonderfully. it's a long, detailed, and slow-paced journey but if you have patience for it... no coherent thoughts here just amazement and praise.

This finale of the Liveship Traders trilogy brings it home. Character arcs, themes, intense battles at sea, and intense political struggles. The outcome of events will change the course of this world. Content warnings for misogyny, sexual assault, PTSD. Autonomy and responses to trauma are strong themes in this series. My favorite characters at the end of this book are not who I thought they would be. I am so impressed by Malta's development and where her story has gone. I am very intrigued by Selden, who did not become interesting until around half-way through the second book. Paragon was a favorite at the start and remains a favorite, even though I have some complicated feelings. I am excited to continue reading through all the series in the Realm of the Elderlings. This is epic fantasy with thematic and emotional depth. Such a wide and detailed world.

Cheryl Hedlund

Ship of Destiny (The Liveship Traders, Book 3)

Brianna

TW: sexual assault

Another book that only Robin Hobb could have written. There is a lot to unpack and I doubt I’ll forget about it anytime soon.

André Nóbrega

The Liveship Traders trilogy is very good, this third book much better paced and structured than the other two. I love Robin Hobb's character work. I could read, stop for a while and come back to this and I still remember clearly who everyone is and what I am led to expect from them. Their motivations and actions are complex and believable and the plot has real impact on what one would predict for and from each of them. Kennit is surely amongst the best characters I've read about in fantasy and the way Hobb uses the events to pick him apart is really above and beyond.
The story itself is interesting and I suppose quite relevant in The Realm of the Elderlings Series, though not groundbreaking. The concept of the liveship is wonderful (and painful).
I was unsure if I'd feel like reading the rest of the books on the series, but after finishing this one I honestly think I will.
I need to know more about Amber!

Hannah Derzanovich

A fantastic book to end a fantastic series!

tw rape

i don't think i've ever had such drastic changes in my opinions of characters throughout a trilogy than i have had from the beginning of ship of magic to the end of ship of destiny. 

characters of whom my opinion changed the most (in alphabetical order):

kennit: i think he had a point in the previous books trying to become king of the pirate isles, and gaining power and influence only through attacking slave ships. when he ditched kyle haven on the island with his mother, kyle had it coming. (view spoiler)[ when he raped althea his character became irredeemable. he's very focused on keeping secrets and covering up anything remotely bad about his actions. it was sickening to read the aftereffects of althea's rape, when hardly anyone believed her and kennit was constantly trying to pass her off as crazy. i did like finally seeing his past come to light despite how hard he tried to hide and deny it. his relation as a ludluck with paragon also kind of mirrors wintrow and vivacia. it also explains how he knew so much about liveships in order to track one down and capture it at the beginning of the trilogy. his death (and kyle's) felt very simple (?) for lack of a better word. i'm not upset they're dead but it's more of an underwhelming "that's it?" reaction.  (hide spoiler)] i also still don't understand the charm he wore that talked to him i don't know what that was.

malta: i can finally read her chapters without it becoming a chore. in the mad ship reading her pov was so painful but here she's so much better. her circumstances force her to mature, (view spoiler)[ such as the way she begins to act like a companion to the satrap and bargains like a bingtown trader  (hide spoiler)] but nonetheless, i kind of enjoyed reading about her. she whined a little about her appearance and whether or not reyn would still like her but come on malta... he wears a veil all the time, don't you think he's hiding something as well? i also really like the way her character is developing, but she still has many of the same character traits from the previous books. she's still manipulative, but for a point i, as the reader, sympathize with because i can see a bigger picture of a bunch of different povs. she still focuses on her appearance, re: scar issue, and at the end of the book, (view spoiler)[ really just wants to talk to delo about her experience  (hide spoiler)].

reyn: (view spoiler)[ so he's... almost like an elderling?? i still don't really know what the elderlings are.  (hide spoiler)] he's cool! i thought he was a little bit sketch with the dream box and constantly contacting malta at first but now i like him. i rly want to get to the rain wild traders books now.

tintaglia: i have to sound this out every time i want to spell it like i'm five. regardless! (view spoiler)[ she really had a point saying if malta and reyn had kids they would bring back the elderlings. selden being the one to best communicate with her was... interesting? i would have expected it to be reyn or one of the rain wild traders, although i don't think reyn could flatter her every time he talks to her the way selden does.  (hide spoiler)]

wintrow: he was my favorite character in ship of magic... i still think the scene where he lost his finger is better than the entirety of royal assassin. but now i'm coming to like him a lot less. he grew up a lot on the vivacia, (view spoiler)[ enough to command almost like kennit by the end of the book, but not enough to see althea when she was locked up?? kid that's your aunt and you haven't seen another vestrit in a long fucking time. anyway i think my new hatred of kennit shows in how i now perceive wintrow.  (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ the thing i've come to realize i dislike the most about hobb's books are the strange end game relationships. in farseer it was molly and burrich, which is still really fucking weird to me. and here in liveship traders, etta and wintrow are going to raise kennit and etta's kid?? wintrow's character is focused on "becoming a man" which means he's probably in his mid or maybe late teens. etta could be a lot younger than kennit, but kennit is probably around the same age as althea and brashen and keffria. and it's weird for wintrow to be in a relationship with a woman maybe a decade younger than his mother.  (hide spoiler)]

Elad Schulman

What an incredible conclusion to this trilogy! Definitely my favorite out of the three, which is very satisfying, since I was a little disappointed with the conclusion to the farseer trilogy, asassin's quest.

hobb accomplished the impossible with this novel - characters that i couldn't stand at the beginning of the trilogy became characters that i couldn't get enough of in this installment, and i fell even more in love with characters that i loved and respected from the beginning. there's so much action and plot twists that you don't even notice the length of the novel.

this trilogy definitely covers darker themes and topics than the farseer trilogy, but hobb does so in a manner that doesn't seem awkward or forced. 

finishing up this trilogy brought tears to my eyes - i was just so satisfied with the ending, yet so sad knowing that i would have to say goodbye to these characters that i've grown to love.

Stephen Gill 

A very satisfying conclusion to a really great trilogy.

dead line

The ending is a happy one, and it feels earned. 

I'm more impressed at Hobb's skill. She seemed to have learned well from her previous trilogy.

There are so many things I love about these books, that I don't know how to even begin.

Jade Flynn

I've enjoyed every day that I've spent reading this 2700 page trilogy. I've ordered the three books in The Farseer Trilogy for Christmas so those will be read immediately in the new year - hopefully they're just as good.

Nickie Mohler

No surprise, 5 stars for this one. This book is amazing! I felt every emotion while reading this book. Robin Hobb is brilliant. I didn't think it was possible, but I loved this even more than the Farseer trilogy.

Melea Mullican

7.29 on CAWPILE

While I've enjoyed all the liveship books, I never did fully connect with any of the characters. Hobb's writing is still as beautiful as ever and her character work is great in development, but I just never cared who lived died, etc.

Lauren James

Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures

Ahhhhhh!!! All the stars! I LOVE this series and Robin Hobb so much! I have such a hangover now! 
Favorite character: Malta! I know, I hated her in the beginning but her character grew to be my favorite!
Least favorite: Althea. Yep. What a complete BRAT. So freaking annoying.

Matt

Xavier Roy

Chaos stalks the world as the war between Bingtown and Chalced escalates, Althea and Brashen cope with their blinded Liveship, and a powerful dragon, capable of untold destruction or redemption, appears.

Ship of Destiny

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