HarperVoyager Ship of Destiny

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"Ship of Destiny" is the extraordinary conclusion to Robin Hobbs' "Liveship Traders" trilogy, and even at 800+ pages this thrilling fantasy will flash by in the blink of a red eye...or two!! I stayed up until 2:00 A.M. finishing the novel. If you're as entranced with the books in this series as I am, you will probably move on to the author's next trilogy, "The Tawny Man," which is interrelated with this tale.Update: Bingtown, a once flourishing port city, has been destroyed and its citizens are at war with the Chalcedean mercenaries who are besieging the harbor. The city's formerly wealthy shipping merchants are also at war amongst themselves - the Old Traders vs. the New. Vestrit family matriarch Ronica, and her daughter Keffria, are almost without resources since their once splendid estate was plundered. The two Vestrit women struggle to unite the tattooed peoples of the Rain Wilds and the native inhabitants of Bingtown in order to recapture and liberate the city. However, someone within their ranks is determined to see them fail. Althea Vestrit, Brashen Trell,and Amber sail the emotionally unstable liveship Paragon into Pirate Captain Kennit's waters in a dangerous attempt to recapture the beloved Vestrit vessel, liveship "Vivacia." Meanwhile, Satrap Cosgo, Kekki, his devoted companion, and Malta, Keffria's daughter, do their best to survive the acidic waters of the Rain Wild River as their small boat is swept up in the raging current. Etc.!!!Ms. Hobbs has woven her storylines and subplots into an extraordinarily vivid and complex tapestry. Like most large works, if you stand too close you cannot see the entirety. So, with "Ship of Destiny," this third and last book in the "Liveship Traders" trilogy, the author forces the reader to step back and look at the bigger picture. Suddenly the primary characters, with all their hopes, dreams and machinations, who were so important heretofore, now take a somewhat secondary place as the main theme of this trilogy becomes apparent.The sea serpents, who have surfaced, literally, throughout the series come into their own as they struggle to survive by migrating to the cocooning beaches. Their purpose throughout the tale is finally made clear when Althea's nephew Wintrow liberates "She Who Remembers." Legendary dragon Tintaglia is finally released from her wizardwood coffin in the long buried City of the Elderlings and finds that the world she knew so long ago has disappeared forever.My summary barely skims the surface of this fantastic finale. Robin Hobbs is an enormously talented writer, who has a particular gift of imagination that transforms readers into addicts. Her characters are multi-dimensional, and the excellence of her work is amazingly consistent in all of her novels. The author is a magician who creates credible new worlds and beings. And most importantly, her writing shows her understanding and love of language.P.S. - The good news, for those who really love this trilogy, is that there are actually 3 interrelated trilogies called "The Realm of the Elderlings." "The Farseer" trilogy" is the 1st in the series. "The Liveship" trilogy" is the second, and "The Tawny Man" trilogy" is the 3rd. However, if you read this particular trio of novels first, it really doesn't matter. So, enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!Jana Perskie

The ideal fantasy trilogy is kind of like of a really tangled up plant. You follow the new shoots that are all straight and uncomplicated into the mass at the center and somehow find the vines that lead you back out again. The Liveship Trader Trilogy is one of the best examples of this I have ever, ever seen. And that's mostly because the main issue in this trilogy-the over riding plot line isn't even something that's hinted at in the first book in the series at all.We come into this book with our characters spread all over the map. Selden and Reyn are trapped in the rapidly de-stabilizing underground crowned roster chamber after having freed the last remaining dragon from its wizard wood cocoon. Malta, Selden's sister is stuck on the rain wild's river after a massive earth quake (meaning the water is running white and so acidic it strip your skin) along with the satrap of Jamaillia and his last remaining concubine-both of whom are useless in the situation, complain endlessly and see her as a servant even though she saved their lives.Bingtown itself is under attack from Chalced and its social structure is falling apart while the Satrap's last remaining concubine (who had only practicle knowledge of Bingtown and thought that enough for her to rule it) takes control and the traders fight amongst themselves and the tattooed slave's revolt. Althea continues her search on the mad liveship Paragon for her own ship Vivica, who is in thrall to Kennit, now being wildly adored by the pirate people for his work capturing and freeing slave ships and taking credit for controlling storms and serpents. On board Vivica Wintrow is nearly dead from his encounter with she who remembers, who he freed from long captivity on the others island, but now that he knows the secret of wizard of wizardwood he has cut off contact with Vivica-knowing that the secret of her true origins will harm her greatly.At the same time the serpents continue in their struggle to find she who remembers and complete their migration-but the world has changed since the ones who's memories they possess made they journey and all familiar landmarks are gone-along with a great deal of the serpents sentience. And the risen dragon Tintaglia has a task for the lowly humans who deprived so many of her kind of life simply so they could build ships-help change the course of the serpents migrations route so that they may once again reach their final destination and complete their final task.This is a really excellent book. It solves so many of the trilogy's mystery's-including some you may not have even really realized were there in the first place. As always Robin Hobb's word building skills remain excellent and the level of detail in this novel-both character, landscape and action sequence, is so vivid you might as well be there.Bravo. Well done. I enjoyed this trilogy immensely and recommend the Rain wilds Chronicles to anyone looking for more to do with the dragons of the wonderful, magical world.Five stars.I do wonder though, if Amber's story is wrapped up in the Tawny man trilogy. Does anyone know?

The Liveship Traders trilogy is an epic piece of storytelling by Robin Hobb. I was completely enthralled by all three books. Despite how long and complex this story is, there are very few slow, boring parts. I even enjoyed the discourse of the sea serpents (I'll admit I'm a very patient reader). The first book, Ship of Magic, was my favorite because of the way in which the story unfolded quickly and unexpectedly. Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny were slower to develop and were more predictable but were excellent nevertheless.However, I have some criticism. Stop here and come back later if you haven't finished the series.The character of Kennit was flawed in my opinion. Throughout the story, he oscillates between being a scheming, greedy, cutthroat pirate and a wise, gentle philanthropist. You never know whether you should hate him or love him. Will he eventually fall into the flames of a moral abyss? Or will he ascend as a selfless hero? Well, in the end, he's a raping, malicious thug consumed by his primal lust and abused childhood. I expected him to die a harrowing, morbid death to pay for his evil deeds. Instead, he dies rather instantly and stupidly by accidentally taking a sword for the Satrap while trying to steal him back from the Jamaillians. Worse still, his name becomes honored as the sage king who sacrificed himself. Boo!Just as bad is the role of Kyle Haven. He's a controlling tyrant who blames everyone else for the consequences of his own stupid, greedy decisions. His son Wintrow understandably hates him and never thinks twice when Kennit exiles him in chains. But why didn't Kennit just kill him? Why leave him on that island with his mother? Well, you would think it's because Hobb is saving him for a critical cog in the plotline, but what happens? Inexplicably, Kennit's mother takes him with her to "the showdown", and then while all the fighting is going on, he gets killed incidentally by indiscriminate enemy arrows. Pardon the pun, but what was the point? Moreover, throughout the second and third books, Malta (a teenager and the only one who loves Kyle) dreads and grieves over the unknown fate of her father, but she never reunites with him, and when she learns of his death, she callously shrugs it off and goes about her business of deftly negotiating a truce between the warring factions. Weird.One more picky point. Throughout the story, the Rain Wilders are depicted as being so grotesque they have to wear veils and gloves to not shock others. But at the end, Reyn and Malta are depicted as "exotic", with their scales being considered attractive and the Jamaillians taking up fashion that mimics their look. Strange?? It never was clear to me why the Rain Wilders had to be scaly, anyway.Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride through this adventure, and I liked the way it all settled out in the "D-day" episode. I think the Liveship Traders is better than the Farseer trilogy (which had quite a wimpy ending).

After the strengths of the first two books, as well as the opening two thirds of this volume, I would have been willing to assert that this trilogy was one of the best works ever written in fantasy. In almost all respects, I continue to believe this. However, Hobb has somewhat sadly stumbled in the concluding hundred pages, appearing to rush to resolution, as if having once predetermined that this work would be a trilogy, she could not decide to extend it into a fourth book. This is truly unfortunate, has her conclusion appears rushed and, compared to the pages preceding, loosely wrapped up, with a resolution that is only barely satisfying. After all the character and plot development that led up to this work, the final hundred pages seem precipitate. The main characters come together abruptly and in a way that is largely contrived, several are disposed of summarily, and everyone else lives happily ever after. While this type of fairy tale ending may satisfy some, I found the conclusion to Hobb's earlier Farseer Trilogy far more credible. Further, the disposal of the Chalcedians, the plot against Bingtown and the Satrapy of Jamaillia, the restitution of the Vestritts, and the rescue of the fortunes of the Wild River Traders, as well as Reyn and Malta's new identities, never reach full fruition, rather arbitrarily and hastily wrapped up as are so many other plot threads earlier so well developed and measuredly evolved, and Wintrow's fate in particular seems atrophied. Finally, the mystery of Maulkin's Tangle gets settled simply with a quick trip up the river. While I continue to believe overall that this is one of the best works of fantasy that I have read, I nonetheless remain mildly disappointed in the ending. After the investment of time and energy, both by the author and myself, in setting up and developing a wonderful story, I can only wish that she had been willing to committ an equal amount of time and development to her ending, which would have provided the substantial balance needed to conclude this story fully. As is, the ending seems somewhat stillborn, with so much more that it could have offered. I can only say that I'm sorry.