Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Bantam Spectra (New York, 2001). Bantam mass market edition, 6th printing. 800 pages. $7.99.
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. HTML:�A truly extraordinary saga . . . The characterizations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with love for and knowledge of the sea.��Booklist As Bingtown slides toward disaster, clan matriarch Ronica Vestrit, branded a traitor, searches for a way to bring the city�s inhabitants together against a momentous threat. Meanwhile, Althea Vestrit, unaware of what has befallen Bingtown and her family, continues her perilous quest to track down and recover her liveship, the Vivacia, from the ruthless pirate Kennit. Bold though it is, Althea�s scheme may be in vain. For her beloved Vivacia will face the most terrible confrontation of all as the secret of the liveships is revealed. It is a truth so shattering, it may destroy the Vivacia and all who love her, including Althea�s nephew, whose life already hangs in the balance. Praise for Robin Hobb and the Liveship Traders Trilogy �Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb�s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.��George R. R. Martin �A major work of high fantasy, reading like a cross between Tolkien and Patrick O�Brian . . . one of the finest fantasy sagas to bridge the millennium.��Publishers Weekly �Rich, complex . . . [Hobb�s] plotting is complex but tightly controlled, and her descriptive powers match her excellent visual imagination. But her chief virtue is that she delineates character extremely well.��Interzone.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member xicanti
The final volume of the Liveship Trader series.
This was a wonderful, engrossing book. As other reviewers have mentioned, Robin Hobb plots very, very well. All the storylines finally converge in this final volume, and man do they come together beautifully! There were certain things I saw coming a
And through it all, very little felt forced. Hobb does a beautiful job of placing these characters into situations, then letting events unfold as they will. Even though the reader knows that she, as the author, must be pulling the strings behind the scenes, it rarely feels as though she's doing so. Everything flows smoothly and organically, and the characters continue to grow and change along the way. It's just wonderful.
Highly recommended. I found the first book a tad iffy in places, but this one and Mad Ship more than make up for it. Now that I'm finished, I actually miss everyone! Highly recommended, but start with the first book, (Ship of Magic), so everything has its proper impact.
This was a wonderful, engrossing book. As other reviewers have mentioned, Robin Hobb plots very, very well. All the storylines finally converge in this final volume, and man do they come together beautifully! There were certain things I saw coming a
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mile off, (particularly the mysteries surrounding Paragon), but others came as a complete surprise. And through it all, very little felt forced. Hobb does a beautiful job of placing these characters into situations, then letting events unfold as they will. Even though the reader knows that she, as the author, must be pulling the strings behind the scenes, it rarely feels as though she's doing so. Everything flows smoothly and organically, and the characters continue to grow and change along the way. It's just wonderful.
Highly recommended. I found the first book a tad iffy in places, but this one and Mad Ship more than make up for it. Now that I'm finished, I actually miss everyone! Highly recommended, but start with the first book, (Ship of Magic), so everything has its proper impact.
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LibraryThing member Narilka
What a fantastic ending to a series. Ship of Destiny picks up where Mad Ship left off and never slows down. There are some interesting character twists. In the end it was all tied together nicely. Easily my favorite in the series.
LibraryThing member rocalisa
The dragon, Tintaglia, released from her wizardwood coffin, flies high over the Rain Wild River. Below her, Reyn and Selden have been left to drown; while Malta and the Satrap attempt to navigate the acid flow of the river in a decomposing boat. Althea and Brashen are finally at sea together,
I started this book at the end of last year - literally as my reading list shows a start date of 31st December, 2006 - but almost half way through I got really stressed about what was going to happen to the characters next and stopped. It has been sitting on my shelf laughing at me ever since. Finally, this week I decided I couldn't take it any more and officially maked it as a "Did Not Finish".
I really enjoyed the series and I do want to finish it one day, but it wasn't worth the stress, so this book will go back to the library downstairs and I will get it back out and enjoy finishing it at another time when I feel more able to do so.
Ship of Destiny
Liveship Traders, Book 3
Robin Hobb
DNF
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sailing the liveship Paragon into pirate waters to rescue the Vestrit family liveship, Vivacia, stolen by the pirate king, Kennit; but there is mutiny brewing in their ragtag crew; and in the mind of the mad ship itself. And all the while the waters around the Vivacia are seething with giant serpents, following the liveship as it sails to its destiny. I started this book at the end of last year - literally as my reading list shows a start date of 31st December, 2006 - but almost half way through I got really stressed about what was going to happen to the characters next and stopped. It has been sitting on my shelf laughing at me ever since. Finally, this week I decided I couldn't take it any more and officially maked it as a "Did Not Finish".
I really enjoyed the series and I do want to finish it one day, but it wasn't worth the stress, so this book will go back to the library downstairs and I will get it back out and enjoy finishing it at another time when I feel more able to do so.
Ship of Destiny
Liveship Traders, Book 3
Robin Hobb
DNF
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LibraryThing member littlebookworm
This book is an absolutely amazing conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. Every part of the tangled plot came together in such a satisfying way. Robin Hobb can not only write, she can plot, and I think this trilogy is definitely her best. I couldn't stop reading, even when I probably should have. Just
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amazing. Show Less
LibraryThing member dulcibelle
I really like the way Hobb builds worlds and sure hope she revisits this one soon. She tied up all the loose ends, so I don't feel like I'm missing anything, but I like these characters and this world, and would love to see how things work out down the road.
LibraryThing member fiveforsilver
I liked how things worked out in the end. Some of it may have tied up just a little too neatly, but I don't think what caused things to happen to the characters was out of, well, character for them. I did find the abrupt changes in the personality of several of the characters a bit of a stretch.
Overall, as I said, I liked it, and enough that I stayed up late nights reading instead of sleeping. I plan on reading more books by the same author (although perhaps not right before I go to bed).
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However, extraordinary circumstances do cause extraordinary things to happen, and one of them, at least, did revert to a degree once the opportunity presented itself.Overall, as I said, I liked it, and enough that I stayed up late nights reading instead of sleeping. I plan on reading more books by the same author (although perhaps not right before I go to bed).
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LibraryThing member clong
For reasons explained in my review of Assassin's Quest, I was disappointed with the ending of the Farseers trilogy. I came to Hobbs second trilogy (writing under this name, anyway) with hope that the Live-Ship Traders saga would offer a more satisfying conclusion. If anything, I would have to say
The only problem is that the conclusion falls flat; indeed the gathering of all the major characters for the climactic naval battle felt so contrived as to be almost farcical. So, after reading Hobbs' first two trilogies, I would say both started strong and showed glimpses of an obviously very talented author, but neither offered a compelling or even satisfying conclusion. Being a glutton for punishment, I have no doubt that I will eventually pick up her newer Tawny Man series to see if she finally got an ending right for that one.
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this was even worse. Again, there were plenty of things to like about Hobbs' trilogy in general and this book in specific (which is set in a neighboring region of the same world as the previous trilogy). It's an intriguing world, with interesting characters (human and not-human), following multiple plot lines that seem to be heading towards a dramatic conclusion. The only problem is that the conclusion falls flat; indeed the gathering of all the major characters for the climactic naval battle felt so contrived as to be almost farcical. So, after reading Hobbs' first two trilogies, I would say both started strong and showed glimpses of an obviously very talented author, but neither offered a compelling or even satisfying conclusion. Being a glutton for punishment, I have no doubt that I will eventually pick up her newer Tawny Man series to see if she finally got an ending right for that one.
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LibraryThing member littlegeek
Well, hmmm, I really loved this trilogy for a lot of reasons. Great worldbuilding, well-drawn characters, many exciting plot elements. But I have to say, I wasn't all that enthralled by the ending. A bit contrived getting them all together, and I found it distracting having various characters have
My main criticism with the series is that the characters discuss things to death. Often after they have already demonstrated what the discussion is about. Show, then don't bother telling.
Definitely worth a read for the dragons alone. Mostly I hate dragon books because authors seem to think they should be like fluffy bunnies or horsies or something, but these dragons are reptiles and very alien. Cool.
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little personal quiet reflective moments or yet another psychological discussion in the middle of a battle scene. She should really read some Patrick O'Brien before doing another nautical book.My main criticism with the series is that the characters discuss things to death. Often after they have already demonstrated what the discussion is about. Show, then don't bother telling.
Definitely worth a read for the dragons alone. Mostly I hate dragon books because authors seem to think they should be like fluffy bunnies or horsies or something, but these dragons are reptiles and very alien. Cool.
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LibraryThing member MorganGMac
Hobb's Liveship trilogy is excellent! She does very well balancing a handful of characters and several plot lines, and they all intersected at the end in ways I had not predicted but did not feel at all contrived. The plots revolve around a town of trader families, all of whom have ships built of
Hobb gives us such a wonderful picture of life on a ship, and she creates these full-bodied characters with incredible spunk and tenacity. I admired Althea in her quest to prove herself as a capable woman. I sympathized with Wintrow's difficult position, wanting to be a priest but forced to learn to be a sailor. I was initially annoyed with and shocked at Malta's selfish manipulations, but I loved watching her emerge as a young woman.
So many wonderful characters and such a realistic world of ships and serpents - fantastic read! Plus, Hobb's style of writing is both smooth and surprising. She is never satisfied with a cliche, when she can come up with her own subtle blend of words. I'm a big fan!
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wood that take on human personalities over time. The main characters come from one family (two older parents, their two daughters, a son-in-law, and three grandchildren). The father dies, and everyone expects him to leave the liveship to his daughter, but on his deathbed, he leaves it to his son-in-law. The family is in financial ruin, so the son-in-law takes to immoral trading of slaves, and the daughter runs off to work on another ship in order to prove her mettle as a sailor. The mother and other sister remain in the trading town to handle the politics of trading and marrying off the shockingly impertinent granddaughter. Throughout, there are rowdy pirates, sea serpents, mysteriously veiled near-human creatures, and treasures beaches. Fun all around!Hobb gives us such a wonderful picture of life on a ship, and she creates these full-bodied characters with incredible spunk and tenacity. I admired Althea in her quest to prove herself as a capable woman. I sympathized with Wintrow's difficult position, wanting to be a priest but forced to learn to be a sailor. I was initially annoyed with and shocked at Malta's selfish manipulations, but I loved watching her emerge as a young woman.
So many wonderful characters and such a realistic world of ships and serpents - fantastic read! Plus, Hobb's style of writing is both smooth and surprising. She is never satisfied with a cliche, when she can come up with her own subtle blend of words. I'm a big fan!
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LibraryThing member abatishko
This book is an outstanding conclusion to a great series. It is amazingly well crafted, and I'm very impressed with how the pieces all come together in the end. Robin Hobb has a talent for giving you a story where anything might happen, and what usually does happen might be unexpected, but is
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always very satisfying. This book has a great sense of things coming full circle in a way that is satisfying rather than cliched. 5/5 Show Less
LibraryThing member willowcove
In the same universe as the 'Farseer' books, and just as good. A unique twist of where the ships' powers come from.
LibraryThing member suzemo
I was really disappointed in this final book. I kept thinking to myself: "Robin Hobb, why so rape-y?"
Hobb does deliver a decent story and I enjoyed quite a bit of this book. I really enjoyed the story of the liveships and the relationship that they had with the serpents and the dragons. The things
The first part of my complaint was the role of women. I realize I expect a lot out of women writers, especially with regards to women and women's roles, but I felt Hobb was a little forced with not just the roles that all of the many women represented in the book, but the character developments that stretched a little too far. While I can believe some of the development of stronger women, like Keffria, I was very disappointed in Malta, who was transformed into an entirely different person, Althea, who lost most of her spirit (what I liked best earlier in the series), and Serilla, who just seemed to fall apart as a character, even though she had (I felt) a huge amount of potential.
The ending felt rushed, that the last third of this book packed all of the action that the first book lacked. Most of the threads in the book were very neatly squared away and I just felt like the ending was too easy and cheap for the amount of time, action, and intrigue that had gone into the book.
As for the emphasis on rape, I will admit that I abhor any time authors use rape as a plot point (I feel it is too cheap and easy and used far, far too often). Hobb uses sexual assault in every book in the series, and in this last book, its emphasis is very strong and I felt extremely uncomfortable with both the fact that she uses it and how much time and effort she spent on it. Yes, rape is bad, yes refusal to believe a victim is bad, and yes, the after affects are bad, I don't need a fantasy novel that I would like to enjoy to teach me that particular lesson. If I had known that I was to deal with the consequences of rape ad-nauseum, I would not have started this series at all.
The series overall was decent, and I have to give kudos to Hobb for her excellent prose and creating a nautical setting for this series (something I don't believe is very prevalent in fantasy). I wish her world-building were as good in this series as it was the Farseer series; overall it was OK. But even though it has many good points, it has as many bad points, and I just can't stop thinking as this book as overdone in the rape department and underdone as far as characters and complexity at the end. This was definitely the weakest book in the series.
Hobb does deliver a decent story and I enjoyed quite a bit of this book. I really enjoyed the story of the liveships and the relationship that they had with the serpents and the dragons. The things
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I was disappointed with were the forced roles of women, how quickly the end wrapped up neat and tidy, and the emphasis on Althea's (and to some extend, Serilla's) rapeThe first part of my complaint was the role of women. I realize I expect a lot out of women writers, especially with regards to women and women's roles, but I felt Hobb was a little forced with not just the roles that all of the many women represented in the book, but the character developments that stretched a little too far. While I can believe some of the development of stronger women, like Keffria, I was very disappointed in Malta, who was transformed into an entirely different person, Althea, who lost most of her spirit (what I liked best earlier in the series), and Serilla, who just seemed to fall apart as a character, even though she had (I felt) a huge amount of potential.
The ending felt rushed, that the last third of this book packed all of the action that the first book lacked. Most of the threads in the book were very neatly squared away and I just felt like the ending was too easy and cheap for the amount of time, action, and intrigue that had gone into the book.
As for the emphasis on rape, I will admit that I abhor any time authors use rape as a plot point (I feel it is too cheap and easy and used far, far too often). Hobb uses sexual assault in every book in the series, and in this last book, its emphasis is very strong and I felt extremely uncomfortable with both the fact that she uses it and how much time and effort she spent on it. Yes, rape is bad, yes refusal to believe a victim is bad, and yes, the after affects are bad, I don't need a fantasy novel that I would like to enjoy to teach me that particular lesson. If I had known that I was to deal with the consequences of rape ad-nauseum, I would not have started this series at all.
The series overall was decent, and I have to give kudos to Hobb for her excellent prose and creating a nautical setting for this series (something I don't believe is very prevalent in fantasy). I wish her world-building were as good in this series as it was the Farseer series; overall it was OK. But even though it has many good points, it has as many bad points, and I just can't stop thinking as this book as overdone in the rape department and underdone as far as characters and complexity at the end. This was definitely the weakest book in the series.
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LibraryThing member tronella
I liked this second trilogy better than the first one, probably because of a lot of it takes place at sea and I seem to be into fantasy+boats as a combination. However, there is a lot more rape in this one and there were a few chapters that I found difficult to get through because of that. The
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story and the worldbuilding and so on were excellent, though, and I'll definitely move on to the third trilogy at some point. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sweet_Serenity
Amazing story. Unpolished writing.
I adored the grand narrative, the creative use of magic, the romance which is given just the right amount of attention, and the well-rounded characters.
I think the gathering tension in the book was also pulled off really well- the anticipation of the characters
However, the writing... I think it was overwritten. It had too many viewpoints, and a lot of the material was superfluous. Things were thought, and talked, and shared, over and over again. And there was too much telling, not enough showing sometimes. I also feel like Hobb couldn't master the third person style. I think it kind of needed an omniscient narrator to tie everything together, and to break up the viewpoints with an occassional aside to the reader. This was a really long book, and I think it could have been cut by a few hundred pages, and told the story with a little more discipline.
That being said, the story itself was strong enough to keep me reading despite the deficiencies in the writing. In this, and the Farseer trilogy, I've found Hobb's writing to be a bit tough and go, but the stories are wondrous, touching, and exciting every time. I sincerely recommend reading this series- just try to breeze over the writing- if you think too much about the writing itself, you become critical and miss out on the great story.
PS. AMBER!WTH? If she is who she is made out to be, and there is no amazing explanation (posession? split personality disorder?), I will be very disappointed. I thought her character was totally different from her possible hidden identity. And I adored the original character, so I would hate for their personality to be changed so radically. It actually made me angry when I first realised what was being alluded to, that's how wrong it felt to me. (And no, this isn't about the gender thing- I have no problems with that whatsoever. It's merely about the difference in personality). I intend to read on to the next series, where I will hopefully find out I was overreacting, and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
I adored the grand narrative, the creative use of magic, the romance which is given just the right amount of attention, and the well-rounded characters.
I think the gathering tension in the book was also pulled off really well- the anticipation of the characters
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finding out what we already know, and the will-they-wont-they be reunited. However, the writing... I think it was overwritten. It had too many viewpoints, and a lot of the material was superfluous. Things were thought, and talked, and shared, over and over again. And there was too much telling, not enough showing sometimes. I also feel like Hobb couldn't master the third person style. I think it kind of needed an omniscient narrator to tie everything together, and to break up the viewpoints with an occassional aside to the reader. This was a really long book, and I think it could have been cut by a few hundred pages, and told the story with a little more discipline.
That being said, the story itself was strong enough to keep me reading despite the deficiencies in the writing. In this, and the Farseer trilogy, I've found Hobb's writing to be a bit tough and go, but the stories are wondrous, touching, and exciting every time. I sincerely recommend reading this series- just try to breeze over the writing- if you think too much about the writing itself, you become critical and miss out on the great story.
PS. AMBER!WTH? If she is who she is made out to be, and there is no amazing explanation (posession? split personality disorder?), I will be very disappointed. I thought her character was totally different from her possible hidden identity. And I adored the original character, so I would hate for their personality to be changed so radically. It actually made me angry when I first realised what was being alluded to, that's how wrong it felt to me. (And no, this isn't about the gender thing- I have no problems with that whatsoever. It's merely about the difference in personality). I intend to read on to the next series, where I will hopefully find out I was overreacting, and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
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LibraryThing member amusing.nickname
I am just so mad at myself for not reading this series before! I should've just trusted ms Hobbs wouldn't steer me wrong. It did feel a bit rushed toward the end, considering the painstaking lengths the other 2 books went in to and a little bit too.. contrived? Too neatly packaged, somehow forced
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to end in the way it did. However it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the majority of the book and the series. Love love Robin Hobb. Show Less
LibraryThing member nnschiller
So I think this book in particular is an excellent response to the current fad of "grimdark" novels. Especially considering the Guardian piece on it that sparked the twitter joke of inventing Grimpink as a female version of this. (tl:dr Grimdark is a boy's club that girls aren't invited to play in.
What sets this aside from other dark fantasies is that the violence and darkness are shown to full effect. There is no cartoon violence. Violence sits at the core of this novel and rots away at the characters. There are no magic cathartic cures, but there are ways of dealing with it and slowly healing.
This isn't a fun novel to read. It's a lot less fun than the boy's-club versions where hitting a bad guy with a sword makes everything better. It does ring true though. I think I understand things relating to cycles of abuse and violence better for reading Hobb's take on them. It wasn't fun, but these aren't fun topics.
Another thing that sets Ship of Destiny and the Liveship Traders series apart is the way that Hobb ruthlessly humanizes her villains. The two characters who do more to cause others pain are not allowed to become cartoonish abstractions of evil. They are made to be flesh and blood human beings. Kyle Haven and Kennit the Pirate are shown to be human beings w/ feelings and positive sides. This really is a triumph, but an uncomfortable one. It is not pleasant to empathize and see one's self in a rapist or in an emotionally abusive and misogynist father. Hobb makes her book human. This is a huge achievement, but again, it isn't fun.
So I think I admire this book and series more than I enjoy it. I think it is definitely required reading for fans of epic fantasy. It belongs in that genre even if it rejects the standard fight-against-embodiment-of-absolute-evil. It belongs because it is a response to the de-humanizing of evil. It does a better job of this than Grimdark novels like Joe Abercrombie's work because instead of simply refusing to make good-evil distinctions, instead it turns the mirror on us and shows us the villain in us. That's an amazing achievement, but not fun at all.
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Female authors and publishers disagree w/ this to hilarious effect.)What sets this aside from other dark fantasies is that the violence and darkness are shown to full effect. There is no cartoon violence. Violence sits at the core of this novel and rots away at the characters. There are no magic cathartic cures, but there are ways of dealing with it and slowly healing.
This isn't a fun novel to read. It's a lot less fun than the boy's-club versions where hitting a bad guy with a sword makes everything better. It does ring true though. I think I understand things relating to cycles of abuse and violence better for reading Hobb's take on them. It wasn't fun, but these aren't fun topics.
Another thing that sets Ship of Destiny and the Liveship Traders series apart is the way that Hobb ruthlessly humanizes her villains. The two characters who do more to cause others pain are not allowed to become cartoonish abstractions of evil. They are made to be flesh and blood human beings. Kyle Haven and Kennit the Pirate are shown to be human beings w/ feelings and positive sides. This really is a triumph, but an uncomfortable one. It is not pleasant to empathize and see one's self in a rapist or in an emotionally abusive and misogynist father. Hobb makes her book human. This is a huge achievement, but again, it isn't fun.
So I think I admire this book and series more than I enjoy it. I think it is definitely required reading for fans of epic fantasy. It belongs in that genre even if it rejects the standard fight-against-embodiment-of-absolute-evil. It belongs because it is a response to the de-humanizing of evil. It does a better job of this than Grimdark novels like Joe Abercrombie's work because instead of simply refusing to make good-evil distinctions, instead it turns the mirror on us and shows us the villain in us. That's an amazing achievement, but not fun at all.
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LibraryThing member jenspirko
A deeply satisfying conclusion to the trilogy! Hobb does not sacrifice the integrity of her characters in a pursuit of tying up loose ends, yet she still manages to tie up those ends in a way that is true to the story, to the characters and to the reader experience. I think I like this trilogy even
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better than the first (Fareer), not because of any complaints with that wonderful series, but just because the scope of this one is so much broader -- yet still focused on individual character experiences. I very highly recommend Hobbs' books! Show Less
LibraryThing member Vinjii
Ship of Destiny is a great conclusion to a trilogy that brought me much joy. I loved watching the characters evolve. Mostly Malta, and yes, I did stop wanting to strangle her eventually and it was with great pleasure that I watched her evolve into one of my favourite characters in this book.
This
Now comes my big but...and it's more a general but and less about the Liveship Trilogy.
After six Robin Hobb books, I'm not sure if I should continue reading her work. I highly enjoy her world, her characters and even her writing. I just struggle so much with her pacing. I feel like all of her books have an excellent start, a brilliant finale and I slog more or less through the middle.
I'm definitely taking a break before I tackle the next trilogy.
This
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trilogy has so many kick-ass women protagonists! I can't recommend it enough.Now comes my big but...and it's more a general but and less about the Liveship Trilogy.
After six Robin Hobb books, I'm not sure if I should continue reading her work. I highly enjoy her world, her characters and even her writing. I just struggle so much with her pacing. I feel like all of her books have an excellent start, a brilliant finale and I slog more or less through the middle.
I'm definitely taking a break before I tackle the next trilogy.
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LibraryThing member renbedell
The conclusion to The Liveship Traders is fantastic. The characters are so well written and enjoyable to read. As an ending to the trilogy, it is very satisfying.
LibraryThing member pwaites
Ship of Destiny is the final book in Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy, which starts with Ship of Magic. Most of this review is very general to avoid giving away any spoilers for the ending.
Overall, I found this a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. With epic fantasy, that can be a rare
(This paragraph could be regarded as spoilery, but it’s very vague and general.) Robin Hobb is known as someone who gives her characters a hard time – just look at what they’ve had to go through in this trilogy! So after three books of doom and gloom, I really didn’t expect such a happy ending. It just doesn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the series and doesn’t strike me as believable.
For the past two books, Wintrow has been my favorite character, but I liked him less in this installment. He seemed different than before, a lot less introspective. Possibly it’s that he got less page time?
The second book was more rapey than the first and that continues into this one, just FYI.
Pretty much all my other thoughts on Ship of Destiny are spoilers on the ending (these are in my reading journal, for anyone curious). To sum up, I found this a satisfying ending, even if it doesn’t fit well with the tone of the previous novels.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Overall, I found this a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. With epic fantasy, that can be a rare
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event – too often the books get overcome by their multitudes of characters and subplots, but I believe Robin Hobb orchestrated everything quite well. Not everyone was present for the climatic conclusion, but most major characters were involved.(This paragraph could be regarded as spoilery, but it’s very vague and general.) Robin Hobb is known as someone who gives her characters a hard time – just look at what they’ve had to go through in this trilogy! So after three books of doom and gloom, I really didn’t expect such a happy ending. It just doesn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the series and doesn’t strike me as believable.
For the past two books, Wintrow has been my favorite character, but I liked him less in this installment. He seemed different than before, a lot less introspective. Possibly it’s that he got less page time?
The second book was more rapey than the first and that continues into this one, just FYI.
Pretty much all my other thoughts on Ship of Destiny are spoilers on the ending (these are in my reading journal, for anyone curious). To sum up, I found this a satisfying ending, even if it doesn’t fit well with the tone of the previous novels.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member prettycurious
This final installment in the Liveship Traders trilogy ups the speed of events, a momentum which I felt was lost in The Mad Ship. All the threads start to come together and lots of hints that you may have picked up on in previous books are expanded on. This doesn't mean that there aren't some
With these series Hobb has created a vivid world that draws you in and feels utterly real. I did not feel the same level of connection with the characters in this series as in the Farseer trilogy but it is still a good read.
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unexpected twists and this shows Hobb's skill, that she can provide the reader with clues to unravel but still create resolutions that don't feel predictable. She also links this book back into the books set in the Six Duchies in such a way that I cannot wait to read the Tawny Man trilogy!With these series Hobb has created a vivid world that draws you in and feels utterly real. I did not feel the same level of connection with the characters in this series as in the Farseer trilogy but it is still a good read.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
The last book in the series, the dragon Tintaglia is now shaping happenings in the world and all of the Vestrit family are linchpins in whats going on, all in different ways.
LibraryThing member wishanem
The end of the story began in "Ship of Magic", and a reasonably satisfying end. I still don't like a story that relies so heavily on magic and fate to be this dark, but the juxtaposition didn't ruin the book for me. It did have more bleak and unpleasant ends for some of the characters than I
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wanted, with some failing to deliver on promised character development. However, that frustration allows the happier endings to be more of a surprise. Overall, I was satisfied by the series. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
SF Site Reader's Choice (2000)
Locus Recommended Reading (2000)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000-03
Physical description
800 p.; 4.2 inches
ISBN
0553575651 / 9780553575651