Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders, #3) in Fantasy Buddy Reads

Apr 11, 2018 Olivia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

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 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 sur ...more

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May 25, 2015 Silvana rated it liked it

Shelves: deep-blue-sea, dark-matter, female-nonbinary-authors, disappointing, fyeahfantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sigh. Not sure what to say about this book. Ok, first of all, this is an excellent trilogy that will thrill most fantasy readers out there. The worldbuilding, the writing, the well-rounded characters, the action scenes, even the occasional humor.

However, similar with the last book of the Farseer Trilogy, the magic in Book 1 & 2 rather diminished itself. Heaven knows I love big, pillowy books that could take days or even weeks to finish, but hell, this one is overwritten. The force for me to skim Sigh. Not sure what to say about this book. Ok, first of all, this is an excellent trilogy that will thrill most fantasy readers out there. The worldbuilding, the writing, the well-rounded characters, the action scenes, even the occasional humor.

However, similar with the last book of the Farseer Trilogy, the magic in Book 1 & 2 rather diminished itself. Heaven knows I love big, pillowy books that could take days or even weeks to finish, but hell, this one is overwritten. The force for me to skim the pages is strong in this book. It is superfluous, repetitive to the point of annoying.

I also find some of characters become less interesting than before, like that coward Wintrow, Keffria and Serilla. Some character development is also too early, like Selden and Malta. But for those two, maybe because of the dragon thingy.

The ending is nice but maybe too convenient. So basically everybody got to live happily ever after with their mate. *yawn*

I enjoyed the dragon life cycle stuff as well as the great Paragon (he might be my favorite character in this book) and of course the big reveal of Kennit's horrifying past (which was splendidly told).

But I think the thing that bothers me the most is (view spoiler)

Anyway, this book is still interesting and worth to read. But I would not recommend it to the fainthearted. Glad I got used to grimdark fantasy novels. Now I need some uplifting reading. And a hot chocolate. And an ice cream. ...more

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Jan 28, 2017 Flying Monkey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

Ship of Destiny is a great finish to an awesome Trilogy.

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Dec 04, 2021 Phillip rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I don't really know what to say about this book. This series definitely did not go where I thought it was going to go, and I'm sure the ending has major implications on the larger Realm of the Elderlings setting.

I was hoping Captain Kennit might have a redemption arc. He absolutely did not. Right as Hobb reveals his hinted-at backstory that goes a long way toward making him a sympathetic character, she has him commit an unforgivable act in a scene I hated reading and then he attempts to gaslight I don't really know what to say about this book. This series definitely did not go where I thought it was going to go, and I'm sure the ending has major implications on the larger Realm of the Elderlings setting.

I was hoping Captain Kennit might have a redemption arc. He absolutely did not. Right as Hobb reveals his hinted-at backstory that goes a long way toward making him a sympathetic character, she has him commit an unforgivable act in a scene I hated reading and then he attempts to gaslight the victim about it ever happening.

Malta Vestrit ended up being my favorite character in the series, something I absolutely would not have guessed would be the case halfway through.

As a long-time fantasy reader I'm often unfazed by dragons showing up when I read, but Hobb managed to conceive of really compelling and original creatures in what I sometimes think is barren soil. A lot of authors just describe dragons as enormous, ancient, powerful, beautiful, intelligent, etc. creatures, assuming their reader will have a shared frame of reference to fill in the blanks, and call it a day. Hobb does use all of that but also makes the revelation of their lifecycle integral to the world-building and the plot that was of critical importance in chapter 1 of the first book, adding nuance that would probably reward a reread.

Hobb is a masterful manipulator of her readers' emotions in the way a concert violinist manipulates their instrument, but by the end of the book/trilogy I was tired and happy to move on, even while I'm rating all three entries at 5 stars. I plan to read all of the Realm of the Elderlings books, but probably not as soon as I thought I would before starting this trilogy. As a Malazan (and to a less extent ASOIAF) fan, I'm very familiar with beloved characters being run into the ground by their creators, but maybe Hobb is just better at it than Erikson and Martin, or maybe it's that it's broken up less by exciting battle scenes and whatnot. In any case, I think I need a break!

If anyone who has read further in this series, and who happens to read this, does Hobb treat her characters a little better in the later books? ...more

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