Customer Reviews

SHIP OF DESTINY: Book Three of the Liveship Traders

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been somewhat depressed since finishing this last book in the Liveship series. It was a wonderful story and even though the author will return with more on Fitzchivalry, it's very hard for me to say good-bye to the characters in this novel! I've often thought that a third trilogy in this world that finally takes us into the Chalced States could fully explain it's evil history and bring about some force for revolution. Let's hope that Fitz will be joined there with Amber, Althea, Brashen, Clef, Ronica, Reyn and the ships!!

I'm also dissatisfied with the ending. Many details seem to have been rushed by in an effort to tie things up quickly. I can't believe that the reunion in Bingtown was not described. Neither was the reaction of the Bingtown folks to the news from Jamailla. Huge construction projects were undertaken in the Rain Wilds and only hinted at. A final conversation between Althea and Wintrow must have happened off the page and we can only guess at its contents. In fact, we don't hear Althea's voice much at all in the second half of the book. What happened to her passion? It would be different if she had had an opportunity for vengeance and chose forgiveness instead. I feel that she was robbed. Especially Kennit's lies wounded her and there is no final accounting or reparations. Why didn't she stand up and denounce him? Why didn't Brashen tell everyone what happened during the "truce". Why was Wintrow and everyone except the wizardwood charm/conscience taken in by Kennit's manipulations? Kennit may have begun to face the pain of his past, but he never acknowledges his current misdeeds and especially his lies. And it is just painful to read as one person after the next falls for his machinations. He never truly becomes whole without facing himself.

Still, this is one of the best trilogies I have read and my main complaint is that it's over! Please have some of these characters sail on!

With so much being churned out in the way of epic fantasy, it's always a pleasure to come across something original and unique. I felt that way about Hobb's Assassin books and wondered if she'd be able to maintain such high standards in this latest trilogy. While I don't believe she quite got there (it is after all a pretty high bar she set herself), this series certainly stands on its own as quality fantasy, and its final book is a fitting conclusion (though one wonders if that word has been banned from the genre). The basic storyline is both original and interesting, and she manages to avoid the typical banalities of genre fiction. Hobb creates characters far more often than character types and then flings them out into her world on their own or in various twos and threes. Best of all, her characters are often conflicted over their motives and actions, allowing for a depth of introspection seldom seen in the genre. And nowhere is this better done than in her main character Kennit, who alternately has the reader pulling for his success and hoping for his well-deserved comeuppance. It is a tightrope act she attempts with this character and I at least would have to say she pulled it off. It is tough enough to evoke an emotional response in a genre where characters all too often barely squeak into two dimensions, let alone three, but here Hobb swings for the fence in an attempt to elicity a multiplicity of responses. And she connects fully. Not only with Kennit, but with others as well. It takes a brave soul to attempt a character made out of wood; it takes an excellent writer to make me care about that character. Is the final book as strong as the first? I personally don't think so but it doesn't tail off much. Does the book seem rushed toward the end as several readers have commented? Without a doubt. Some plotlines are all too neatly resolved (one of her characters tries to make a distinction between "coincidence" and "destiny", but I wasn't buying it myself) and some characters' roles/personalities change a bit too abruptly, but in a work that spans three good-sized novels and a dozen major characters, these turn out to be minor complaints, far outshadowed by the quality of the story and especially the characters. She's two for two in series and I look forward to her next work--I wouldn't even mind if it's another multi-book "epic".

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.

As a kid I loved fantasy, but over the years I dabbled less and less in it. Fantasy began to bore me. I'd read something like Terry Goodkind and be momentarily excited only to find that the story stretched on into numerous books becoming less and less plausible. But last Christmas my sister-in-law sent me the first two books of this trilogy and I couldn't wait to read the ending. It was a pleasure to read with a boatload of fascinating characters and nice touches of fantasy that didn't overwhelm the human story. I also read Robin Hobbs' Farseer series and it's a lot of fun (and even surprising) to see how these books connect. This book isn't perfect. The other reviewers have done a nice job giving examples of some of my minor gripes. However, this series is complete and well done.

And one final note: Since no one else has mentioned this, I have to say I admire how the author developed the irritating, pathetic, funny character of the Satrap. Like the other characters, he wasn't static. He changed and found some wisdom through his trials. But unlike a typical Hollywood story, he didn't become that noble. His trials changed him a bit, but he kept his inherent characteristics. Interesting stuff.

I wanted to like this book, really I did, and I still think that Robin Hobb is the greatest fantasy author of all time, but there is a definite something lacking in the third outing of her Liveship Traders series. I gave the first book five stars, the second one four, and I'm afraid that this one only makes three, which is annoying because it had so much potential. We left the last novel with Malta floating down the Rain River in a sinking boat with the Satrap, the newly hatched dragon swooping majestically through the trees, Bingtown caught in the midst of a Chalced invasion, Paragon sailing down to take on the stolen Vivacia, and She Who Remembers finally free after leaving Wintrow close to Death's door. What followed needed to be good, nay, promised to be good...but it wasn't. And that is the tragedy, because the series deserved a send-off every bit as good as the previous two novels.

With the exception of Selwyn's transformation which is, quite frankly, annoying, Hobb is the usual Hobb in this novel, painting her settings and characters with an almost unnatural perceptiveness that thrills and stirs as much as it moves. What is lacking here, however, is in the story line department. It feels like the author wanted this to be a trilogy, despite the first two books seemingly the first in a 'series' of books. Maybe she got bored, or wanted to move on to pastures new, I don't know, but the novel starts off by expanding from the opening point like a river becoming a delta, as in the previous two. This is all well and good, especially as regards the Satrap's exiled Companion Serilla, the youthful Old Traders usurping the elder Old Traders' rulings, the Old/New Trader civil war, Wintrow's blossoming relationship with Etta, the Chalced invasion, Amber's Fool-esque insight, and Vivacia's sudden change of character...but then it all stops. It reaches a point where Hobb seems to say to herself: wait, I don't want to go to a fourth book. And suddenly a number of channels of the story line are culled, without much build-up or foresight, and we are stripped down to the bare bones of the central story: Kennit, Vivacia, Paragon, Brashen, Althea, and a welcome re-emergence of Haven. The characters are then all brought together in a largely contrived situation, killed/saved nice and quickly, the outcome of the various nations is summarised briefly, and the novel ends at a point where it could easily keep going. It just sort of cuts, leaving you with so much more that you want out of the climax to such a fantastic series. I knew the characters, I felt for the characters, and I didn't want them discarded so haphazardly at the end. There are many loose ends (it would have been nice if the serpent situation was resolved rather than potentially resolved), and promising exploitative plot points are ignored to the detriment of the novel (Reyn's discomfort about the dragon's belief in mankind's abject subservience).

There are, as ever with Hobb, a large number of plus points. Paragon's entrance into Divvytown, and the showdown between the Paragon and Vivacia are notable examples, as is Reyn and Malta's growing (distant) romance, but overall there is so much more that could have been done had this novel been allowed to flow into a fourth. Perhaps one day, as with FitzChivalry, Ms. Hobb will return to this world and give us more of what we want, but it is a heart-rending finale to an otherwise brilliant series that leaves you more disappointed than it does satisfied.

This is a fine conclusion to an extremely well-detailed and imaginative series. It departs from the genre in that its characters are not exceptionally gifted or powerful adventurers or warriors. Instead, they're traders and sailors and matriarchs in more of a sixteenth to seventeenth century atmosphere. The discussions amongst the Vestrit women in Bingtown and the political machinations do tend to drag in places, and some of the plot lines are tied either too neatly or too loosely at the end. (Who/what is Amber? Did I miss a revelation?) Nevertheless, as with the Farseer Trilogy, this trilogy is a breath of fresh air--with some fine writing, too.

I would now like to criticize and rebut the extreme and unjust comments in the 10/28/00 review by Survivor 33, who stated that Ms. Hobb believes it is acceptable to rape characters. This is simply wrong. Yes, there are rapes in the trilogy; and yes, one's heart can go out to those who have themselves been scarred by the evil of others in real life. However, shall authors then refrain from holding a mirror up to such evil, where it can be seen and considered and condemned? The following quote from p. 437 of the hardcover edition should sufficiently rebut Survivor 33's insulting claim: "'It is the greatest wrong that can be done to a female, human or dragon. It affronts and disgusts me on all levels. If you have done this . . . it is irreparable. Not even your death could atone for it.'" Enough said.

In sum, this book and trilogy are imperfect, but they are engaging. The first, Ship of Magic, is particularly strong.

Overall, this is one of the best fantasy series' I have ever read. I came off of the Assassin series with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, because I really disagreed with the ending. I have no problem with some sadness in books, but the ending to the Assassin series was downright depressing. Which was a shame, because I loved the books. Hobb doesn't quite have the skill at creating a believable world that Robert Jordan does, but what she DOES have is an unbelievable skill with character personality and interaction, and language skill. Ms. Hobb truly has a gift for the English language, and anyone who appreciates writing above a 6th grade level (which so much popular writing is now) will love these books.

The only problem I have with the series is that, as one reviewer said, it could use another book. I realize she probably wanted to keep the series as a trilogy, but I do think the ending left too many things hanging, such as the future of Bingtown and the Pirate Isles. She may have wanted to leave it to our imaginations, but I do believe that, in some way, she went from one extreme in the Assassin books to the other extreme with these books. Everything seemed a little TOO good at the end of this trilogy. I was certainly glad to not have to read a depressing ending, but the fact of the matter is that it's highly unlikely that everything would go smoothly after the end of this book. Maybe she's planning another trilogy? I don't know. But I would love to see more Liveship Trader books in the future. And besides the lack of real finality in the ending, I do believe Hobb is ranked up there with Jordan, Goodkind, and Martin as one of the best fantasy writers in recent history.

(This review is based on the UK paperback release from Voyager, published May 2001.)

About halfway through this book, I decided that it did not match the quality of the first two. What distinguishes Hobb in the previous instalments - powerful, sympathizable characterization - is markedly less developed, and worse, curtailed and de-evolved. This concluding volume comprises mainly action, necessary for finishing up the various plot lines. But considering that Hobb complexifies/unifies the plot even further by connecting previous separate plot elements together - it is both impressive, necessary but not without cost. There are some startling revelations, psychological or otherwise, which reflect and explain much about the characters, but even at 900 pages, this book does not really develop these points as well as Hobb has done previously.

The grittier, hardier and more emotionally epic tone of the first two books is surprisingly replaced with sentimentality of the fluffy "...and they lived happily ever after" romanticized kind. This is not a fault in itself, but what disappoints is that the previously believable characters abruptly start to do somewhat incredulous things. There is no "warning" at times, and this makes their sudden changes of heart hard to believe. Very often, it is simply that things become overly optimisitic as Hobb starts tying up plot threads. The last 50 pages or so of "Ship of Destiny" are so saccharine-sweet that one truly misses the grim/heroic/arduous grandeur of the previous two volumes. In one particular case, the abrupt demise of a certain character - presumably a much detested (but wonderfully real) personality - apparently induces no reaction nor pity in his family members, save one half-hearted paragraph. After all that the characters have been through, I simply cannot believe that "that's it". I hate to say this, but I think in her rush to finish the trilogy, the author may have forgotten or foregone her ingenius skills in making characters believably human.

Nevertheless, if you have already read the first two books, I strongly recommend that you finish up with book 3. Perhaps other readers may appreciate Hobb's change of direction. For me, I feel enlightened to see how the author has resolved her plotlines, but ultimately, for me, this is the worst volume in an otherwise most original and mostly terrific trilogy.

"Ship of Destiny" was supposed to be the final book of Robin Hobb's "Liveship Traders" trilogy, but it leaves many loose ends, including the nature and fate of the bead-maker, Amber. And what about those slug-ugly creatures who imprisoned She Who Remembers? Who were they and what is their fate?

There are references to 'Bingtown dragons' in the first book of Hobb's 'Tawny Man' series, so perhaps that is where the author is going to blend in a few 'Liveship Traders' odds and ends.

In "Ship of Destiny," Althea Vestrit continues her quest to recover her liveship Vivacia until the bitter-sweet end of the trilogy. But Vivacia is no longer the girlishly innocent ship that bonded with Althea back in "Ship of Magic." The carrion-hunting sea serpents are no longer mindless slaves to their appetites. Bingtown is burning and the Old Traders are in disarray. The pirates appear to be sweeping all before them. The plot moves on, not always rewarding the just and punishing the evil.

It's funny how the pirates turned out to be the good guys in this trilogy. I was really sad when my favorite character died, no matter that he was seriously flawed. The parts where I zoned out involved the sea serpents. Even after She Who Remembers showed up, they were kind of one-note-Johnnies.

In spite of a few slow spots, 'Liveship Traders' is a great fantasy trilogy. Hobb's dragon life-cycle I think is unique in all of the literature--and it makes glorious sense. Just think of dragon flies.

I'm hoping we hear more of Malta and the mutant Rain Wild River Traders in further books by Robin Hobb, even though the 'Liveship Traders' trilogy is complete.

Robin Hobb doesn't take the easy way out and give us all good or all evil characters. One of the most sympathetic characters breaks his promises, threatens the extinction of a sapient species (dragons) and commits rape. Still, Hobb is dealing with real people and their very flaws make it easier for us to identify with them (don't worry, the rapist is punished).

The concept of the Liveship--self-aware ships made from the corpses of dragons is high fantasy and Hobb creates a world that is worthy of these great ships. This huge novel and series flies across multiple viewpoint characters and threads of the adventure, all pulling together in a creative whole.

I would have liked to see a little less of the plot device of the lovers who can't tell each other how they really feel. On the other hand, the plight of the serpents/dragons, in serious danger of extinction, may bring you to tears.