Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
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Ship of Destiny is the final book of Robin Hobb’s epic fantasy trilogy The Liveship Traders. First published in Great Britain by Voyager in 2000. The story is written in third-person narrative and consists of 903 pages.
The dragon Tintaglia, released from her wizardwood coffin, flies high over the Rain Wild River. Below her, Reyn and Seldon 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, 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.
Robin Hobb is rightly classed as one of the finest authors the genre has ever been fortunate enough to have. The Farseer Trilogy established this status – does the Liveship Traders keep the high standard? The answer is yes, the quality of the writing is once again excellent and the characters are full and lifelike. I did enjoy the trilogy but not to the same degree as The Farseer Trilogy. There is something about the characters that stopped me from getting completely behind them. They are undoubtedly well written but also often highly annoying (this may be intended, if it was, then it was done superbly well).
The dragon’s eyes spun silver flecked with scarlet, so great was her anger. She snorted a hot blast of breath that nearly knocked him down. Then with a single forepaw she snatched him up as if he were a doll stuffed with sawdust. Her talons closed painfully around his chest. He could barely take a breath.
The story was been set in Ship of Magic and The Magic Ship, what Ship of Destiny does, and does well, is bring everything to a satisfying conclusion, tidying up all lose ends and leaving the reader feeling that the time and energy spent reading the 2,500+ pages was all worthwhile. The writing and narrative are once again excellent; chapters are well structured and easy to read. There is a theme running through all three books, that of morality. This is not done with a sense of preaching but rather the effect is one that makes the reader think deeply about the issues that are raised and Hobb subtly suggests that a life spent in peace and harmony, a life spent putting other first may be the way to true happiness.
Admiration of Hobb’s work is widespread; Steven Erikson describes her as a “subtle and clever writer”. George RR Martin believes that The Liveship Traders trilogy surpasses the Farseer Trilogy. This praise is well given, Robin Hobb is indeed amongst the elite of fantasy authors, only Steven Erikson, George RR Martin and Ursula Le Guin are capable of producing books of such high quality.
Kennit cleared his throat. It was a little time before he could speak. ‘I never thought to stand here again, nor speak to you once more.’ Love was rising from the ship like a flood tide, threatening to engulf him. Kennit fought to hold himself apart from Paragon. He forced out the rebuke. ‘This is not what we planned, ship. This is not what we agreed upon at all.
The Liveship Traders trilogy has it all – intricate plot, realistic characters, a sense of magic and mercifully free from cliché. Ship of Destiny closes the trilogy perfectly; Hobb uses her skills to the full in keeping the reader gripped from start to finish.
It’s been a long time coming, but there’s a fantasy writer in our midst who’s doing something serious with a genre that deserves a lot of the cynicism directed its way. Always fascinating, its seriousness is balanced by an epic backdrop of events SFX
Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders) (Amazon.co.uk)
Author: Robin Hobb
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 912
Publication date: 2001-03-05
Publisher: HarperVoyager
RRP: £8.99
Lowest new price: £1.92
Lowest used price: £1.24
Robin Hobb's books combine heroic adventures by land and sea with a passionate urgency about the morality which underlies her character's deeds. Ship of Destiny, the third in The Liveship Traders trilogy, involves us further with the efforts of the Vestrit family to reclaim the fortunes which war and piracy have cost them, raising interesting questions about the sources of even an attractive family's wealth. It is clear that the liveships Vivacia and Paragon were carved from husks which should have hatched dragons; that the attractive personalities of the figureheads are only pale shadows of the autonomous beings they might have been. Malta Vestrit has freed the last of the real dragons from an underground prison, and he is not especially grateful. The slave-liberating pirate Kennit, one of Hobb's richest creations, is ever more drawn to the darker side of his flawed nature in an attempt to hide from the secrets of his past.
This is one of the most satisfying heroic fantasies of recent years, simply because it is about difficult choices and complex emotions, while Hobb's tight plotting and fast-moving storytelling are fascinating in their own right.--Roz Kaveney
Amazon.co.uk Review
Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders) (Amazon.com)
Author: Robin Hobb
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 912
Publication date: 2001-03-05
Publisher: HarperVoyager
RRP: $16.50
Lowest new price: $8.53
Lowest used price: $2.07
Robin Hobb has established herself as one of the masters of fantasy fiction And nowhere is that more apparent than in this powerful, poignant, swashbuckling epic of treachery, heroism, and humanity. The rousing conclusion to the Liveship Traders trilogy, Ship of Destiny is the spellbinding story of a once-thriving city now reduced to shambles by raging war and rampant greed; of a glorious and mythic species on the brutal edge of extinction; and of the Vestrits, the clan, whose destiny is intertwined with both.
Bingtown is a city under fire from forces within and without. While accusations of conspiracy fly between the Old Bingtown Traders and the New, invaders attack the harbor, trying to take the city for their own. Matriarch Ronica Vestrit bears witness to the destruction, but she is not the type of woman to simply surrender. Even as she finds herself branded a traitor, she searches for a way to bring all the city's inhabitants together to stand against the Chalcedean threat. But there is someone who cannot allow Ronica to succeed, no matter what the cost.
Far out on the stormy seas, Althea Vestrit, ignorant of all that has befallen Bingtown, continues her mission to track down and recover her liveship Vivacia from the ruthless pirate Kennit. Serving as the Paragon's second mate under Captain Brashen, she faces peril beyond imagining... not just from her growing love for Brashen or their reckless scheme to regain the Vivacia, but from the unpredictable vessel Paragon himself, as he wrestles with his madness and plots his own deadly brand of revenge.
Yet Althea's bold scheme may be in vain. For her beloved Vivacia will face the most terrible confrontation of all as the secret of the liveships is finally revealed. This is a truth so horrifying, so shattering, it may destroy the Vivacia and all who love her, including the boy-priest Wintrow Vestrit, whose life already hangs in the balance...
A triumph of imagination and masterful storytelling, Ship of Destiny is an enthralling blend of intrigue and magic, drama and high fantasy. It is the fitting conclusion to a tale that is bound to become a classic--by a beguiling author who is already deservedly revered.
Product Description
Leigh from Redfearn
"Robin Hobb is once again at the top of her game. She is the best author around in this genre at the moment, she weaves a rich tapestry of plot lines involving characters that are so real that you could almost touch them. This is as close to perfect as it is possible to get."
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