Ship of Destiny: Book Three of The Liveship Traders

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
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 of the Liveship Trilogy, involves us further with the efforts of the Vestrit family to reclaim the fortunes which war and piracy have cost them, and raises interesting questions about the sources of even an attractive family's wealth. It is clear that the live ships 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 has freed the last of the real dragons from an underground prison, and he is not especially grateful. And 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. Hobb's tight plotting and fast-moving story-telling are fascinating in their own right, but are all the more so because they are actually about something. --Roz Kaveney

The setting, slightly outside the normal run of high fantasy, is clearly inspired by colonial America. The pioneer Trader families have prospered for several generations in the bustling entrepot of Bingtown, thanks in large part to commerce undertaken with the Liveships - magical, self-aware vessels built of a particular wood only found upriver from Bingtown, crafted for the Traders by their mysterious kin who live there. But theirs is, naturally, a precarious existence in a frontier land. They are dependent upon trade for much of their food and other supplies, and remain politically subordinate to their former homeland; the society that has developed in response to the challenges is a deeply conservative one; and there are other opportunists who desire the same chance at making their fortune, who are willing to use slave labour to get it.

The concerns, then, are familiar ones; this is all about a society in the painful throes of transition, forced to confront issues of privilege, hierarchy, and access to power. This is played out in a number of ways, one of the most pointed and nuanced being the status of women, as expressed through a diverse range of major characters. There is Althea, who dreams of captaining her family's new Liveship, but finds herself out in the cold when the inheritance goes to her brother-in-law, the new man of the house; her sister Keffria, torn between being a good Trader wife and the desire to protect her children; her mother Ronica, struggling with the loss of status brought on by widowhood; Etta, a former whore who finds a whole new world opening up to her as she learns to read; and many others. All of them are beautifully-drawn, fully-rounded individuals, filled with dreams but mired in mistakes; they are individuals with their own compelling stories who each embody a facet of who women are and can become in this world.

Leaving aside the specifics of the plot, the third and final volume is a more than worthy conclusion to a complex, magical, multi-layered saga - and confirms again my belief that nothing can quite make my heart and my imagination soar like well-written fantasy!


Fantasy Rocks!   July 7, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I have to say, Robin Hobb is a genius. Just like the Farseer Trilogy, I soon became enchanted with the Liveship Traders Trilogy and I read the books in a record time for me, I just couldn't put them down.

Robin Hobb is highly intelligent and I think this is illustrated in how there are many 'Main' characters and the way their lives intertwine together.
I loved all the characters, even the spoilt and selfish Malta, who soon won my heart.

The Ship of Destiny concludes this inspiring Trilogy, and brings all the snipets of information Hobb has cunningly delivered to their purposes. We learn more and more about the 'Realm of the Elerings' and of the 'Truth' Behind the Wizardwood ships. It's not just the characters who won my heart, but also the misunderstood Pirah Paragon and the confused Vivacia who show they are as intelligant and have just as many feeling as their human counterparts.

Within this book we learn the Tragedy of Kennit's past, Althea's and Brashens future as well as Malta's, Wintrow's and Little Seldens.

Anyone who enjoyed these books, I would strongly recomend Buying Leagends 2, this has a short story by Hobb, in which we learn more of the history of the mysterious Rain Wild Traders.
Enjoy !


A masterful conclusion to another Robin Hobb fantasy epic.   April 26, 2008
russell clarke (halifax, west yorks)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The final instalment in Robin Hobbs wonderful Liveship Traders trilogy does not disappoint, not that it was ever likely to. The characters, are of course, by now vividly defined but its the way that the author ties all the disparate plot strands and by proxy the characters that makes this such a pleasure to read.
Anybody reading Ship Of Destiny would surely have read the previous novels and be familiar with the characters. Anyone reading this book who has,nt read the other books....what are you playing at? The plot draws together the multiple members of the Vestrit family as they struggle to survive . Ronica and Keffria are still in Bingtown , a place under siege and falling apart. Malta is stranded on a tiny boat on the Rain Wild River with the arrogant Satrap of Jamellia while her possible husband to be Reyn is trapped in the mud of the sunken city destroyed by an earthquake with Malta,s little brother Seldon.
Meanwhile Althea is aboard the Liveship Paragon still confused about her feelings for Brashen but determined to find the families Liveship Vivacia. The ship herself is exploring her long hidden identity , exacerbated by the serpents that follow in her wake. Would be pirate king Kennitt , the arch manipulator , is still attempting to coerce Wintrow and Etta into a destiny neither envisage . On top of all this the freed but arrogant Dragon Tintaglia views the humans as mere pawns to be used in the propagation of her species.
The way Robin Hobb draws all the characters together for the sagas conclusion is completely believable , free of contrivance and masterfully paced. It is also hugely satisfying without resorting to sentimentality and cliché though it does,nt have quite the lump in the throat effect of the end of the Farseer series.The link between the serpents and the dragons is finally revealed and there is a tantalising hint as to who the mysterious Amber might really be. You would be a fool to miss it. That.s my less than subtle hint there.
Ship Of Destiny is the conclusion to another tremendous fantasy series.Imaginative, wonderfully written with memorable characters and a serious sub-text involving the evils of slavery . Every bit as good as the Farseer series and as anyone who has read those will tell you , that's some achievement.




Brilliant   January 2, 2001
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I nearly didn't buy this book as most loose ends seemed tied up or at least predictable by the end of the second book. But I'm glad I did. It gripped me from start to finish, full of quick paced action and characters whose motivations and dilemmas could be empathised with. I was quite sorry to reach the end. Heartily recommended.


Utterly stunning.   November 28, 2000
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Having read the other reviews of this book, I think that it's a love-it-or-hate-it kind of novel. I for one love it, and think that it's one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. The first book in the trilogy, although slow to begin, had me gripped by the end, and spent the next week feverishly awaiting the next installment. Not many books leave me shaking at the end of it, but this was one of them. For anyone who has not yet experienced any of Hobb's books, please, please, please read this trilogy, even if you hated the first book.