Ship of Destiny (The Liveship Traders, Book 3): Harper

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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. Do you not see how strange and wonderful that is? That all history balances on an affair of the human heart

Still, I think Hobb's writing shines best in first person. I also noticed that when I read the Tawny Man trilogy, I enjoyed that much more than Liveships. I'm not sure whether that was just the return to the familiar characters, or whether it was in a large part due to the return to a single point of view. Althea becomes first mate after Lavoy mutinies. She is protective of Clef and close friends with Amber and Jek, and still single-minded in her pursuit of the Vivacia. Eventually, the Paragon finds Vivacia and the two ships engage in battle that results in the capture of Althea and Jek, who believe the crew of the Paragon dead, and vice versa. Taken prisoner, Althea finally sees Wintrow again, whom she disdains since he now follows Kennit.After Kennit's death, Althea has a claim on Vivacia, but gives it up in favor of Wintrow so that she can stay with Brashen aboard Paragon. Still suffering from the trauma of Kennit's rape, Althea struggles to become intimate with Brashen once more, but when Paragon helps take the pain of the memory away, she and Brashen are able to finally love one another without restriction. Con qué se van a encontrar en esta serie? Con piratas, traición, mujeres que luchan por sus derechos, codicia, gente tatuada que busca su libertad, magia, guerra, inseguridad; amor, filosofía, amistad, criaturas que resurgen de una historia ya olvidada, política, soledad, desconsuelo; secretos. Hobb's writing in the Liveship Traders novels has sometimes been compared to fellow author George R. R. Martin's works, with both their best-known works published during the late 1990s. [6] While their series are considered more realistic than most epic fantasy, they differ in how they depict said realism. [7] According to scholar Sylvia Borowska-Szerszun, Martin's work focuses on the brutality and violence of its realism, while Hobb's narrative focuses more on the psychological aspects of trauma, including that arising from violence and rape. [8] Themes [ edit ] On the other hand, there are the "strong" characters. They try to take their lives into their own hands, but without regard for others. Althea leaves her family when they need her, dividing it when they need to be strong, just to get what she wants. Malta doesn't care about the shame she might cause her family, or the hurt she might cause the men she flirts with and ensnares. She just wants to look beautiful and be adored. Tintaglia the dragon doesn't care about humans, even when they help her, but only about the fate of her own race.

This whole series has been perfection. It's not often that after reading a 2* book by an author I will continue on with their work but with Hobb I am so thrilled that I did go on to the Liveship books after the Farseer ones because truly she's a miracle writer and her ability to craft convincing, beautiful and stunning characters, worlds and ideas is unparalleled.

The character known as Amber is revealed through her actions in Ship of Destiny, when she carves a liveship's figurehead in the likeness of FitzChivalry Farseer, as the Fool from the Farseer trilogy. [12] [13] An enigmatic character whose gender identity shifts through the Elderlings series, Amber presents herself as a woman in some books and as a man in others. Scholars have described this portrayal of gender as subversive, and as challenging notions of rigid boundaries between genders. [10] [13] The New Statesman wrote that Hobb explored themes including slavery, political upheaval and gender equality, and said that despite its medieval setting, the series' themes echoed in the modern world. [6] Reception [ edit ] Ship of Destiny is the final book in The Liveship Traders trilogy, and all I can say about this series is... WOW! (Well not quite ‘all I can say’ because as you see I wrote a review.) The plot is once again incredible, but what really propels this book into such a high status is the ending of this book, which was nailed so perfectly and was setup through the other books to such a great level. I absolutely love the direction the "sea serpents" have taken through this series, culminating in this book, as well as the development of the plotline in Trehaug. Consequently, Hobb is able to wrap up all the loose ends in this final book of the trilogy, making this a very satisfying read. It felt incredibly gratifying to see how all the loose ends were wrapped up in the last act and how almost every single main character played a crucial role in the conclusion. Moreover, the reader will truly come to appreciate each character arc near the end of this incredible series. The character arcs in this trilogy are some of the best I have come across in fantasy. Hobb has a unique ability to pull at the reader’s heartstrings and make the reader feel invested in each character.

For the sake of clarity, the ranking above is entirely subjective and only based on what ships I consider cool. But the true objective of this list is to offer you a single place in which you can easily see every exotic ship at a glance yourself and decide which ones YOU like. After the capture of Hober Mallow by the Spacers following a failed attempt to sway them to the Foundation's side, the Home-Swarm jumped towards the Shining Destiny and the 20th Fleet. During an attempt to take Hober into Imperial custody, Hober managed to escape on his ship, the Spirit Rising, and jumped away. [6] Terminus [ ] Ship of Destiny is the second book in the Sam Bitka series, and I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I have become a huge fan and plan to read his other books as soon as I can. And while this book is the second book in a series, I had no problem jumping into these alien worlds and understanding what was happening. I also have to admit to a bit a fangirl crush on Sam Bitka. He actually reminded me a bit of Captain Picard so if you are a fan of Star Trek, you will understand the draw that Sam can have others. It's true that there are a few intriguing characters: Ronica, in particular, strikes me as a strong female character who wants the best for her family, for her home. She, most of all, considers everyone in Bingtown and pushes for everyone to unite. There are other intriguing characters, too: Amber, and Jek, and Shreever, but... they're often more minor characters, or in Amber's case, have to be slightly separate from the plot so it isn't too obvious who they really are. Do you not see how strange and wonderful that is? That all history balances on an affair of the human heart?”

Publication Order of Liveship Traders Books

Crane, Ralph; Fletcher, Lisa (2017). "An Imaginary Water World: Robin Hobb's The Liveship Traders Trilogy". Island Genres, Genre Islands: Conceptualisation and Representation in Popular Fiction. Rowman & Littlefield International. ISBN 978-1-78348-207-8.

a b c d Dray, Stephanie (November 5, 2001). "Revolutionary Nautical Fantasy: Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders Series". Strange Horizons.The characters, as is typical in a Robin Hobb book, are wonderful and arguably feel more real than any other characters in any other book. They are not static characters, and they all go through dynamic growth that feels so refreshing in a fantasy book when oftentimes fantasy characters stay the same through a series of a books. Con una trama que partía de una idea sencilla, esta autora me llevó por las corrientes de un mar agresivo y caprichoso hacia el surgimiento de un relato sinfónico. Un relato largo, que se toma su tiempo para golpear, pero que, cuando lo hace, el derramamiento de sangre es seguro. Y la sangre recuerda. La sangre es identidad, y una parte de mi identidad se fue a bordo de las naves que vuelan en su cielo, que es el vasto océano.