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A review by mav_ka
Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
It was an absolutely wonderful ending to a series, despite all the dark, horrible things that happened to the characters throughout, and I would recommend this series to anyone and everyone even remotely interested in fantasy with well-written characters.
With that said, I want to dive into a spoiler-filled review, so there will be lots of spoilers! Right after this paragraph, it's a free-for-all. No spoiler is safe from me. I will hide the entire review because of spoilers, but just in case, I wanted to make it very clear you shouldn't read this if you didn't finish the series.
Let the spoilers begin.
Kennit. Wow, okay. Fucking Kennit. I loved his silly-goofy story in the first book. I started to tire of him in the second book. And in the third book, I don't even know what to think anymore. To me, Kennit raises some interesting questions that I've always pondered and could never find an answer to:
1) If you do a lot of good in the world, do your intentions really matter?
and
2) What should we do with a legacy of people who did a lot of good in their time, but also left a terrible mark on the world?
At times, Kennit seemed like he genuinely cared about doing good in the world. He was ecstatic about putting up watchtowers to protect Divvytown. He wanted to protect Wintrow because nobody protected Kennit like that at his age. But his incompleteness showed. His calculativeness. Lack of empathy. Later, it is revealed that Paragon took a lot of Kennit's pain, and I think that's what made him broken. Pain and sorrow make up a lot of our experiences. If you take them away, part of you goes away, too. I almost think that it was a missing chunk of those experiences that made it easier for Kennit to do those terrible things to Althea. And that's when destiny turned away from her golden boy. The last good he could do in this world was to die.
Someone tells Wintrow he must be the one to raise Kennit's child, not because he knew how great the pirate was, but because he knew all of him. The good and the terrible. In a way, it's hard to decide whether to reject or to praise a person like Kennit. It feels like you must do both. It is easy for me to decide; I can deject Kennit because I was never attached to him. My lack of interest in him in the second book saved me. But what about Wintrow? Kennit has raised him and offered him a safe place. But he also raped his aunt. Any time Althea comes back to the Pirate Isles, she has to be reminded of this man. It's bad enough she has to stare into his eyes any time she goes near Paragon. But hearing people praise the same man who ruined her life in a single night? Yeah. Ouch. I'm only glad that in this universe, Paragon was able to make it easier for Althea to move forward. She deserves that much.
Queen Etta. It pains me to think that Kennit hasn't even considered calling her like this (not even once in his POV!), but thank Hobb for Wintrow. Wintrow was the first to recognize her as such because, in his mind, there was never any doubt about it. Etta deserves the world. She has been through so much, and that final scene with her absolutely captivating the Jamaillian nobility feels right. I wish Paragon told her the truth about Kennit because it feels like ripping off a bandage. It would have hurt more to know he never loved her, but I feel like she would have been able to heal easier in the long term? But at the same time, I don't know what would have happened to her if she found out the man she idolized felt nothing for her. She is very proud, and I'm pretty sure shame alone would have killed her right there and then. So maybe it's for the best.
And I do wish Wintrow and Etta all the best. Even though she's never going to be completely his (allegedly, according to Amber, and Amber rarely misses her mark), I'm still happy Wintrow is by Etta's side. Their last scene together? "When you are ready, I will be honored to partner you." Very smooth, Wintrow. Veeery smooth. They are talking about dancing btw. Nothing else, of course :)
And Sorcor finding out Etta carries Kennit's child!! Bwahahahaha. I just need a short story about Sorcor absolutely annoying Etta during pregnancy because he's so worried about the two of them. "No more swordplay until after the baby's born, now." I can just feel Etta seething from all this treatment :"DD
Serilla finally gets adopted by Ronica Vestrit. It was my funny silly little headcanon I kept close to heart, but I am so glad it is official now. I really enjoyed Ronica's earlier unapologetic rudeness and Serilla fighting her like a teenager going through a rebellious phase. Despite their initial fighting, these women wanted each other to succeed. Serilla needed Ronica more than she was willing to admit. Serilla's one dream was to live the rest of her life in Bingtown, where she could be respected and looked up to regardless of her gender. Ronica, in a way, was living Serilla's dream. Ronice refused to bow down and apologize; she was strong and determined in the face of adversity. And she tried to pass the same advice to Serilla. Your past does not need to define you. I'm glad Serilla finally got rid of the toxic men in her life and found the one family that is willing to accept her as she is.
On another note, assigning Serilla to speak for Keffria is such a delightful "fuck you" to Satrap who literally just kicked Serilla out of this position because he needed a scapegoat. Part of me is sad I won't get to see him find out about it because I want to see him mad :pp
Amber is the Fool. It's not confirmed, but we got something as good as confirmation. "Carve me a face you could love"? The "ornamental" axe with bucks on it? Amber's disappointment at finding out Paragon got blue eyes? "They're supposed to be dark brown, nearly black." And her expressing a desire to go north to meddle in her friend's affairs? Yeah, go figure. It was basically the best the author could do without directly climbing out of the book and yelling, "Amber is the Fool, you fool!" I am convinced. Perhaps the lack of direct confirmation (and therefore, the lack of certainty) is what's best in anything related to the Fool. Such a mysterious figure deserves to keep an air of mystery around them.
The Elderlings! Oh my fucking god. What did Tintaglia mean, saying Malta would be "very pleased" to discover the power of her red scales? That definitely means that the color of your scales is a sign of which power you got from the dragon, but what power is that??? I guess I won't find out until a year or two later. Or maybe even never! But, given how much the Elderlings mean to the series (they are literally in the title, come on), I think we'll encounter the answer to this mystery eventually.
Also, Malta and Reyn. There is something so hilarious about how these two can only think of each other amidst a world-ending crisis. What's even funnier is this happened twice! The first time, it was during the ball, right before Bingtown got attacked. The second time is now, captured on a pirate ship, in the middle of the attack by the Jamaillian force. They are literally getting boarded and all they can think about is how the other will not accept them 'cuz they're ugly now. Ugh, guys! Get your priorities straight! (I say, affectionately, because that was such a nice way to break some of the tension in-between battles) Like, literally, the first thing Malta says to Althea is not "oh my god are you okay??" or "oh my god is Satrap okay???", it's "oh my gosh Reyn thinks I'm pretty!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Malta. For fuck's sake. I love her so much :"DDD
And that final ball in Jamallia feels like everything just came full circle for Malta. She literally fantasized about going to Jamallia (I'm misspelling it, aren't I) at the beginning of the first book. She followed all their trends like the wide-eyed, naive girl she was. And now, she is setting her own fashion trends. Nobles have plucked their eyebrows out to replace them with gemstones to try to mimic even a fraction of her beauty. She has a pretty dress and pretty jewellery, yet she's not as happy as she thought she would be. That's because her rough journey forced her to grow up and she values different things now. But it's all well now because I believe she finally found her destiny. And she seems happy with it. I'm happy for her.
The only thing that would have made this book better is seeing all the Vestrits at one table together. They all grew up so much! There are so many of them I haven't mentioned but I was amazed by everyone's growth. There is something so interesting about Selden's story in particular. In the previous books, I forgot he was even there because Keffria protected him and didn't allow him to go out and find his destiny in the world. In the third book, we see more of him because Keffria is busy with other things, so Selden gets to sneak out from under her wing and explore the world. He really begins to shine in the third book as he's given more freedom. And when things finally come back to normal, Keffria sees that going back to protecting him and sheltering him against the world will do him no good. Keffria lets him go. The entire thing with Selden feels almost like a metaphor; we forget he even exists in the first two books because he's not allowed to go out into the world and find himself, be himself. But once he seizes the chance to flee his mother's watchful eye and we are allowed to see him for who he is, he turns out to be such a resourceful and witty young boy. He'll go far in the world.
Of course, it is also bittersweet. Both of Keffria's children have been claimed by their destiny in the Rain Wilds now, and it is sad to think about their separation. But Keffria herself has changed, too. She is no longer a little girl cowering behind her mother's skirts; she stands tall and proud. She makes her own decisions. People look up to her. And she came to realize she likes this kind of thing. She wanted Kyle to protect her and care for her because she saw how hard her mother had it when their father was gone. But now that she stepped up to Ronica's place, she found that she likes this. She likes being in control of her destiny. I'm happy for her.
There were times when I was impatient with this book. It really started at the halfway mark. I could see how everyone's destinies were meant to converge, yet it was multiple POVs and chapters later that the things talked about would finally start to happen. And that was a neverending cycle for half of the book. It was like watching that overhead shot of all the agents running into the building in Matrix. Yet imagine you saw that shot and were then hit with half-an-hour exposition/backstory/filler stuff before you could finally find out what happened in the building. The challenge with juggling so many POVs was bringing them all together, and it was a slow, arduous task. You really had to be there for the journey, but all I wanted was for the book to get to the point. It could have just been my mood. It also made me wonder how I was able to devour Assassin's Quest without similar problems. But it is what it is. I knocked off half a star just for the fact that this could have been two books, not one, just for the sake of my sanity. But don't get me wrong; it was still a wonderful ending. Once the book did get to the point, it was a wonderful conclusion to the story. I have a feeling I will come back to re-read it many times.
And there are so many other things I liked that I didn't even mention in this review! The destiny of all the dragons. The liveships. Vivacia finding herself. Jek finally getting laid. The themes of destiny and not letting your past define you. So many wonderful things, yet I feel like I am capable of writing only so many words before I want to get done with this review and get to the point.
And the point is this: what a wonderful ending for a wonderful story. 4.5/5 stars, and what a glorious, shining 4.5 that is. More shiny than any other 4.5 I've ever given out, that's for sure.
With that said, I want to dive into a spoiler-filled review, so there will be lots of spoilers! Right after this paragraph, it's a free-for-all. No spoiler is safe from me. I will hide the entire review because of spoilers, but just in case, I wanted to make it very clear you shouldn't read this if you didn't finish the series.
Let the spoilers begin.
1) If you do a lot of good in the world, do your intentions really matter?
and
2) What should we do with a legacy of people who did a lot of good in their time, but also left a terrible mark on the world?
At times, Kennit seemed like he genuinely cared about doing good in the world. He was ecstatic about putting up watchtowers to protect Divvytown. He wanted to protect Wintrow because nobody protected Kennit like that at his age. But his incompleteness showed. His calculativeness. Lack of empathy. Later, it is revealed that Paragon took a lot of Kennit's pain, and I think that's what made him broken. Pain and sorrow make up a lot of our experiences. If you take them away, part of you goes away, too. I almost think that it was a missing chunk of those experiences that made it easier for Kennit to do those terrible things to Althea. And that's when destiny turned away from her golden boy. The last good he could do in this world was to die.
Someone tells Wintrow he must be the one to raise Kennit's child, not because he knew how great the pirate was, but because he knew all of him. The good and the terrible. In a way, it's hard to decide whether to reject or to praise a person like Kennit. It feels like you must do both. It is easy for me to decide; I can deject Kennit because I was never attached to him. My lack of interest in him in the second book saved me. But what about Wintrow? Kennit has raised him and offered him a safe place. But he also raped his aunt. Any time Althea comes back to the Pirate Isles, she has to be reminded of this man. It's bad enough she has to stare into his eyes any time she goes near Paragon. But hearing people praise the same man who ruined her life in a single night? Yeah. Ouch. I'm only glad that in this universe, Paragon was able to make it easier for Althea to move forward. She deserves that much.
Queen Etta. It pains me to think that Kennit hasn't even considered calling her like this (not even once in his POV!), but thank Hobb for Wintrow. Wintrow was the first to recognize her as such because, in his mind, there was never any doubt about it. Etta deserves the world. She has been through so much, and that final scene with her absolutely captivating the Jamaillian nobility feels right. I wish Paragon told her the truth about Kennit because it feels like ripping off a bandage. It would have hurt more to know he never loved her, but I feel like she would have been able to heal easier in the long term? But at the same time, I don't know what would have happened to her if she found out the man she idolized felt nothing for her. She is very proud, and I'm pretty sure shame alone would have killed her right there and then. So maybe it's for the best.
And I do wish Wintrow and Etta all the best. Even though she's never going to be completely his (allegedly, according to Amber, and Amber rarely misses her mark), I'm still happy Wintrow is by Etta's side. Their last scene together? "When you are ready, I will be honored to partner you." Very smooth, Wintrow. Veeery smooth. They are talking about dancing btw. Nothing else, of course :)
And Sorcor finding out Etta carries Kennit's child!! Bwahahahaha. I just need a short story about Sorcor absolutely annoying Etta during pregnancy because he's so worried about the two of them. "No more swordplay until after the baby's born, now." I can just feel Etta seething from all this treatment :"DD
Serilla finally gets adopted by Ronica Vestrit. It was my funny silly little headcanon I kept close to heart, but I am so glad it is official now. I really enjoyed Ronica's earlier unapologetic rudeness and Serilla fighting her like a teenager going through a rebellious phase. Despite their initial fighting, these women wanted each other to succeed. Serilla needed Ronica more than she was willing to admit. Serilla's one dream was to live the rest of her life in Bingtown, where she could be respected and looked up to regardless of her gender. Ronica, in a way, was living Serilla's dream. Ronice refused to bow down and apologize; she was strong and determined in the face of adversity. And she tried to pass the same advice to Serilla. Your past does not need to define you. I'm glad Serilla finally got rid of the toxic men in her life and found the one family that is willing to accept her as she is.
On another note, assigning Serilla to speak for Keffria is such a delightful "fuck you" to Satrap who literally just kicked Serilla out of this position because he needed a scapegoat. Part of me is sad I won't get to see him find out about it because I want to see him mad :pp
Amber is the Fool. It's not confirmed, but we got something as good as confirmation. "Carve me a face you could love"? The "ornamental" axe with bucks on it? Amber's disappointment at finding out Paragon got blue eyes? "They're supposed to be dark brown, nearly black." And her expressing a desire to go north to meddle in her friend's affairs? Yeah, go figure. It was basically the best the author could do without directly climbing out of the book and yelling, "Amber is the Fool, you fool!" I am convinced. Perhaps the lack of direct confirmation (and therefore, the lack of certainty) is what's best in anything related to the Fool. Such a mysterious figure deserves to keep an air of mystery around them.
The Elderlings! Oh my fucking god. What did Tintaglia mean, saying Malta would be "very pleased" to discover the power of her red scales? That definitely means that the color of your scales is a sign of which power you got from the dragon, but what power is that??? I guess I won't find out until a year or two later. Or maybe even never! But, given how much the Elderlings mean to the series (they are literally in the title, come on), I think we'll encounter the answer to this mystery eventually.
Also, Malta and Reyn. There is something so hilarious about how these two can only think of each other amidst a world-ending crisis. What's even funnier is this happened twice! The first time, it was during the ball, right before Bingtown got attacked. The second time is now, captured on a pirate ship, in the middle of the attack by the Jamaillian force. They are literally getting boarded and all they can think about is how the other will not accept them 'cuz they're ugly now. Ugh, guys! Get your priorities straight! (I say, affectionately, because that was such a nice way to break some of the tension in-between battles) Like, literally, the first thing Malta says to Althea is not "oh my god are you okay??" or "oh my god is Satrap okay???", it's "oh my gosh Reyn thinks I'm pretty!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Malta. For fuck's sake. I love her so much :"DDD
And that final ball in Jamallia feels like everything just came full circle for Malta. She literally fantasized about going to Jamallia (I'm misspelling it, aren't I) at the beginning of the first book. She followed all their trends like the wide-eyed, naive girl she was. And now, she is setting her own fashion trends. Nobles have plucked their eyebrows out to replace them with gemstones to try to mimic even a fraction of her beauty. She has a pretty dress and pretty jewellery, yet she's not as happy as she thought she would be. That's because her rough journey forced her to grow up and she values different things now. But it's all well now because I believe she finally found her destiny. And she seems happy with it. I'm happy for her.
The only thing that would have made this book better is seeing all the Vestrits at one table together. They all grew up so much! There are so many of them I haven't mentioned but I was amazed by everyone's growth. There is something so interesting about Selden's story in particular. In the previous books, I forgot he was even there because Keffria protected him and didn't allow him to go out and find his destiny in the world. In the third book, we see more of him because Keffria is busy with other things, so Selden gets to sneak out from under her wing and explore the world. He really begins to shine in the third book as he's given more freedom. And when things finally come back to normal, Keffria sees that going back to protecting him and sheltering him against the world will do him no good. Keffria lets him go. The entire thing with Selden feels almost like a metaphor; we forget he even exists in the first two books because he's not allowed to go out into the world and find himself, be himself. But once he seizes the chance to flee his mother's watchful eye and we are allowed to see him for who he is, he turns out to be such a resourceful and witty young boy. He'll go far in the world.
Of course, it is also bittersweet. Both of Keffria's children have been claimed by their destiny in the Rain Wilds now, and it is sad to think about their separation. But Keffria herself has changed, too. She is no longer a little girl cowering behind her mother's skirts; she stands tall and proud. She makes her own decisions. People look up to her. And she came to realize she likes this kind of thing. She wanted Kyle to protect her and care for her because she saw how hard her mother had it when their father was gone. But now that she stepped up to Ronica's place, she found that she likes this. She likes being in control of her destiny. I'm happy for her.
There were times when I was impatient with this book. It really started at the halfway mark. I could see how everyone's destinies were meant to converge, yet it was multiple POVs and chapters later that the things talked about would finally start to happen. And that was a neverending cycle for half of the book. It was like watching that overhead shot of all the agents running into the building in Matrix. Yet imagine you saw that shot and were then hit with half-an-hour exposition/backstory/filler stuff before you could finally find out what happened in the building. The challenge with juggling so many POVs was bringing them all together, and it was a slow, arduous task. You really had to be there for the journey, but all I wanted was for the book to get to the point. It could have just been my mood. It also made me wonder how I was able to devour Assassin's Quest without similar problems. But it is what it is. I knocked off half a star just for the fact that this could have been two books, not one, just for the sake of my sanity. But don't get me wrong; it was still a wonderful ending. Once the book did get to the point, it was a wonderful conclusion to the story. I have a feeling I will come back to re-read it many times.
And there are so many other things I liked that I didn't even mention in this review! The destiny of all the dragons. The liveships. Vivacia finding herself. Jek finally getting laid. The themes of destiny and not letting your past define you. So many wonderful things, yet I feel like I am capable of writing only so many words before I want to get done with this review and get to the point.
And the point is this: what a wonderful ending for a wonderful story. 4.5/5 stars, and what a glorious, shining 4.5 that is. More shiny than any other 4.5 I've ever given out, that's for sure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexism