REVIEW - SHIP OF DESTINY

Ship of Destiny, the thrilling conclusion to Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy, is everything you want the final book of a fantasy trilogy to be. All of the final confrontations, battles, explanations and goodbyes are thoroughly satisfying – in fact, perhaps too much so. Compared to its predecessor (the not-entirely-unrelated Farseer Trilogy) everything in this series feels almost too neatly resolved. The quality of Hobb’s writing continues to tell a deeply engaging tale throughout Ship of Destiny, and although the fate of the central characters is explained to a satisfying depth, doors are left open as to how the protagonists’ actions seem destined to change the world order of Hobb’s universe.

The events of Ship of Destiny are set in a sea-trading settlement, ‘Bingtown’, its allied, upriver trade partner 'Trehaug' and other significant ports in the area – including several pirate settlements. Life in each of these very different places is described holistically, and the reader gets a sense of what life might be like for very different types of people; traders (wealthy merchant families), pirates, slaves, sailors, royalty – even certain animals are given voice. This multitude of settings and narrators is part of what makes the story so compelling; the diversity of perspectives generates a deeply three-dimensional world.

Only one character from the first trilogy carries over to the second – and even then, you do not realise the identity of this person until the last pages of the book. However, the extent to which the events of both trilogies affect the world of the other is of dramatic importance. Again, showcasing her stunning writing abilities, Hobb manages to weave the drama of the personal into the wider web of politics and history in her realm, and the characters she writes about continue to have real (flawed) personalities. Some are bossy, selfish, cruel (even psychotic), and yet far from isolating any one type of person as ‘bad’ we read from the perspectives of all, and are left to make our own judgements of her creations.

The version of dragons presented by Hobb in Ship of Destiny is far superior to those in any other realm I have read about. The social order Tintaglia (the first dragon to be resurrected) describes makes sense, so much so that it amazes me that that nobody has written dragons like this before. Proud, and vain, with egos to match their impressive physical size, the dragons of Hobb’s world envision a society in which they are the dominant beings. Compared to humans, they are infinitely more powerful, intelligent and live much longer lives. Using all the same factors that we use to determine ourselves superior to animals, dragons determine themselves superior to humans. But, like most humans in the real world would, many of the main characters meet this idea with utter disbelief, illustrating just how short-sighted humanity can be. Selden Vestrit, one of the characters able to empathise with dragons and see the bigger picture, articulates a fact that is true of both his universe and ours when he tells another character, “There are many ways for different folk to live alongside each other, Reyn Khuprus.” This kind of open-mindedness is so relevant to the real world, and it is here that Hobb’s skill lies. She is able to draw the reader towards ideas that seem profound within the setting, but are really just truths borne of the kind of empathetic worldview that humanity should adopt. What Selden says to Reyn should be a truth realised by all, and yet the idea of peaceful coexistence with people who are different from ourselves is just as difficult for us to realise as it is for the characters in The Liveship Trilogy.  Hobb’s prose is beautiful, but also deeply insightful.

The last major fantasy series I was reading before I was introduced to Hobb was A Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin. Consequently, I find myself comparing their styles frequently. After reading six of Hobb’s books and four of Martin’s I must conclude that her writing is much more enjoyable than his. Although both stories are intriguing, Martin’s universe is so complex that even he cannot remember all of the lore and history – the evidence being that he has needed to collaborate with the co-authors of a wiki dedicated to his universe to write an encyclopaedia about the 'Realm of Ice and Fire' in order to get all his facts straight before completing the next book of his trilogy. Hobb’s writing similarly follows a whole host of disparate yet intertwined storylines, and contains complex lore and history, however she keeps her series far more readable, and never deliberately strives to make you wait to find out what happens next. If two or more characters happen to be at the same place or event, regardless of how significant or exciting it might be, she will continue to tell the story. With Martin, it always feels as though he deliberately chooses to write next about the character that is the farthest removed from the action that has engrossed you throughout the current chapter.

Ship of Destiny can only be faulted in one small way. The fate of all the characters is uncharacteristically neat and happyily resolved compared to the usual harshly realistic direction Hobb’s writing takes. Obviously, spoilers would abound was I to say anymore, and as a reader, I was happy that the characters I was emotionally attached to all seemed to get their way, however it did not feel as honest as Hobb’s other endings.

I must thank the friend who encouraged me to begin reading Robin Hobb, for she has quickly become one of my favourite fantasy authors. Her writing is always engaging and never predictable and I am eager to see what becomes of her universe in throughout the next trilogies.