The Liveship Traders (3) - Ship of Destiny: The Liveship Traders: Book 3 (Liveship Traders S.) [Paperback]

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 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Praise for The Liveship Traders series:

‘Even better than the Assassin books. I didn’t think that was possible’
George R R Martin

A truly extraordinary saga… the characterizations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with love for and knowledge of the sea. If Patrick O’Brian were to turn to writing high fantasy, he might produce something like this.’
BOOKLIST

‘A wonderful book, by a writer at the height of her abilities’
J V Jones

Praise for The Liveship Traders series:

‘Even better than the Assassin books. I didn’t think that was possible’
George R R Martin

A truly extraordinary saga… the characterizations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with love for and knowledge of the sea. If Patrick O’Brian were to turn to writing high fantasy, he might produce something like this.’
BOOKLIST

‘A wonderful book, by a writer at the height of her abilities’
J V Jones

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

The magnificent conclusion to this gripping new trilogy of magic and adventure from the author of the classic Farseer series

The dragon, Tintaglia, has been released from her wizardwood coffin, only to find that the glories of her kingdom have passed into ancient memory.

Meanwhile, Malta Vestrit navigates the acid flow of the Rain Wild River in a decomposing boat, accompanied by the Satrap Cosgo and his Companion Kekki. Against hope, a ship appears in the alien waters, but does it mean rescue, or a further nightmare, for Malta?

In ruined Bingtown, the citizens are at war, against the Chalcedean mercenaries besieging the harbour, and also among themselves. If the city is to survive, Ronica Vestrit must unite all its peoples – both Trader and Tattooed – and liberate the city once and for all; but Companion Serilla has a different agenda, and is seeking to establish her own power base.

Althea and Brashen are finally at sea together, sailing the liveship Paragon into pirate waters in a last-ditch effort to rescue the Vestrit family liveship, Vivacia, stolen by the Pirate king, Kennit; but there is mutiny brewing in their rag-tag crew; and in the mind of the mad ship itself…

Wintrow has liberated She Who Remembers and she can at last fulfil her ancient purpose, but in doing so he has been terribly injured. If Wintrow dies, Kennit fears that Vivacia will lose her fragile sanity: a loss that will also threaten his dreams of power and glory. So he strikes a deal with the ship. And soon the waters around the Vivacia are seething with giant serpents, following the liveship as it sails to its destiny.

Majestic and sweeping, Ship of Destiny concludes the tale of the Vestrit family and their part in the history of The Liveship Traders with a soaring and triumphant finale to this unique series of epic fantasy.

The dragon, Tintaglia, has been released from her wizardwood coffin, only to find that the glories of her kingdom have passed into ancient memory.

Meanwhile, Malta Vestrit navigates the acid flow of the RAIN Wild River in a decomposing boat, accompanied by the Satrap Cosgo and his Companion Kekki. Against hope, a ship appears in the alien waters, but does it mean rescue, or a further nightmare, for Malta?

In ruined Bingtown, the citizens are at war, against the Chalcedean mercenaries besieging the harbour and, also among themselves. If the city is to survive, Ronica Vestrit must unite all its peoples – both trader and Tattooed – and liberate the city once and for all; but Companion Serilla has a different agenda, and is seeking to establish her own power base.

Althea and Brashen are finally at sea together, sailing the liveship Paragon into pirate waters in a last-ditch effort to rescue the Veestrit family liveship, Vivacia, stolen by the pirate king, Kennit; but there is mutiny brewing in their raging crew; and in the mind of the mad ship itself . . .

Wintrow has liberated She Who Remembers and she can at last fulfil her ancient purpose, but in doing so he has been terribly injured. If Wintrow dies, Kennit fears that Vivacia will lose her fragile sanity: a loss that will also threaten his dreams of power and glory. So he strikes a deal with the ship. And soon the waters around the Vivacia are seething with giant serpents, following the liveship as it sails to its destiny.

Majestic and sweeping, 'Ship of Destiny' concludes the tale of the Vestrit family and their part in the history of The Liveship Traders with a triumphant finale to his unique epic fantasy series.

Robin Hobb was born in California in 1952 and majored in Communications at Denver University, Colorado.

She is the author of the hugely successful FARSEER TRILOGY – 'Assassins's Apprentice, Royal Assassin ' and 'Assassin's Quest' – which is set in the same world as LIVESHIP TRADERS

The final volume in this superb new trilogy from the author of 'THE FARSEER TRILOGY' concludes this dramatic tale of piracy, dragons, love and above all, magic.

Praise for 'The Liveship Traders:'
"A truly extraordinary saga . . . the characterisations are consistently superb, and [Hobb] animates everything with love for and knowledge of the sea. If Patrick O'Brian were to turn to writing high fantasy, he might produce something like this"
BOOKLIST

"Robin Hobb writes achingly well"
SFX

"A wonderful book, by a wonderful writer at the height of her abilities"
J V JONES

"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
"Put together with exceptional skill, deployed on a grand scale"
INTERZONE

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Robin Hobb was born in California in 1952 and majored in Communications at Denver University, Colorado. Assassin’s Apprentice was her first novel, and was followed by the equally successful Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest. She lives outside Seattle, Washington.