However, as a whole, this trilogy deserves 5 / 5 stars. That being said, I only gave Ship of Magic 5 stars, with The Mad Ship getting 4 stars and Ship of Destiny getting 4.5 stars. Can you genuinely analyse such complex themes and characters in a few pages? Hobb clearly felt she needed nearly 3,000 pages to explore these themes and characters fully, and I am so glad she did. While you “could” speed up the pace of the story, I do not believe it would have been as impactful for the reader. Hobb obviously wanted to write a character-driven story with a focus on grief, identity and trauma. I am not sure you can rush a story like this and make it as impactful. This book and series could have arguably been a bit shorter, but I also feel there is a strong case for making these books long.

However, as with all of Hobb’s books, the pace is very slow. Hobb has a unique ability to pull at the reader’s heartstrings and make the reader feel invested in each character. The character arcs in this trilogy are some of the best I have come across in fantasy. Moreover, the reader will truly come to appreciate each character arc near the end of this incredible series. 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. I don’t think I have come across an author before that seems to understand mental health and portray it so well in fiction as Robin Hobb.Ĭonsequently, Hobb is able to wrap up all the loose ends in this final book of the trilogy, making this a very satisfying read. It was fascinating to see how these characters’ grief and trauma slowly changes throughout almost 3,000 pages.

I have never come across an author that is able to handle these complex and challenging themes in such a realistic and impactful way. I have to praise Hobb for how she handles the themes of grief, identity and trauma. 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.)

This trilogy was everything I hoped for and more. One of the best trilogies I have ever read! Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb – Book 3 in The Liveship Trader’s Trilogy (Book review)

Robin hobb liveship traders