Rating: 
Summary: masterful closing to an engaging trilogy.
Review: First a bit about the series that this book is the final volume in. I am a huge fan of Robin Hobb, and it was this series that started me in reading all of her books. I just completed the entire Liveship Traders series for the second time. You could read it over and over again, wanting to be with these characters for longer. It says something that I own the second and third volume in hardcover, because I had to rush out and buy the next installment.Robin Hobb incorporates a vivid level of detail about the world, and Ship of Destiny ties together all the threads that a reader of the series has been wondering about. The peoples of this world are molded by their environment, and Hobb has clearly planned a long history for this world. The amount of time that must have gone into the creation of the world really pays off in the readability of the books. Her characters are so much like live humans. I could relate to Malta from my years as a teenage girl, to Althea, and to all of the other characters. The same rebellions any teen has with the authorities are reflected in this fantasy novel. The quality that makes this one of the best trilogy-enders I've read is that all the characters have their ends tied up, have changed in some way, and all my questions were answered. It is very rare for a writer to be able to tie everything together and create a satisfying ending for an involved story like this.
Rating: 
Summary: More satisfying end to Hobb's "second" trilogy
Review: Of course this isn't really the author's "second" trilogy, since she has produced a few series as Megan Lindholm, but it is the second trilogy that I know of set in the same world, the world of the Farseer/Royal Assassin/FitzChivalry trilogy. As such, it begs comparison to that first trilogy, and in the case of this third, concluding volume, comes out the better. I thoroughly enjoyed the Farseer trilogy, especially the first two books, but I found the third, "Assassin's Quest" overlong, lacking in many elements that made the first two books so interesting, and ending with an overall unsatisfying (if in most cases for the characters, appropriate) conclusion. The Liveship series is also long, but accommodates a much larger set of characters-- the Vestrit family and it's relations-- which justifies it's length. I think this is where the author really shines in the Liveship Trilogy-- it's bursting at the seams with characters, and all are handled extremely well with complexity and believeability. Sure, a few tend to "steal the spotlight" from what one presumes is the "central character" of the series, Althea Vestrit-- Kennit is a prime example, and both Malta and Paragon seem to claim the later part of the third book "all for themselves." Yet they have every reason to be central to the story by the end of the book. Every character comes to an often unexpected, but always acceptable and appropriate, point by the end of the book. They all change, grow and develop into stronger, more interesting roles than they began with to serve the greater story. To be able to do that with so many diverse characters and to this reader's complete satisfaction (unlike the end of the Farseer trilogy) is quite an achievement. Yes, the books are long in detail (and the society created in the Liveship Trilogy seems much more intricate and interesting than the Six Duchies), epic in scope, but the focus remains firmly on the varied cast of characters from major to minor, as they grow with and react to the driving plot, or "destiny" of the story. Of course, I recommend the entire trilogy, but for any of those who may struggle with the lengths of the first two books, the payoff is all here in this book, so stick with it. It's well worth it. Also, for Farseer fans, there are interesting connections between Paragon the Liveship and Amber of this trilogy to FitzChivalry and the land of the Six Duchies that continue to baffle me-- and I've read both trilogies-- that are very intriguing. Perhaps the new "Tawny Man" trilogy by Hobb will be begin to address this question, and give us further insight into the Elderlings, Dragons and what, if any, relationship exists between Amber of the Liveship Trilogy and The Fool of the Farseer Trilogy. I look forward to Robin Hobb's next epic.
Rating:
Summary: A succesful ending
Review: I for one cherish the way that robin hobb ends her books. I have never felt such a profound feeling of justice and honesty when I finished reading the farseer books. It wasn't happily ever after it wasn't any thing less than was deserved. It was a sense of completion with out being complete. The same goes for Ship of destiny. The Ending plays out quickly without The falseness of an ending too neat and too long. Much is left to our imagination in Ship of Destiny and the book lives on long after you are finished reading it. The revelation of Amber and the subtle tributes to Fitzchivalry were particularly gut wrenching to me. Why do I have such take such pride in these characters? It's only a book! I've read a lot of fantasy novels but i've never been closer to Characters than i have been in Robin Hobb's works. Overall I would say that the Liveship Novels were not quiet as good as the Farseer books. The first two books were overly long but the 3rd book made the lengthyness worthwhile as the whole 2nd half of the the book seemed like one giant climax as all the many story lines tied together. However, I feel Robin Hobb has mastered the first person story telling much better than the 3rd person plot jumping mode as shown in the liveships. With so many character developments going on at once it is inevitable to develope a favorite among the plot threads. I confess to actually skipping about 50 pages at one point so that i could find out more about Kennit's storyline. The sad part was that It didn't make an inch of difference to the plot progression. What should have been an intertwining web of progressing storylines was often times independent plot threads askew from the overall developement. Not that webbmaking is an easy task, I can't say i've ever seen it truelly done well with the amount of characters Hobb had to manage. Anyway, enough babble. These two series were incredible. Robin Hobb, Bravo!
Rating: 
Summary: Colorful and imaginative, but a bit long winded
Review: This series is definitely worth reading and this book finally brings the plots together. Her writing seems to be improving. I could wish that the editors had done a bit of cutting. Parts of the story seem to repeat and to be a bit uninspired at times. I also think she reveals too much about characters' motivations and the history of the world around them. A little bit more should have been left to the imagination.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Conclusion to Very Good Series
Review: I found this book innovative and different from the run of the mill fantasy series. I have become a die-hard Hobb fan and recommend her books to any who appreciate epic fantasy and who also maintain high standards for their literature.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: Robin Hobb's novels always leave me mildly disappointed. Her technical ability is very good, her characterisation and scene setting always top-notch.
It's just the plots.
They tend to be weak.
Don't get me wrong, the entire Ship series has been very good. She has successfully done a fantasy version of C S Forester or Patrick O'Brian when it comes to depicting the sea and life on it. There is a great deal of the vital swashbuckle and it smoothly transforms from sea to land.
Indeed the only poor character in the entire series is that of Satrap Cosgo's companion - Serilla. The character is not developed enough.
However, the concept that the liveships are in fact un-metamorphosed dragon memories is a new one and one that has so much more potential than Hobb realises. The Liveship characters are also superb, Paragon and Vivacia are extremely well-developed and you feel everything they do. Kennit, Wintrow and Etta end up becoming the primary characters partway through, and justifably so. There could have been so much more. You knew what the plot was going to be before it ended and Tintaglia ended up being more bluster than dragon.
So, if you like the fantasy genre, buy it and read it. Characterisation is superb, narrative excellent, it is probably the finest attempt at seafaring fantasy out there right now. But the weakly obvious plot means no five star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Sloppy Ending, Cameo of Fool and Fitz
Review: Robin Hobb is a truely terrific writer, there's no doubt about that. But Ms. Hobb has a major fault which is--she just doesn't know how END her books. They're rushed, anti-climatic, indescribably sloppy and what's worse of all, they just don't do justice to her otherwise terrific series. The Farseer Trilogy was guilty of this, and sadly Ship of Destiny doesn't fare much better. In fact, I think that in some ways it was much worse. With Farseer since Hobb stuck to just one view point, that of Fitz Chivalry, she didn't have so many loose plot lines to tie up. With the multitude of characters in SoD, even this mammoth of a volume suffers from the lack of pages. Also, there were a lot of plot-fillers which I thought were unneccessary--those could have been cut off to give more room to the main story.
The way she brought together all the characters I'd grown to know, love or hate respectively and having them interact was wonderful, especially because the characters didn't act the way you'd expect them to. But in that is also a major weakness. In having the characters act contrary to what you've known about them, and then rushedly hurrying to explain that it was in fact in character to do so, because of things that had happened in their pasts but Hobb had never chosen to reveal--it just seemed a bit too much like Sherlock Homes to me. And the WAY all these people converge together--well, just let me say you should be willing to dispense all incredulity.
Also, Kennit is a major problem. So he's one of those people who just can't grow out of the pains inflicted upon them, so inflicts it again upon other people, causing the cycle to go round. So what? We've seen it all too many times before, and we've seen it done better than him. He's a cliche of a character, and the way he suddenly changes in the later half of SoD is unbelievable. It felt like the author had originally made notes to have Kennit be one way, then forgot those notes and went another way, then somehow finally found the notes and changed course at the end.
Despite all that, though, I still LIKE this book. I may not love it like the Farseer Saga, but there are too many gems in the Liveship Trilogy to ignore. Even in the midst of cheese and cliches, the characters still live through, change, and become some of the most amazingly real people you've ever had the chance to meet. They could have been better, but still they're some of the best. A star for that.
SoD receives another star for its sheer complexity. Although it is not carried out that well, there are few fantasy authors with Hobb's caliber of making non-existent communities seem both complex and life-like. It may not have worked perfectly but just trying something like this should be rewarded for itself.
The rest of the two stars are for the well carried out allusions to the Farseer Saga. Throughout the first two books of the series there are hints and allusions but never concrete statements of Amber, the mysterious carpenter, and her origin, but in this final installment Hobb lets us know just who Amber is. I have to admit I'm crazy about the Farseer Saga, and just seeing bits of hints kept me going throughout the boring parts. The way Amber carves Paragon's face into Fitz's face, and gives him a battle-axe and the silver earring...The way she admits she loved him... (And remember, Starling kept claiming that the Fool was a woman, despite Fitz's incredulity!) The way Brash asks if she shouldn't smooth his broken nose and she says no... It was much too delicious to resist. So, to me, the steep price of the hardcover was worth it if just for the fact that more of the Fool and Chivalry shows up. And to end it all, I'm terribly interested to see how my favorite characters will come together in Fool's Errand. I wonder how Fitz will react to the newly changed Fool...?
Rating:
Summary: Good but not up to her usual caliber
Review: I had eagerly been waiting for the conclusion to what had been an excellent series so far, but when I finished SOD I was unsatisfied. I noticed it right at the beginning- the plot moved slowly, and while her usual method of having mini-cliffhangers at the end of each chapter is usually a good thing, here it just served to slow down the focus of the story. It took so long to get to a momentum in each chapter by the time you were getting into a particular storyline she switched tacks and you had to start all over again. It just never reached the level of intensity of the previous novels.
This was compounded by the fact that in this book the characters underwent amazingly quick psychological switches and started acting in a way that just didn't make sense. It was like she was trying to use her characters to make a _point_, rather than letting them develop as people. The worst offender in this was Kennitt- his behavior at the end of didn't seem realistic based on his earlier behavior throughout the book. And there was wayyy too much emphasis on this being a "man's world" and that the women could only manage to survive and persevere in spite of what the men in the book had/were/would do to them. Thoroughly undermined her usual tradition of having strong female and male characters.
This is one I will not be keeping although it's worth reading just to find out what happens in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking!
Review: This is one of those novels that upon reading it, one forgets about everything else just to immersed into its wonderful world. In fact, the whole trillogy is like this. The character development is so rich, and the plot is so masterfully conplex with all the view points, and the whole thing is simply rich. The outcome was simply not predictable, and Kennit remains the most ingenious villain I have ever read about. The characters, booth good and bad, were simply wonderful, and the transition of Malta is particularly intresting. This is certainly one novel not to be missed by anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: I agree with Shiver from Vancouver. Hobb's Farseer Trilogy was a masterpiece of fantasy writing, and I could not put it down as I turned page after page after page to see what would happen. The sorrow was heart-rending and the story was amazing. However, the ending was quite frankly, terrible. There was no ending, really. So when I picked up Hobb's Liveship traders, I was very cautious, and didn't want to read it. However, the sheer brilliance of Hobb's writing lured me into the book, and inside I found a wonderful mixture of adventure, betrayal, secrets, romance and dragons that took my breath away. A real page-turner, and I seriously recommend it. As for the Farseer Trilogy, Hobb was intending to continue the series with a seond trilogy, of which the first book is out. The Tawny Man trilogy promises closure to the Farseers, and should be every inch a good read as Hobb's previous works. Read The Liveship Traders! it's worth your while. And if you enjoy it, the Farseer trilogy should be next on your reading list.
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