Sentient sailing ships, pirates and dragons - an excellent combination.

The interactions surrounding Paragon were irritating. For people who spend generations centered on their liveships they sure treat him disdainfully without even trying to figure out why he is the way is. Especially coming from Althea - for someone who supposedly understands liveships so well, she treats them more as objects than beings with feelings.

This is the first time I've encountered dragons written as such self centered, egotistical assholes.  LOL

The wrap up felt a bit rushed, but most of the loose ends were tied up.

Admittedly, mine cuppeth hast been overflowing on the first part from very early on this series—and trilogy—nor am I qualified to analyse all the ways Hobb fails in writing about the tattooed slaves, so this is going to be a short review. Again.

This trilogy has all the melodrama and angsty plot twists I usually love in my reading, but execution matters. Boy, does it matter.

Hobb touches on serious matters and then promptly glosses over the aftermath. Instead of confronting their issues, her characters—and the author—like to take the easy way out and act as if the briefest acknowledgement of their issues is a victory worthy of an Olympic medal, or a HEA.

The only reason I kept reading and will keep reading Hobb is Amber. She's on a ship that sails no matter what. If you know what I mean. *wink wink nudge nudge*

I can understand why *this* rape scene would anger readers, but for me it was the rotten cherry on top of a piss ice cream in a shit cup. This trilogy has been nothing but misogyny heaped over rape culture and flavoured with paedophilia sometimes confused with homophobia.

Ship of Destiny was a perfect ending to a perfect story, a truly grand finale to the grand Liveship Traders trilogy.

The writing, the characters, the story--brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. The dragons, the battles, the love stories, the mysteries, the magic--all thrilling, all beautiful. All lose ends were tied up nicely. Everyone got what they deserved.

Perfect.

The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained