We’re not in the Six Duchies anymore, Toto.
***Spoilers for all of Liveship Traders (Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny) up to my Ship of Destiny blogging journey that begins at chapter 11. Light mentions of Farseer Trilogy, no direct major plot spoilers***
If you’ve been following along, you know I started blogging my journey through The Realm of the Elderlings at the exceedingly logical point of about 75% through the second trilogy. The good news is, that’s only the sixth book in a sixteen-part literary universe, so there is plenty of ground ahead of me to cover. Still, it felt wrong to neglect my beloved Farseer Trilogy (Fitz + me forever) and the first three-fourths of Liveship Traders.
I already shared a post to give some (wildly insufficient) broad-stroke thoughts on Farseer, so Liveship Traders, come on down!
After following Fitz as he grew from boy to assassin to sailor/warrior to wolf-man to rizz lord to hermit (a tale as old as time), diving into Liveship Traders was a real breath of fresh sea air. I’d picked up vague rumblings that Liveship Traders was a good time. Basically, “don’t worry about missing Fitz, there’s a whole cast of wacky characters waiting for you along the Cursed Shores.” So I downloaded the full trilogy to my Kindle (because it’s comforting to see you have 80 hours left in your read), downed second breakfast, and dove in!
And what an adventure it has been!
I have been absolutely eating up Liveship Traders. The characters are rich (bow down to Queen Robin), the pace is quick, and the story keeps me on my toes. You never know when someone’s going to lose a limb!
The biggest revelation for me has been the sentient ships. I never thought I’d be shipping people with actual ships (looking at you, Amber and Paragon). When a sex scene between a pirate and an actual boat isn’t off the table, you know you’re in uncharted reading territory.
Even now, thinking back to where each character began, my mind is boggled by how much shit has gone down. Wintrow was a peaceful little boy making stained glass in a monastery, for Sa’s sake!
Robin’s ability to add complexity to characters and shift perceptions along the way is masterful. If you had told me at the beginning that Malta would become one of my favorites characters, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But here we are. Yes, she was a spoiled, entitled, manipulative little brat, but when her world fell out from under her, wilt she did not. Her underlying resilience rose to the occasion. (Side note: I was once a twelve year old girl, and I would also appreciate not being judged as that version of myself for all time.)
I could say the same for a number of characters throughout the series- some grow, some devolve, many do both, and it waxes and wanes as humans do. We’re not all good or all bad, and we’re not on some tidy linear developmental path. Robin captures that messiness with incredible depth.
Ok, so let’s get into some general thoughts:
Kyle is the fucking worst. He’s practically the definition of “love to hate,” because he’s so awful but still weirdly compelling. Don’t get me wrong, he SUCKS. Just a grade-A asshole with very low morals. But his awful ideas and flawed execution seem to come from a place of mostly good intentions. He doesn’t have evil goals; he just wants to provide for his family. Unfortunately for everyone in his orbit, he’s a giant dildo, and his actions in pursuit of those goals are severely misguided.
His inferiority complex is wild, and his treatment of Wintrow is unforgivable. Even at his lowest, with Wintrow his only ally after the capture of Vivacia, Kyle couldn’t muster even a crumb of introspection or decency. To the dungeon prison you go!
Ethically-questionable shipbuilding practices aside, I love the Rain Wilders and their treehouse town. Reyn is my #1 boy. Does he fall hopelessly in love with a bitchy tween swimming in debt after two minutes of interaction? Sure. But when you know, you know.
Oh, Althea. You get massively fucked over right from the jump. Who needs enemies when your mom and sister conspire to crush all your hopes and dreams (wizardwordship remembers!)? She’s got Fitz’s* ability to find a way through even the most dire circumstances- and a hidden talent for skinning sea bears to boot!
I am hopeful (which all but guarantees they’re doomed) for her and Brashen. If he can love her at her head-wound Athel, he deserves her at her best.
*In making that Fitz comparison, I had better not be summoning a future where Brashen and Malta wind up together. I’m aware some seeds were planted (Brashen’s junkie-with-a-mustache vibe gets him some mileage), but I’ve lived through one incest-adjecent cuckolding already. I won’t do it again!
If you want me to buy into a love triangle, you are going to have to give the challenger a better name than Grag. You seriously expect me to believe someone named Grag is going to prevail as the love interest? Be for real.
Wintrow is the chaos agent we deserve. I love his path of destruction and unbreakable spirit. Fuck Kyle and his entire crew. If I have to fight a bear to prove myself to you, I hope you enjoy your mutiny. Suckers.
Me, lounging in sweatpants, covered in potato chip crumbs, mercilessly judging Davad Restart’s lack of social grace: “Your breeches are ill-fitting and how dare you show up uninvited to a social call, Davad! Have some dignity!”
Captain Kennit: His pirate flag may as well be a giant red flag, but given the chance, I am confident I can fix him.
That’s all for now! Meet me at the gazebo, but please don’t come unless you are prepared to disrespect my honor!
wizardwordship 
Pingback: Ship of Destiny, Chapters 22-25 | wizardwordship
Pingback: wizardwordship Sets Sail: Ship of Destiny, Somewhere Around Chapter 11 | wizardwordship
Pingback: Reactions from the Realm: The Farseer Trilogy, Reader’s Quest | wizardwordship