***Spoilers for Liveship Traders through chapter 36 of Ship of Destiny. Mentions of Farseer Trilogy***
I am two for two on reading Kennit death scenes right before bed – and this one packed an emotional gut punch. After recent events, we were well past any ability to root for Kennit, but even after he crossed into irredeemability, complicated feelings prevailed. And it’s not just us. Many of the characters are also struggling with complex emotions in the wake of Kennit’s demise. It is clear his death will continue to create ripples of impact among those left behind. The highs were high and the lows were in hell, but Kennit’s return to Paragon for his final moments provided a poignant and touching end to his story. Throughout the Liveship Traders trilogy, Kennit puts Robin Hobb’s unmatched character development skills on full display. He will certainly go down in my personal pantheon of fantasy characters.
This section of chapters is full of interpersonal and political maneuvering, plus, you know, a casual boat battle raging in the background. The Jamaillian warships and nobles were annoying me. Like, chill with the catapults. People are trying to reunite and have conversations, thanks. In the midst of all the chaos, I found myself mostly caring about whether Reyn and Malta still found each other cute (spoiler: they do!! Squeee!), which proves once and for all that I am, deep down, just a teenage girl at heart.
Despite my well-established naval strategy expertise, it was challenging to grasp what was going on with the Jamaillian battle brigade at any given point. I thought the serpents did a number on them, but these guys are the Michael Myers of naval armadas. While I have no investment in them aside from as a sort of amorphous fleet of badness, I did appreciate how their presence forced all of our main characters into a begrudging “enemy of my enemy is my friend” alliance. One minute you are the laughingstock at the negotiation table, and the next, the main character is dying to save you. The tides turn quickly on the Cursed Shores!
More musings:
Ship Fight!! I loved the liveships literally jumping into the fray and physically fighting by ramming into other ships. Paragon takes it up a notch, showing that even ShipFitz™ is gnarly with a war axe.
Genuine question: why did Kyle come back? I spent weeks tracking and anticipating (dreading) his reappearance… for that??? He rants a bit, gets sniped by an arrow or two, and is dumped unceremoniously into the sea? Great. No reunion with Malta or Wintrow. Even his dumb death managed to irritate the fuck out of me. Very on-brand for Kyle.
Well, would you look at that. Guess who’s returned: Tintaglia and the serpents. And – you’re never going to believe this – they are struggling. I have had it. Time to call in Burrich to get a dragon care program in place. Just keep him away from Reyn and Malta. I can only imagine how perverse he would find their dragon connections. (Yep, still bitter).
Back to Reyn and Malta: The angst is so real with these two. It’s a tight race between them and Althea/Brashen for top “Idiots in Love,” but I have to give the edge my sweet dragonish babies. Althea is already worrying about the long distance of being “one ship over” (I mean, they couldn’t figure out the obstacle of “pants”, a rowboat ride is asking a lot). Meanwhile, Reyn is out here getting his entire body crushed in a dragon’s grip for days on end for someone who has never even seen his perfect-for-a-monster-romance face. Plus, they are primed to birth the next coming of the Elderlings. So, Althea gets one-upped once again!
Best comedic moment: in the middle of the heaviest of sequences – as Kennit’s dying body is being dragged across the deck to get him to Paragon for his final breaths and the Satrap is hanging on by a thread – Malta grabs Althea’s attention to share:
“Reyn thinks I’m beautiful. Can you believe that?”
In true tweenage fashion, it’s her realm, everyone else is just a side character.
Best comedic moment runner-up: Paragon’s breezy arrival on the scene, full battle raging, shouting:
“Halloo the Vivacia! Who has taken Kennit?”
We get further confirmation of what I suspected: Reyn’s BFE*. First, Althea observes:
“Despite his scaly face and eyes, he was a well-made man, tall and muscled.”
Which Jek follows up, declaring:
“Even with the scales, he’s not bad looking.”
*Big Fitz Energy
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Bingtown. I would start a Ronica-watch, but no one cares.
Call up the dragon lawyer! We’ve got a marriage contract to negotiate!
wizardwordship 