u/Other_Revenue_2873

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I just finished Ship of Destiny and wow. I can confidently say I enjoyed the Liveship Traders trilogy more than I did the Farseer trilogy. Having multiple POV characters really worked for me, and I loved watching all these different storylines slowly converge towards the end. What a fantastic series.

A few thoughts:

Malta:

I CANNOT believe I am saying this, but Malta is probably my favourite character! Who would have thought?!

Her character development was absolutely insane. I went from being thoroughly annoyed by her to genuinely rooting for her. Watching her grow, become more self-aware and start taking responsibility for her choices was one of my favourite parts of the trilogy.

The serpents and dragons:

The serpents and dragons were amazing, and I absolutely loved the lore surrounding them. There is clearly SO much more to this world and I cannot wait to see where Hobb takes it from here.

The villains:

I'm still not sure what to make of the Satrap. I genuinely thought he was going to have some sort of character development similar to Malta, but… nope. You can't have everything, I suppose.

Kyle, on the other hand, got exactly what he deserved. I hated him in the first book, but by the end I almost pitied him. He was a fool who simply never learned from his mistakes. His ignorance and arrogance were almost tragic by the end. I wouldn't wish that level of self-delusion on my worst enemy.

And lastly…

Kennit. Fuck Kennit.

I started this trilogy with such mixed feelings about him. I couldn't decide whether I hated him or admired him. There were moments when I was actually rooting for him.

And then Althea.

That was it. Completely irredeemable for me.

What made it even worse was how the people around him reacted to Althea afterwards.

I kept waiting for someone to truly acknowledge what happened to her. I hated that Wintrow dismissed her claim, and I was especially frustrated by Vivacia. I know it was explained that she had kept herself away from Althea and therefore didn't know what had happened, but given her connection to Kennit, I still couldn't shake the feeling that she should have known something was wrong.

And honestly, I was waiting for Kennit to get some sort of truly cruel, satisfying ending.

And then… we didn't really get it.

I was SO disappointed.

He is genuinely one of the most vile characters I've read, and what disturbed me almost as much as Kennit himself was the unwavering support he received from the people around him. The way they idolised him while Althea's experience was dismissed was incredibly frustrating.

So yeah. Fuck Kennit.

But despite all my rage, this was an incredible trilogy.

The characters, the dragons, the worldbuilding, the multiple POVs, the way all the different threads eventually came together, I loved it.

And now…

I have TEN more Realm of the Elderlings books to read.

Yay!!

Also I have a question. Will I be seeing these characters in future books?

Just wanted to share my thoughts somewhere. I am on chapter 20 currently of Ship of Magic.

After the emotional devastation that was the Farseer Trilogy, I've now started Ship of Magic. The first few chapters were a little slow, and I'll admit it was jarring not reading from Fitz's perspective anymore. But wow... Robin Hobb has done it again. The story has completely drawn me in. One thing I've learned with Hobb is that you can never predict what emotional state you'll be in by the end of a chapter.

Some thoughts on the characters so far (please no spoilers!):

Paragon – Absolutely love him. There's something about his tragic, mysterious existence that just pulls at my heartstrings.

Brashen – Reserving judgment until I know him better. Seems like a decent enough guy for now.

Althea – Feels a bit whiny at the moment, but I'm keeping an open mind.

Ronica – Love a strong woman with a backbone.

Keffria – Initially couldn't stand her because of her blind obedience to her husband, but I've started seeing little sparks of strength. I'm curious to see where Hobb takes her.

Wintrow – I thought he was whiny at first too, but his journey has been beautiful so far. The finger scene completely changed my perspective on him. His bond with Vivacia is fascinating, and I have no idea where it's headed.

Kennit – What a character. Is he good? Bad? Kind? Selfish? Every chapter leaves me even more uncertain, and I love that. There were a few instances where I had to actually laugh out loud at how blind he can be to the kindness his actions bespoke!

Now for the characters I absolutely despise...

Kyle – What an arrogant, insufferable arsehole. I never thought I'd hate anyone more than Regal, but Kyle is giving him serious competition. Every scene with him makes my blood boil.

Malta – What a spoiled little brat. Every time she opens her mouth I want someone to give her a good whacking. She's driving me up the wall.

Anyway, that's where I am. It's 2 a.m., I should probably go to sleep instead of reading "just one more chapter."

Please no spoilers—I just wanted to share my thoughts and see if anyone else felt the same at this point!

I just finished Assassin's Quest.

I started Assassin's Apprentice 6 days ago.

Six.

I don't think I've ever read this fast in my life. I feel like I've just finished running a marathon. I've barely slept. Every free moment was spent reading, and by the end it felt like I was in a trance.

The trilogy started a little slowly for me, but that climax... wow.

And somehow I'm not walking away feeling victorious. It's so incredibly bittersweet. The "good guys" won, but my heart hurts for Fitz. For Verity. For the Fool. Robin Hobb somehow made every victory feel like it demanded an impossible sacrifice.

What amazes me most is that this is only the third book. There are still 16 more books in the Realm of the Elderlings. How? What is even left to discover? It genuinely feels like I've only just scratched the surface of this world.

These books feel so different from the epic fantasy I've read before. They're less about kingdoms and battles and more about people—their loneliness, love, duty, identity, and the choices that shape them. I've never had fantasy make me feel quite like this.

I'm honestly overwhelmed. I think I need a few days before I jump into the next series because I need to emotionally recover.

What a journey man. Wow.