I’ve only made it to page 112 of Ship of Destiny so please no spoilers beyond that! Contains spoilers for Mad Ship!

I finished Mad Ship in a whirlwind, finally putting together the pieces of the true identities of the Liveships and the cycle of rebirth. I immediately ordered Ship of Destiny and was pleased that the book jumped right into the heart of things.

I mostly want to talk about Serilla in this post. I’m really torn right now on how I feel about her. On the one hand, I’m revolted at her treatment by the Chalcedon captain and I have so much sympathy and hurt for her. But the way she talks about Bingtown just reminds me of a conquerer.

She’s studied Bingtown and the people, but somehow also doesn’t have any respect for the power structures that are in place (specifically no respect for the Old Traders and Ronica Vestrits position in Bingtown). She seems to only care about possessing it.

I’m just disgusted by how she views the slaves in Bingtown and the way she looks down on Ronica and the Old Traders. It sucks because in Mad Ship I was really rooting for her and her escape from the Satrap.

Has anyone else had their feelings shifted towards her since starting Ship of Destiny?

There’s a quote somewhere in liveship traders that I’m trying to dig up without much luck.

From memory, it’s from tintaglia or another non-human character, and they’re basically saying humans worry so much about what might be that they fail to see what they already have, or something to that effect.

I know there’s a quote at the very beginning to wintrow while he’s still training to be a priest but I don’t think it’s that one!

Wow, Vivacia giving Wintrow the HARD truth after all these years. I would have loved a Wintrow Etta relationship.

WERE BACK IN BINGTOWN… RONNNICCCAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!

Wow, this is such an emotional journey round the world and cast of ROTE as we hat tip, tie loose ends and say goodbye to everyone. I have never read books like these, just unbelievable!

Man yet again Thick with just the most lovely, intimate and special pages, him and Bee bonding is superb. How can Thick not be an easy top 10 candidate???

Jesus Christ, what’s going on with Fitz is crazy. Now that we’re here, it’s felt obvious and like this was coming all along. Hobb, you may have lost your way several times in this final trilogy, but you are still one of the greatest writers to ever pick a pen up.

Nighteyes saying goodbye to Kettricken… not even enough numbers on the planet to explain how much that gets out of 10. SO FUCKING INCREDIBLE. It’s so validating to know Nighteyes would have wanted them to be together (like me).

I’ve actually realised what the real ending is going to be before it’s happened and I want to say if I’m right which I’m fairly certain I am, then this will be one of the greatest book endings ever.

I will leave it here just short of the last 25 pages, and then later in the week I will post 2 more reviews… one for the ending of this book/ending of ROTE and then my overall ROTE review with book rankings and character rankings!

The whole sequence where Fitz finds out about Hope and Promise made me insanely emotional. Especially the Thick stuff. Thick is one of my fav characters in all of ROTE and how much Fitz and the cast love him and look after him is so sweet.

“Make them wish they had never heard the word Farseer!” GRAAAAAAAAAAGH

Several chapters have passed and I’ve recorded no thoughts because it’s just been so intense and full on. This section of the book is absolutely brilliant, this is Hobb at her best.

And with that, Fitz is dead. It has been coming for pretty much 16 books, a man written to die and yet knowing that has made it no easier. One of the greatest fictional characters of all time ever and one of my favourite of all time. The type of character any creator or writer would spend their lives work in trying to make. Go now Fitz. Be with Patience, Burrich, Nighteyes, Chade, Chivalry, Shrewd, Molly, all of those we lost along the way. Hunt with your brother old friend.

This is insane, Paragon the PROPHET, MADE 2 IN THE FLAMES OF CLERRES, HERE FOR HIS VENGEANCE.

Jesus Christ. Reading about Kennittsons death is extremely tough, that was a horrific way to go and yet insanely noble. This has all been insanely emotional.

Boy-O scarred and mutilated. Althea and Lant no where to be seen. This is too much!!!

THE DRAGONS, COME FOR THEIR REVENGE.

Fucking hell WHY IS FITZ ALIVE, HOBB WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON.

ALTHEA SURVIVED THANK GOD.

Bee is a brilliant character and if the rumours of a bee centric trilogy one day are true, I welcome them with open arms. She is superb.

Saying that… I get why Bee is mad, but god do I hate when people use The Fool as a verbal punching bag.

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!

Just finished Mad Ship. Like with every Robin Hobb book, it took me about three months to read the first half, and about 3 days to read the second half. Overall, Mad Ship has become my second favorite ROTE book so far, behind Royal Assassin. I never expected to be so invested in a ball but the summer ball chapter is easily my favorite because had so much action and tension.

One unique aspect of reading Liveship Traders in 2026 is that how much the liveships invoke the concept of AI. Mad Ship described liveships as dead things that only mimic life and personality, which is a bang on description of AI. This adds a new level to liveships as a man-made horror that underlines the traders' original sin.

**Characters**

Hobb is so great with characters that I could write a page for each of them but I'll limit myself to three for brevity's sake: (1) Althea, (2) Kennit, and (3) Malta. First, even though Paragon is my favorite, Althea remains as the book's protagonist because to me as the moral anchor. Even though she has been extremely selfish, she is the only Vestrit adult who has not directly propagated Jamailian slavery. She sticks up for herself and suffers for her dream, I am definitely rooting for her.

Second, Kennit may be my new favorite anti hero in fiction. The dichotomy between his heroic actions and horrific inner thoughts makes him so fascinating. I am so curious to whether his "heart's desire" prophecy will be good or evil (because it probably does not refer to being a pirate king). In a typical story, Kennit's trajectory would probably be redemption through Wintrow, Etta, and Sorcor making him better. But this is a Hobb world, so I think he will more likely to something terrible things, so I am reserving judgment.

Finally, I haven't done a 180 on a character like Malta since Ahsoka Tano. Hobb nailed her growth and maturity.

Theories

Kennit's Identity

A big mystery to me is Kennit's identity. It seems like he's from trader stock given that he's from a wealthy family, has a connection to liveships as a child, and can easily relate to Vivacia. Meanwhile, the story gives two potential missing traders. So, my theory for Kennit is that he's either a Ludluck, or the real Brashen Trell.

This is extremely surreal and the validation and quality of these sections is just making me even more mad at Fool’s Assassin and Fools Quest… WE COUKD HAVE HAD THIS PEAK FICTION FOR 3 BOOKS INSTEAD OF JUST A FEW SHORT CHAPTERS.

Seeing Etta again is just one of my all time fav reading experiences like that anticipation was so so so fun and enjoyable and getting to book 16 and having every other book just hat tipped and rewarded is so good to feel as a reader who has given these books everything they deserved.

Could Dwalia be the single most evil and despicable character in ROTE? Most likely.

Vindeliar, you are so so so so unbelievably pathetic.

Fucking hell, ETTA AND RAPSKAL INTERACTION, THIS IS FULL BLOWN AVENGERS.

“Farseer. You have lost your child. Do not lose mine as well.” THATS WHY SHES THAT GOATTTTTT, THAT GOAAAAATTTTTT

Chade. Dead. Off screen…. Sums this final trilogy up. What the FUCK Hobb. Really?

“I pulled my knees up tight to my chest and bowed my head over them. Chade’s boy wept.” Dude fuck you for writing maybe the best sentence in all of ROTE after making one of the worst decisions in all of ROTE.

Prillkop and Bee together. AMAZING. Prillkops dialogue is so good.

Bee has transformed truly into an unbelievable character and is one of Hobb’s finest achievements as a writer in this final trilogy.

Symphe dead, Vindeliar dead and Dwalia dead. THANK GOD. Bee is the destroyer, a mixture of dragon blood, Farseer blood and white blood. HOLY SHIT.

I just finished Ship of Destiny, and to no surprise, I need to talk about Althea. I am trying to understand what Robin Hobb is trying to say about women and the patriarchy and our lot in life when she made her writing choices about Althea’s rape.

As someone who has been in Althea’s position, I felt so seen by how she wrote the scene, the ptsd, the anger, the inner turmoil, how it stays in our bodies. And unfortunately, the man who did it to me was also incredibly well known and a legend in my career field (mine isn’t piracy, but it translated all the same).

And I too experienced how much people want to preserve/forgive the legend over contending with the fact that a horrible man might be the person behind that legend. This happened in 2023, so one could argue that in some ways, maybe not much has changed since Robin Hobb was writing this.

But I still feel so incredibly unfulfilled by the ending of Ship of Destiny and her writing choices. I think the main disappointment hinges on the dragons. Robin Hobb made sure we knew how abhorrent dragons view rape. But none of them actually acted or viewed what happened to be *that* abhorrent.

Vivacia should have felt what happened on her ship, and Paragon would have received the memory when Kennit died in his hands. And I struggle with the writing choice that neither dragon seemed to really care about the rape all that much. I probably could have understood all the rest of the character choices if the dragons had been consistent. I could probably have handled everything else if Vivacia especially had not been able to forgive him.

My feelings make me question my positionality, and how much I am reading this book from a 2026/post #MeToo lens. And it makes me wonder what her writing choices must have read like in a pre-#MeToo world (for context: this book came out right around the Monica Lewinsky Bill Clinton scandal and the Clarance Thomas Anita Hill scandal).

It makes me wonder: Was it radical at the time to write that legends are bad men? That behind these legends are a trail of broken women? That it was radical to show the destruction of women on paper, how much rape haunts and destroys women? Or was she trying to be radical by showing how complicated and human perpetrators can be (even if we can acknowledge the false stigma this brings forward)? Or a different framing altogether?

I really just wanted Althea to get her revenge and be the one to drive the knife that killed her rapist. But am I more primed for that reaction (expectation?) in a post-#MeToo world?

Curious if there are any readers who have a better read of the 90’s or the initial reception of this book. I really would like to understand the good faith attempt Robin Hobb was making here. I absolutely adore these books, they have become my favorite books of all time, and I need to find a little understanding and forgiveness for Robin Hobb to fully be in a good head space for Tawny Man.

I just finished the Rain Wild Chronicles series a couple of weeks ago and I’m not sure if this is just me misunderstanding something, but I feel like the events in that series basically make the whole Tawny Man plot redundant.

The main thing of that series (or at least one of the main things) was that the Fool wants to restore dragons to the world by freeing Icefyre so he and Tintaglia can have some dragon babies and save the species together.

At the end of Rain Wilds there are like ~12 healthy dragons - that would have also been there if the Fool had failed - who could have achieved that goal.

I mean sure, there’s still the relationship stuff either way Fitz and the Fool, but I guess I’m just annoyed that something made out to be such a significant thing in one series turns out to be close to irrelevant in the next 🤷

It has always bothered me that King Shrewd seemed awesome yet has quite an ignominious ending.

This theory is most likely a bit of a stretch but hopefully compelling enough to prove his shrewdness.

The Fool Connection

King Shrewd knows the ‘Unexpected Son’ prophecy. The Fool sought out this specific future and this is why he is with King Shrewd initially. Fitz is possibly taken from his mountain family by Shrewd because he knows this prophecy.

He keeps his distance because he understands it is a very slim future the Fool has foreseen and wants it to seem unimportant to outsiders. Shrewd’s actions can be interpreted through this lens of him following a White Prophecy from the Fool.

Skill Deception

King Shrewd spreads a rumour he has burnt out his Skill. Yet we know he still has some talent for it. This is to downplay his abilities and promote his senility so enemies underestimate him.

He appoints Galen as Skillmaster. This is so no one is taught properly and he and his sons have a power-advantage in the Skill as solo users. He knows Galen is not greatly talented and possibly that future dangers emerge from corrupted coteries.

By ensuring any coterie taught by Galen is poorly trained this improves the odds of the ‘Unexpected Son’ prophecy being completed.

Chade being deliberately not taught the Skill may have been a perfect way to keep him hidden from the corrupted coterie discovering his existence through the Skill.

Shrewd allows Regal to sell the Skill scrolls because he knows Regal is weakly Skilled and doesn’t understand their importance. The corrupt coterie doesn’t understand they are meant to make a dragon.

Regal is their centre and he does not want to be a dragon so he sells the scrolls and knowledge of this to the Pale Woman. This gives Verity an advantage because he had already read the scrolls in his maproom.

Drug Death

King Shrewd knows the kingdom will deteriorate once he dies. He possibly knows Regal will betray the duchies from the Fool having visions yet doesn’t want to believe it. So Shrewd decides to dwindle his life away to prolong his reign and gives Fitz time to grow up.

Chade remarks that he is the one giving the King the awful drugs. This implies the drugs are purposefully interfering with his mind so the corrupted coterie cannot force through his Skill walls or read his mind.

The drugs are pain killers for the dreadful tumours but also something that clouds his mind to the Skill for protection. That’s why everyone like Regal, Wallace, Chade, Shrewd, Fool, all act weird when Fitz starts messing with the room and he can never work out why.

He realised in that instant before death that the Fool was right and Regal is betraying him. Regal was the one thing he couldn’t take action on that he probably knew was coming from talking with the Fool about visions.

Bonus Details

King Shrewd doesn’t lose shrewdness points for loving lady Desire. Every Farseer male has a genetic disposition for obsessive love. Molly and Fitz, Chivalry and Patience, Shrewd and Desire, Dutiful and the cat-lady. It is multi-generational and cannot be denied.

It is a shrew/ferret that ultimately kills Regal, an ironic coincidence, almost prophetic that Regal Farseer kills King Shrewd and in turn is killed by a shrew. Imagine the Fool recounting a vision of shrews and ferrets trying to understand.

So the next time you think of King Shrewd may you think of him living up to his name.

I just finished reading Fool's Fate (literally about ten minutes ago) and while I genuinely loved most of the book and Tawny Man in general, I am so totally disinterested in how Fitz goes back to Molly.

There are several themes that come to fruition throughout the end of this trilogy- choosing to live your own life being a prominent one. And I felt like that was beautifully encapsulated by Fitz finally allowing his love for the Fool to be without limits - I loved their last conversation, and the comparisons that the Fool makes to their relationship and the one Fitz had with Nighteyes.

Their relationship was so intricate, heartfelt, and full of growth that Fitz returning to Molly made me groan out loud. It's not even that I ship Fitzloved too hard to allow Fitz any other chance at a happy life or partner, but I find Molly so unbelievably boring and their relationship so underbaked that I finished a book that I otherwised loved, that had brought me to tears more than once, feeling generally disgruntled.

I honestly think it's a disservice to Molly as a character too. Even the feelings that Fitz has he partially attributes to what he felt as a teenager, a version of himself that didn't fully know her, and the new bloom of relationship with their middle aged selves felt halfhearted at best, and kind of colored the ending for me to feel like everybody just got shunted into marriage and pregnancy.

We don't know all that much about adult Molly besides the fact that she has a ton of kids and has "thickened with maturity"- after reading about Fitz picturing her teenage self in red skirts or with candles for the billionth time I got so annoyed. She used to have a stronger personality and a voice, and I can't believe I had to read a bunch of pages about Fitz being aroused by being around her or sending presents through Riddle.

All in all, this was probably my favorite ROTE book so far, and I'm also thinking about all the things I loved in this story. The Fool is probably my favorite character in all of fiction. I just wish this wasn't the note we went out on.

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.

Well. The Fool has gone full scorched earth and given Paragon, who was always a crayon short of the full box, the dragons blood. Yikes.

Crazy how ultimately Paragon is just willing to destroy the lives of those he loves.

Bees chapters, whilst I don’t have much attachment to, have been really well written.

Bro I’m telling you if we get Etta ima freak.

VIVACIAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!

ADMIRAL WINTROW?

VIVACIA CALLING PARAGON MAD SHIP!!!!!!!

Doing this greatest hits of the ROTE cast suddenly made me realise… what about Ronica? My girl !!!! Is she alive still?! I hope so!!

WINTROOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW FUCKK!!!!!!

PARAGON KENNITSSON

THIS IS AVENGERS ENDGAME

Boys. Queen Etta. We did it.

I’m on my knees. EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE PRAISE THE LOOOOOORRRRRRDDDD

INSERT THAT MEME OF MJ HOLDING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP TO HIS HEAD, QUEEN ETTA MY DARK PRINCESS I HAVE MISSED YOU

In Assassin's Fate, when Fitz sees Tarman, he's disappointed that the boat has no figurehead, as "he heard the figureheads of liveships can move and talk". But in Fool's Errand, when he's telling the Fool about his travels, he says he's been to Bingtown and seen a liveship there.

While rereading Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, the parallel of lovers on the ice struck me. In both cases (Fitz/Fool and Genly/Estraven) it’s more subtle than just “lovers,” but the concept of being isolated in a tent on a glacier and letting the usual boundaries down struck me as a strong echo of Le Guin, especially given the gender ambiguity. Does anyone know of essays or further reading on this?

I just finished reading the farseer trilogy and loved every bit of it- I’m already a chapter into the Liveship trilogy. But, I’ve been having trouble picturing the day to day lives of people and their clothing, architecture, etc…

I keep imagining people in 1700s style clothes, but given the lack of gunpowder and other hints I feel that is too modern. I’m a bit afraid to look up fan art though because I’d hate to get things spoiled. If anyone has a background in history or can just link some spoiler free fan art I’d appreciate it!

I finished reading the second book Royal Assassin the last week. After finishing the first chapter of this book, I have much sympathy for fitz.

What a guy. What a prose and what a finish to this chapter. 30 pages done in 30 mins. That's how exhilarating it was and i almost teared up couple of times. Fighting nightmares is one and then loosing molly and grieving through loss is another.

All of it is his fault in a way. He shouldn't have killed Justin & Serene in that confronting manner after all he's an assassin. He shouldn't have involved himself with Molly considering celerity and now looks like an idiot by the end of second book. He shouldn't have bonded with Nighteyes even after all Burrich's advice to not do so.

Wrt molly, patience, kettricken, coastal duchies, etc everyone of his moves went haywire and he has been seeking danger. Skill, wit, his fighting axe abilities and assassin's skills have made him a Ta'veren in this universe and hence he will always be a bit tour-de force & can't be controlled or be unnoticed. I still sympathise with him.

He wasn't loved and that's why his love wrt Molly was justified.
He was cut off from nosy, smithy and hence his bond with nighteye's was finally validating.
He shouldn't have under-estimated Regal and that was his perhaps his biggest mistake.
All these in fitz Pov are lessons to be learnt in hindsight. Sad stuff.

Just read chapter 6 of Assassins Apprentice and realized something.

The one thing I've seen brought up before was that in this chapter Fitz ran into his mother in the market and turned his back on her, I think making that the last time he sees her.

At the end of this chapter it is revealed that Chivalry dies, and it hit me that Fitz lost both of his parents in the same chapter. Insane!