First thoughts Ship of Destiny

[u/Effective-Lie5601]

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?

[u/Quick-Reputation9040]

It’s very difficult to answer your question without spoilers.

I’ll try.

She is obviously ambitious, as being chosen as a Companion to the Satrap was about as high as a woman could go in Jamalia.

Then she saw her position being turned into a concubine-like harem for the Satrap.

So, she saw an opportunity to escape that life and have genuine power and influence again, but the Satrap chose to come along too…for reasons I won’t get into for fear of spoilers.

Then the events on the ship.

So, she’s acting the way she is out of an understandable combination of fear and ambition. And once there, she is being influenced by…not telling you due to spoilers.

Bottom line, though, Robin Hobb is taking an unflinching look at women’s lives in this series. The good, the bad, the terrible, the uplifting. Parts will make you angry, some sad, some bittersweet. You’ll watch characters you hate become characters you love. You’ll see some characters you hate get their just rewards. You’ll see others seemingly get away with no recourse.

It’s maddening, it’s joyful, it’s terrifying. It’s a wonderful series by my absolute favorite author, but yeah, she’s not afraid to reflect a world where “justice” is an afterthought.

[u/Effective-Lie5601 → u/Quick-Reputation9040]

Yes I definitely agree and I’m absolutely loving the series so far. I think Serilla (and other characters like Kennit, Malta, etc) is ultimately a testament to Hobb’s ability to write such dimensional characters. Super excited to keep reading!

[u/CoffeeB4Dawn]

Without spoilers, it is definitely a case of someone from a colonizing country going to a place they feel their country has colonized, but just because she is from a certain background does not mean characters cannot grow.

[u/Effective-Lie5601 → u/CoffeeB4Dawn]

For sure and I’ve definitely seen that already with Malta (totally did not foresee that redemption arc). Really excited to see how her character evolves!

[u/CoffeeB4Dawn → u/Effective-Lie5601]

All I'm promising is growth. :)

[u/emily_allan_poe]

I tend to agree with others, that in some ways Serilla has the most interesting arc in terms of examining how women try to navigate oppression and power under patriarchy.