#i aint calling that man havre bc kyle can die :) i hope he dies :)

[blinkbones]

The LIveship Traders - Ship of Magic -- Robin Hobb

I remember reading through most of this brick a few years back, but I didn't actually remember the story. I vaguely recalled that Hiémain (Wintrow in the original...? I think...?) made me uneasy bc I didn't understand him, that Althea's story made me feel tense, and that Malta was annoying. OK SO. I HAVE SO MANY NEW OPINIONS.

First of all I hated Kyle with fire in my guts for most of this book. Oh, he's so well written. I just got audibly and vehemently upset at his bullshit several times. I wished for his death many times just because his chapters made me so angry. Great character 10/10 I hope he dies.

Althea made me a lot less scared -- and I guess that's mostly because I'm an seasoned adult now, and in the meantime I discovered I was nonbinary and started living as myself as well... So her (admittedly very dangerous) stunt as a crossdresser and as someone going into a hard job is a lot less scary -- like, yknow, I've kinda lived some of that. And I survived it. So she can, too. I also saw through her naive arrogance this time. She's also a 10/10 character and I like her a lot.

Hiémain Wintrow ooooh Wintrow... I love him. His musings hit very close to home, perhaps especially because I became a recluse intellectual in the meantime lol... I think about what he thinks all the damn time. The tension between his feeling of absolute interconnectedness (like mycelium...) and the discomfort of actually being disconnected from real life. yknow. Touch grass. Touch a ship deck. How your principles strain against everyday strenuous work. How your biggobrain speaking habits can fall flat with regular people who didn't decide to spend months poring over X thought or Y text. And is it all worth it, and should you give up your principles? Or stick to them? Maybe reshape them? The transformation is painful. I loved Wintrow so much and I'm so excited to see what he does next. At the end of this book, he felt like the character with the strongest sense of self out of them all, and in that sense, I suspect he might be the toughest overall. All the others are struggling.

Definitely not least of all our favorite bipolar pirate LOL oh this man. I say bipolar bc that's what my healthcare friend diagnosed him as from my whatsapp rants. He's SO funny and I support him in his unhinged pursuit. I love how he's lucky MOSTLY because he doesn't say what he thinks and people fill in the blanks helpfully. Here's to keeping your mouth shut sometimes. 10/10 also.

Ok I loved every other character as well and the romances are so good actually like... finally some good heteros!! finally some good food!!! google is robin hobb bisexual or is she just that good ,

PS: ok I forgot to update my opinion on Malta: she's sooo annoying 10/10 great character. As a now adult I am so worried, pls child pls listen to your elders a little I beg