Real. I got “spoiled” because I knew that she’d have a redemption arc before I started reading the books, but I just wasn’t ready to believe it until it actually happened because I hated her so much and couldn’t possibly imagine her getting better.
She’s a… 12? Year old girl raised in a “rich” family… her character is pretty aptly written. That said, she does get better than when you first meet her
Althea and Keffria were kids raised in a rich family too, and they weren't nearly as bad.
The Havens straight up fucked up their kids. And it's their fault.
Funny thing is I think that Hobb saw her that way initially. There's a mistake in the Tawny Man trilogy in which Malta is referred to as Althea's sister twice. Her relationship with her brothers is fairly inconsequential in the Liveship series. With Althea, Keffria and Ronica though? She feels like a third sister.
She's a kid and she's very spoiled. Kyle doesn't have any excuse. In fact, part of the reason Malta is the way she is is because her father rewards that behavior. But keep reading the trilogy, she goes through a lot of changes.
Exactly. I’ve seen others say things similar to OP in that they hate Malta more than Kyle, which is wild to me. Kyle remorselessly punches Wintrow to unconsciousness in one of the first chapters and is a known abuser, but somehow a spoiled 12 year old girl (who’s clearly acting out) is worse? Okay lol
Yes. I think the “something” is unfortunately very clear. I mean, one of the most upvoted comments on this post is someone saying they hated Malta more than any character in fantasy? Lmao. It’s scary (but unsurprising) how normalized that take is. Fantasy has some pretty bleak characters but yes let’s give the top spot to a 12 year old girl and pretend that’s not insane
Indeed, it is far easier to find some "fuck Malta" or "fuck Althea" inside the discourse sourrounding these books than "fuck Kennit", and thats not even talking about the people who like him and defend him.
But fortunately we still find more "fuck Kyle" than anything else, because fuck Kyle.
She's every spoiled-rotten-with-asshole-parents rich kid I've ever met, yeah. She does have maybe my favorite character development arc in all of fiction, though, so...love to hate her for now, then RAFO. (Read And Find Out!)
You’re not alone! I also loved Malta from the beginning and thought her chapters were so funny. I really disliked Keffria from the start and honestly I was glad Malta caused so much chaos because it forced Keffria to get her head out of her ass and start parenting. It’s embarrassing that Malta was able to get away with SO much without anyone noticing, lol
I’ve written about Malta at length here but that thread is full spoilers
No I thought she was hilarious, she's just a teen and her eavesdropping, scheming and selfish preoccupation with her appearance and clothes were so funny (this from someone who would have no idea how to handle her).
Her will is admirable, she's just floundering as to where to put it. Most of her problems come from a) not understanding why other people restrict her, similar to Fitz, b) being a child who doesn't understand the stakes and thinks she's invincible, and c) loving her dad and seeing his flaws as virtues.
All of these are kind of the same problem and it's fixable.
Malta honestly has some amazing growth in this series. I get why people hated her but I personally had a lot of fun reading her bratty chapters, lol. She DOES grow as a person throughout the series and a lot happens to her. Don't worry!
She gets better. I can say that when i read it first I had the same feeling as u and she end up being one of my favorite characters if not the favorite
I get it. She does get much better. Many people rate her as one of the best characters in the series by the end. That being said I LOVED the early Malta chapters. It was like a accident that you cant look away from. She was horrible but I was utterly fascinated reading her chapters
She’s like a sheltered upper class 14 year old. She is frustrating but believable- as she faces real adversity she slowly changes to be less spoiled brat.
Frickin Malta, the amount of times I got angry at Keffria for allowing Kyle to cultivate her shallow pettiness...is concerning. Like yea, I was ready to ground Malta myself but Keffria was all "Hur durb there's nothing I can do"
I won't go into much detail but I hated her to begin with tok and she ended up as one of my favourite characters across all the books, not just from this trilogy, but all books im the realm of the elderlings
She gets a lot better but yeah, it’s definitely tough to get through at first! Stick with it, the first 3rd of the first book can be rough but it’s so worth it
She is definitely hard to swallow at the beginning. But she gets her edges smoothed a bit with some life happening… I think it’s OK to dislike her. I think you’re meant to dislike her at this point. She’s a whiny little teenager.
Malta is the Sansa Stark of this series. You watch her grow from and obnoxious child to a pretty cool woman. If you still don’t like her by the end of the series then I don’t know what to tell ya bud
Hobb takes the spoiled brat thing, cranks it to an 11, and beats you over the head with it every single page she’s on
Kinda my biggest issue with Ship of Magic. Every character is just overflowing with their worst personality trait that it’s annoying and makes it slog having to wade through endless chapters of Kyle being a massive douchebag, Kennit being ice cold and smarter than everyone, Malta being a brat, and Winthrow piously sulking (while everyone gets tortured nonstop)
I felt the same man, the turn around is really worth it. You have to recognize that she's been so spoiled by already a loathsome character. She's annoying af, vicious, but she's such a realistic character. Gicenit time for the women of the household win her over
i am 11 chapters into mad ship, and all i'll say is...i know exactly how you feel lol. she's so insufferable...and in a way, that's a good thing. insofar as it is a testament to Hobbs' writing that a character can make me so viscerally angry
She gets better, but I don't know that she ever gets interesting enough as a character to justify the amount of time we spend with her insufferable self.
And I say this as someone who actually loved Ship of Magic overall (the first half of Liveship Traders might be Hobb's best work). But I never understood why everyone loves the Malta arc so much. Doesn't help that I think the story threads she's involved with are the worst in RotE.
Malta's character arc is truly amazing. Where you're at in the series, she is such a hate-able, spoiled brat and I dreaded her chapters. She honestly is so well-written as a spoiled teenage/preteen girl who thinks shes all grown, and her obnoxiousness rivaled some of my most hated fantasy-romance fmcs.
But later in the series? I couldn't wait to get to her chapters because her character arc and growth was so compelling. The journey is worth the irritation you are feeling now!
Malta went from my most hated character in Ship of Magic to being basically my favourite by the end of Ship of Destiny. And that's a hard feat - where we're so primed to hate her and then love her by the end. It's honestly very impressive writing.
The general opinion seems to be that she has amazing character development.
She starts out absolutely awful and then seemingly overnight (like literally it’s maybe a 2 week period) has this transformation and it’s just not believable. Same for her mother.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the series and this is one reason.
I'm at the end of the first book, and her chapters makes me wanna throw my book out of secondhand embarrassment. She gives stupid child vibes. I'm right after the dream box scenes.
Kyle is a freaking asshole. Urg, I hateeeee him.
I also didn't like Ronica at first, but now I don't mind her.
She goes through one hell of a character development (but yes, so damn annoying at the beginning)
It's one of the best character developmental journies ever I think. It's so well done.
Agreed. When I think about how to do character development in a way that’s absolutely compelling she is the character I think of.
Real. I got “spoiled” because I knew that she’d have a redemption arc before I started reading the books, but I just wasn’t ready to believe it until it actually happened because I hated her so much and couldn’t possibly imagine her getting better.
I grew to like her so much, I named my horse Malta 🤓
have you read the next trilogy by chance? Because if not, that's funnier than you realize
I have 😂
Beloved?
I literally named my cat after her
She’s a… 12? Year old girl raised in a “rich” family… her character is pretty aptly written. That said, she does get better than when you first meet her
Althea and Keffria were kids raised in a rich family too, and they weren't nearly as bad.
The Havens straight up fucked up their kids. And it's their fault.
Althea was raised on a ship, among sailors. We also meet both of them as adults, not 12 year olds.
Also… Kyle fucked up his kids. Keffira wasn’t great, but Kyle was awful and the problem with all 3
Sure, but Ronica is surprised by Malta, which suggests she hadn't experienced a daughter like that before.
Yeah I mostly agree with that. Although Keffria had a large hand in raising the kids if nothing else.
Pretty typical youngest child syndrome.
Malta isn't the youngest
Funny thing is I think that Hobb saw her that way initially. There's a mistake in the Tawny Man trilogy in which Malta is referred to as Althea's sister twice. Her relationship with her brothers is fairly inconsequential in the Liveship series. With Althea, Keffria and Ronica though? She feels like a third sister.
Forgot that even though I just finished Rainwilds
Also, Althea also did a lot of growing up in the books as well. Not as much as Malta, but a not-insignificant amount.
So did Keffria.
Probably because they weren’t raised by Kyle. Fuck Kyle BTW.
So true, he really is awful. She is so good at writing scum lol
We don’t see Althea and Keffria as 12 year olds
Yes, but we see Ronicas disgust with Malta.
We do see Ronica's dismay at Keffria at points, tbf.
She sees how Keffria raised Malta and how her own lack of involvement with Keffria helped cause that.
She’s 15.
She’s definitely one of the best characters in the series.
She gets better. You might actually like or at least respect her by the end of it.
She's a kid and she's very spoiled. Kyle doesn't have any excuse. In fact, part of the reason Malta is the way she is is because her father rewards that behavior. But keep reading the trilogy, she goes through a lot of changes.
Exactly. I’ve seen others say things similar to OP in that they hate Malta more than Kyle, which is wild to me. Kyle remorselessly punches Wintrow to unconsciousness in one of the first chapters and is a known abuser, but somehow a spoiled 12 year old girl (who’s clearly acting out) is worse? Okay lol
I personally thought Malta’s chaos was hilarious
Sansa got the same disproportionate level of hate. There's something about self-absorbed teenage girls that enrages people.
Yes. I think the “something” is unfortunately very clear. I mean, one of the most upvoted comments on this post is someone saying they hated Malta more than any character in fantasy? Lmao. It’s scary (but unsurprising) how normalized that take is. Fantasy has some pretty bleak characters but yes let’s give the top spot to a 12 year old girl and pretend that’s not insane
Yep, I honestly don't know how you can hate Malta the most when Kyle Haven is RIGHT THERE.
Being an annoying girl/woman is the worst thing you can be
Go into any pop culture space and you’ll see people hate women who laughed wrong more than men who are rapists and abusers
Totally. Especially with this trilogy
Indeed, it is far easier to find some "fuck Malta" or "fuck Althea" inside the discourse sourrounding these books than "fuck Kennit", and thats not even talking about the people who like him and defend him.
But fortunately we still find more "fuck Kyle" than anything else, because fuck Kyle.
Her arc is amazing. Hobb is a master. Trust
She's every spoiled-rotten-with-asshole-parents rich kid I've ever met, yeah. She does have maybe my favorite character development arc in all of fiction, though, so...love to hate her for now, then RAFO. (Read And Find Out!)
She was my least favorite character in all of fantasy. By the end, she was one of my favorites.
This is one of those few times where the payoff is real. Trust the author, Robin Hobb is an excellent writer.
Keep going - she is just in her ‘spoiled little girl’ phase right now. Which is understandable. She becomes a favourite character of mine later on.
She gets better.
She becomes one of my favourite characters in the whole series - both farseer and Live Ships.
The Fool's too
Oh I just meant she’s one of my faves across the liveship/rainwilds books and the ones focused on Fitz.
Yes, she's one of the Fool's favorite characters too.
Oh, right haha yes indeed.
I feel like I’m the only one who loved Malta from the very beginning
You’re not alone! I also loved Malta from the beginning and thought her chapters were so funny. I really disliked Keffria from the start and honestly I was glad Malta caused so much chaos because it forced Keffria to get her head out of her ass and start parenting. It’s embarrassing that Malta was able to get away with SO much without anyone noticing, lol
I’ve written about Malta at length here but that thread is full spoilers
I found it's a lot easier to take that view in a re-read.
No I thought she was hilarious, she's just a teen and her eavesdropping, scheming and selfish preoccupation with her appearance and clothes were so funny (this from someone who would have no idea how to handle her).
Just keep reading. She’s the best written character in the series imo. Her arc is enjoyable even if you don’t end up liking her.
Her will is admirable, she's just floundering as to where to put it. Most of her problems come from a) not understanding why other people restrict her, similar to Fitz, b) being a child who doesn't understand the stakes and thinks she's invincible, and c) loving her dad and seeing his flaws as virtues.
All of these are kind of the same problem and it's fixable.
She gets better
Please keep reading her chapters. You will not regret it.
She's a child. And you still have 2 more books in this trilogy.
Malta honestly has some amazing growth in this series. I get why people hated her but I personally had a lot of fun reading her bratty chapters, lol. She DOES grow as a person throughout the series and a lot happens to her. Don't worry!
She gets better. I can say that when i read it first I had the same feeling as u and she end up being one of my favorite characters if not the favorite
She went from being one of my most hated characters to one of my favorites of all time.
Edit: If I were ChatGPT and you asked me to describe Robin Hobb in a single word, I might just say Malta.
I'm the opposite, I'm on book 1 and I'm absolutely howling at her character, the irony is always so thick
I get it. She does get much better. Many people rate her as one of the best characters in the series by the end. That being said I LOVED the early Malta chapters. It was like a accident that you cant look away from. She was horrible but I was utterly fascinated reading her chapters
Malta has an arc.
Unlike Kyle.
Malta ends up being one of the savings graces of Liveships for me by the end lol
She’s like a sheltered upper class 14 year old. She is frustrating but believable- as she faces real adversity she slowly changes to be less spoiled brat.
She Is peak! When she is a brat, she really is a brat and then.. just wow
Frickin Malta, the amount of times I got angry at Keffria for allowing Kyle to cultivate her shallow pettiness...is concerning. Like yea, I was ready to ground Malta myself but Keffria was all "Hur durb there's nothing I can do"
She's gets better but it's a long journey
I have a lot of unkind things to say about Liveship Traders but Malta's story is phenomenally well done and the best part of the series
I won't go into much detail but I hated her to begin with tok and she ended up as one of my favourite characters across all the books, not just from this trilogy, but all books im the realm of the elderlings
She's one of my favorite characters, she gets so much better.
Keep reading
She has a great character arc, just stick with it. It's just good writing that she starts off so annoying.
She gets much better. Hobb’s character arcs are great.
RAFO, its worth it
I felt the exact same as you through the first book, by the end of the series she's one of my favorite characters
It's refreshing to get the perspective of someone so insufferable.
I did get a lot of Scarlett O'Hara vibes. Where I love it because she is such a brat.
One of my favorite characters. So much growth.
Malta is one of the all time great female character arcs in fantasy, keep going!
She is frequently cited as having some of the best character development in the entire genre.
Keep reading.
Yep, keep reading. She has the absolute best character development of any character I've ever read.
Character development done right.
She gets a lot better but yeah, it’s definitely tough to get through at first! Stick with it, the first 3rd of the first book can be rough but it’s so worth it
I don't like her as a person but as a character I love her. I just finished The Mad Ship and her character is changing drastically.
Not only does she get better, she has one of the best arcs in Hobb's work.
I couldn't stand her to start, but she grows a ton.
I hated her so much, I had to take breaks from reading before and after her chapters.
She became one my favorite characters by the end. Push through. She is one of Robin Hobbs best creations and that says alot.
She's one of my favourite characters Hobb has written. Yes, her chapters get more bearable.
She has the best character arc in all of fantasy. I loved her chapters the most by the end.
She is one of the characters with the Most growth and Development in the Series , I didnt like her chapters at first but things changed over the Books
I felt the same way but it gets better.
Got to say though, extremely well written character to make us feel that way.
OMG I found her so difficult in the first half. If you want to know if she gets better: yes
She actually has one of the most epic redemption arcs in the series. She grows a lot as a person.
I felt the same way. Trust Hobb to get you where you need to be with each character.
She is definitely hard to swallow at the beginning. But she gets her edges smoothed a bit with some life happening… I think it’s OK to dislike her. I think you’re meant to dislike her at this point. She’s a whiny little teenager.
But she does grow.
Malta is the Sansa Stark of this series. You watch her grow from and obnoxious child to a pretty cool woman. If you still don’t like her by the end of the series then I don’t know what to tell ya bud
Hobb takes the spoiled brat thing, cranks it to an 11, and beats you over the head with it every single page she’s on
Kinda my biggest issue with Ship of Magic. Every character is just overflowing with their worst personality trait that it’s annoying and makes it slog having to wade through endless chapters of Kyle being a massive douchebag, Kennit being ice cold and smarter than everyone, Malta being a brat, and Winthrow piously sulking (while everyone gets tortured nonstop)
Yes, she has amazing character development
one of the best character arcs I've read in fantasy literature
I felt the same man, the turn around is really worth it. You have to recognize that she's been so spoiled by already a loathsome character. She's annoying af, vicious, but she's such a realistic character. Gicenit time for the women of the household win her over
Malta gets so much better. I HATED her.
I hated her at first too and loved her by the end.
She has a great character arc. I hated her too at first
she's the best character in the trilogy imo, even at the beginning
i am 11 chapters into mad ship, and all i'll say is...i know exactly how you feel lol. she's so insufferable...and in a way, that's a good thing. insofar as it is a testament to Hobbs' writing that a character can make me so viscerally angry
She gets better, but I don't know that she ever gets interesting enough as a character to justify the amount of time we spend with her insufferable self.
And I say this as someone who actually loved Ship of Magic overall (the first half of Liveship Traders might be Hobb's best work). But I never understood why everyone loves the Malta arc so much. Doesn't help that I think the story threads she's involved with are the worst in RotE.
Malta's character arc is truly amazing. Where you're at in the series, she is such a hate-able, spoiled brat and I dreaded her chapters. She honestly is so well-written as a spoiled teenage/preteen girl who thinks shes all grown, and her obnoxiousness rivaled some of my most hated fantasy-romance fmcs.
But later in the series? I couldn't wait to get to her chapters because her character arc and growth was so compelling. The journey is worth the irritation you are feeling now!
I was in the same ship, I seethed with rage at her early chapters. She has one of the best arcs in the series.
Malta went from my most hated character in Ship of Magic to being basically my favourite by the end of Ship of Destiny. And that's a hard feat - where we're so primed to hate her and then love her by the end. It's honestly very impressive writing.
She gets better, but it takes a looong time. Pretty sure she still sucks even by the end of the second book.
I absolutely hated her and never got over it. Vile character.
The general opinion seems to be that she has amazing character development.
She starts out absolutely awful and then seemingly overnight (like literally it’s maybe a 2 week period) has this transformation and it’s just not believable. Same for her mother.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the series and this is one reason.
Yes, I thought she was annoying. She reminded me of Sansa from Game of Thrones.
She matures, but the final book was a disappointment, so much so that I regretted ever reading the trilogy.
I’ve seen this comparison before and I’ve never understood it. It’s hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby lmao
I'm at the end of the first book, and her chapters makes me wanna throw my book out of secondhand embarrassment. She gives stupid child vibes. I'm right after the dream box scenes.
Kyle is a freaking asshole. Urg, I hateeeee him.
I also didn't like Ronica at first, but now I don't mind her.
I'm not great with names either but Robin Hobb named that kid "Malta", was Gibraltara not the right fit? You know what I'm saying?