The Republic of Thieves: Gentleman Bastards, Book 3

A legitimate criticism of Lynch's earlier _Lies of Locke Lamora_ (and to a lesser extend, _Red Seas Under Red Skies_) is the lack of female characters - not so here, but especially so as readers are finally introduced to the woman alluded to in the previous books, and whose relationship and story with Locke is finally fleshed out - the mysterious Sabetha. Immediately following the tragic and disastrous events of _Red Seas_, and connecting plot points from _Lies_, Locke and Jean find themselves in the employ of the Bondsmagi, having to use their considerable skills to throw an election. As one would expect from Lynch, the pace of the action is fast, the repartee witty, and the machinations and skullduggery are clever.Lynch's dialogue and plotting are superb, the backstory between Sabetha and Locke riveting. My only criticism was the conclusion (no spoilers here) where previous loose ends had been tied are now untied. Apparently (and hopefully) there will be more about the Gentleman Bastards in the future. I anxiously await to see what mischief is to come. This is a thoroughly enjoyable series by a talented writer - recommended.

This review has spoilers so make sure to skip this unless you are interested in knowing some plot points.If you were to read this book in a vacuum I'd say its a 3 star book; these are some great con artists and thieves, the situations are fun and there's a lot of energy in the pages. Some of the fantasy images that are conjured by the book are downright awesome. That said, this is a book with two entwined stories, the Republic of Thieves and the Five Year Game, and I feel like telling two stories in one book is somewhat of a risk, especially if one is better than the other. I felt like the Five Year Game story was much more interesting and compelling to read, and the Republic of Thieves story was less so, overall (with some exceptions). I found the Five Year Game story much more interesting because of the stakes for the characters and the world and the direct conflict - thief against thief - that made it so much less predictable and fun to read. The Republic of Thieves is also very teen angst-y, which it has a right to be since they are teenagers, but doesn't make Locke's awkwardness, shyness, and whining around/about Sabetha any more off-putting. So, in a vacuum this book is "okay" because I felt like it was a 2-3 star story and a 4 star story woven together, and it's always frustrating to be forced to drop the story you're interested in for one that's less interesting.The reason why I give this book 4 stars is because of its place in the series. The best things about this book were the world building; the connections made to the "larger story" the books are telling, revelations (finally) about Locke and Sabetha's past, and of course the slick dialog, wit, and cleverness of Locke, Jean, and Sabetha. Knowing the origins of Locke and Sabetha's issues and relationship. Us readers, knowing more about the wider world of the story and certain things happening to that world by the end of this book. The 5 Year Game story was a fun story of political muckraking and party machining, and the play production was at times entertaining in its own right as well, but I felt like the best parts of both of the major stories were the revelations and answers we were given rather than the actual main plots being unfolded. These acted as backdrops for questions to be answered and pasts explored, but I did not find them to be necessarily electrifying on their own.I had concerns about the ending and epilogue simply because it felt so quick and abrupt, and it was done with a viewpoint change which made the writing feel very different. The ending was somewhat shocking and I'm still thinking about what to make of it. The table has been set for some great stories yet to be told in this series and these entertaining characters should be up to the task of telling them. Hopefully the next edition has a more balanced story pairing, or the stories have more direct impact upon each other. Maybe Mr. Lynch will ditch the format altogether and tell one very solid story the several perspectives he has to play with now.

I just want to say “YAY, GIMME MORE!”, but I don’t think that would be a very good review, so I’ll try and extract some coherence from my general happy feelings about this book.The Gentlemen Bastards is one of my favourite fantasy series – I love the world, I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the capers, I love the structure. Naturally, I was really excited to finally receive my pre-order of THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES (although I ended up not reading it for over a month because I didn’t want my life to go back to a world where I didn’t have more of the series to read). Also, naturally, the book was not just amazing. it exceeded my sky-high expectations!With all the hype built up about Sabetha, I wasn’t sure if I should be looking forward to finally meeting her. I was fully expecting her to play a cat-and-mouse game, leading an obviously infatuated Locke on – something I wasn’t looking forward to. Happily, this wasn’t the case – Sabetha is endearing as well as being beautiful, confident and more than a match for Locke and Jean. Her reluctance to put down roots makes complete sense with her determination to be independent in the male-dominated world she lives in (something Locke and Jean have never considered). I also really enjoyed Locke and Sabetha’s relationship; it’s rare that a fictional relationship is so realistically based on good communication.Okay, now that we have Sabetha out of the way – the rest of the book was also pretty awesome. I really enjoy that I get introduced to a new part of the world every book. Karthain, the dominion of the Bondsmagi, was a really interesting place, and of course, Locke and Jean have a new con to run – rigging an election. Except that this time, it’s not really their choice. The book had a slow start; Locke is still poisoned because of the fallout from his previous adventure, and Lynch does a good/scary job of portraying exactly how helpless he is. Once it gets going though, the plot moves at a breakneck speed.This book also has extensive flashbacks (they occupy about half the book) about Locke and Sabetha’s time in Father Chains’ gang and how their relationship develops. There are several smaller incidents and then one large adventure, and Lynch does a great job of building a similar amount of tension in the flashbacks as the present day storyline, so I didn’t mind the alternating chapters at all. It was great to get more backstory on the dynamic of the group with Sabetha in it, as well as the awkward-adolescence phase.I always figured that the Gentlemen Bastards series would veer in the direction of a more traditional fantasy epic (the suddenly vanished Eldren civilisation, the presence of a formal order of wizards), and we finally get our first inklings of that in this book. We find out more about where Locke came from (although nothing can be trusted in these books), and also a little more speculation about the nature of the fallen Eldren civilisation. Nothing is different yet (aside from the usual fallout accompanying Locke and Jean), but I’m excited to see what comes of it.Okay, I can’t be articulate any more. This series is incredible, and so is this book. Read it!

If this series ever comes to a movie it can certainly be one of the Landmark of hollywood. I can literally visualise every granular detail. What a plot !! I can compare it easily with Pirates of Caribbean scene play.

L'ho preso tramite Amazon Warehouse ad un prezzo ridicolo perché sostenevano che ci fosse "un grosso danno sulla copertina", che alla fine era semplicemente questa ammaccatura. Il resto è in condizioni perfette e io sono felicissima del mio acquisto!

Entrega rápida. Único detalle, la contraportada está un poco maltratada. De ahí en fuera todo muy bien.

I've been inspired and moved by how much life is in the world of the Gentleman Bastards. I fell absolutely in love with this from book one and I'm dying to see the next installment. The story has everything you could want... I would like to thank Scott Lynch for writing what has captivated my imagination so strongly. You are an amazing author.

Lynch plays the readers excitement perfectly. A dynamic ride wherein the story let’s you breath just when the breath you didn’t know you were holding expires. Unreasonably good.