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The Republic of Thieves
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The Republic of Thieves
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The Republic of Thieves
Audiobook23 hours

The Republic of Thieves

Written by Scott Lynch

Narrated by Michael Page

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

After their adventures on the high seas, Locke and Jean are brought back to earth with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover, and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins the Bonds Magi. It is a fall-out that will pit both men against Locke's own long-lost love.



Sabetha is Locke's childhood sweetheart, the love of Locke's life, and now it is time for them to meet again. Employed on different sides of a vicious dispute between factions of the Bonds, Sabetha has just one goal-to destroy Locke forever.


The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles, and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherTantor Audio
Release dateOct 22, 2013
ISBN9781400180530
Unavailable
The Republic of Thieves
Author

Scott Lynch

Author of the internationally best-selling Gentleman Bastard sequence, Scott has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, the Campbell Award, and the Compton Crook Award. He received the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Newcomer in 2008. Scott was born in 1978 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the first of three brothers. At various times he was a dishwasher, a waiter, a graphic designer, an office manager, a prep cook, and a freelancer/self-publisher in the gaming field, before accidentally selling his first novel in 2004. After training at Anoka Technical College in Minnesota in 2005, Scott joined his local fire department in St. Croix County, Wisconsin and served as a paid-on-call firefighter for eleven years. In 2016, Scott moved to Massachusetts and married his longtime partner, famed SF/F writer Elizabeth Bear.

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Rating: 4.05592499667774 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Once again a case of "I'd love to give 4.5 stars", but in this specific case, I'll just go ahead and round up to five.

    I liked the first two books of the series, but this book tops them both. There are so many great dialogues, and I just loved the whole substory with the "Republic of Thieves" play. All in all, I enjoyed the book a lot, and would recommend it to people who are into funny fantasy novels with good characters.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was the book I was waiting for. The "Sabetha" book. Even though she had no part in the previous two books, her character was built up as being crucially important to Locke, and I was dying to find out why.

    The Republic of Thieves takes its name from a fictional play that young Locke, Jean, Calo, Galdi, and Sabetha perform as part of a task they're set to by Chains. Naturally, it's a near-impossible task, which is likely why Chains sent them. Part of the book is told in flashbacks to this time, to their early scams and deeds, and to Locke and Beth's early love.

    The main part of the book takes place in the present, after the bondsmagi Patience cures Locke in exchange for him and Jean working for her on what the bondsmagi call their "five year game." Since they are barred from using their powers on each other the bonsdmagi take sides in a local election, often bringing in outsiders to help achieve victory. For Patience's side, those outsiders are Locke and Jean. For the other side, it's Sabetha. And one more thing: If the bondsmagi even think the three of them are conspiring together, they'll all be killed. I don't think it's a spoiler to say the bondsmagi can't be trusted. After all, Locke says that nearly every time he encounters one.

    If you think I did not squeal out loud at the thought of Locke and Beth matching wits then you do not know me at all. Sneaking around, setting traps for each other, always trying to outdo one another--it's courtship to them and catnip to me. Beth and Jean's relationship isn't ignored, though; they're as happy to see each other as the family they are, and without all the awkwardness between Beth and Locke.

    This book felt like a reunion. It had the Locke from before he was poisoned, the Jean who shed some of his sadness, and lots and lots of memories of the twins and Chains. It was fun to see everyone doing what they do for love of the challenge and the challenger.

    I'll be looking forward to the next book in this series. You know, the one that was set up ever so nicely at the very end of this one.

    (Provided by publisher)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I think this one is more of a four-and-a-half, but I'm fine rounding up. As you can tell from other reviews here, this one doesn't have as much fan love as the previous two. It's way messier, and its shift to focus more on romance and politics is a little jarring after the con / swashbuckling aspects of the previous novels. There's a TON of emotional depth, and the lengthy take on Locke and Sabetha's relationship is wonderfully written. As with the previous stories, there are a few timeline-jumping plot arcs. I actually found the flashback storyline--with Locke and the Bastards working to stage the titular play--much more interesting than Jean and Locke's political maneuvering, which is why I didn't give this a full five stars (like the previous books in the series). Though I think a re-read might make me appreciate it more.

    And man, the ending...yikes. What a cliffhanger to end on.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I will write a longer review later but having finished the book tonight I can only say, "I love the Gentlemen Bastards." This book and this series are great. I know it's going to be a wait for the next one but I thrilled this one wrapped up the main story :)
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm not quite sure what to think of this book. There's a good book hiding in there somewhere, but if so, it's very well hidden.First off, about half the book consists of flashbacks, which was a terrible decision overall. The flashback story - back to when our protagonists were teenagers in Camorra - is actually good, if a bit too metatextual for my taste. It would have made a perfectly good novella or even its own novel, but as a part of this novel it is an annoying distraction, since it adds almost nothing to the main story.And as for that main story, it is a huge disappointment. Well, not entirely. The ending was good, but that was only the last fifty pages or so. The rest of the main story completely revolves around the main character's love interest. If you were expecting a novel about Locke and Jean trying to rig an election in the city of the bondsmagi, you'll find some of that in there, but they are thwarted at every opportunity by Sabetha, who is not only hotter but also smarter than the two heroes, and Locke spends most of the book either pining for her or trying to woo her. The bondsmagi are mostly wasted as well.All in all, I'd say that the basic premise had huge potential. The author simply chose not to use it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Gentleman bastard series keeps getting better with this book and I can't wait for book #4 to be released. This book takes you back and forth in Locke's life. It builds/explains the love relationships and much, much more. The end of the books sets up the next book leaving you wanting more.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    great book, absolutely shit reader that misses the point and tone of a loooot of the dialogue
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Entertaining 3rd volume in the series, this time centered around an electioneering caper, involving the previously absent Gentlewoman Bastard, and with the flashback plot presenting a sort of theatrical caper culminating in a "Rope" like production. I still find the characters and plotting entertaining, but there wasn't as much world-building in this one, and I wasn't as intrigued by the personal romantic dramatics of the protagonist, or the mystery-reveal of what may or may not have been Locke Lamora's past. So not quite as grabbing but still a worthy entry in the series.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book was a bit of a let down. The characters we've come to love didn't have very much to do as their opponents were either God-like in their power, or so meaningless as to offer no challenge. The love story was completely annoying and repetitive and I found myself just wanting the series to end. The worst possible outcome happened, of course, when I realized that this isn't the final book in the series. It drives me crazy when I don't finish a whole series, but I think this is going to be one of those.

    In short, book 1 was fantastic. Book 2 was a bit scattered, but finished well. Book 3 was a waste of my time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really enjoyed this one. Got more of the Gentleman Bastards' history, and finally some understanding of the magi and their motivations. It also gives a few more hints at the world's mysterious past.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I did like it, however I have to say, I am getting pretty sick of Locke Lamora...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This continues to be an excellent epic fantasy series. Yes, that is one messed up love affair, but oh, the swashbuckling, conniving and derring-do make up for a lot. Where to now, Mr. Lynch, where to now?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    More of Locke's past is revealed in this book but the more we learn the more questions pop up. This is the weakest of the three books so far but ends up setting the fourth book for what I hope is going to be really good
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Republic of Thieves is the third entry in the Gentleman Bastards sequence by Scott Lynch. The book opens with Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen reeling from events in Red Seas as Locke slowly and painfully succumbs to poison while a frantic Jean is unable to find a cure. Their salvation comes from an unlikely source: a Bondsmagi. The Bondsmagi will heal Locke if he and Jean participate in their five year election to sway the vote in favor of the Deep Roots party. The catch? The opposition has hired Sabetha to do the same. Yes, that Sabetha.With that set up I went into the book expecting another fun caper full of political shenanigans as Locke and Jean face off against Sabetha. What we get is two stories both telling the same thing in different ways, Locke and Sabetha's romance. The first is told in the modern day as part of the election scheme while the second is told in "interludes" of a time in the past when the Gentlemen Bastards were sent off to enact a play titled "The Republic of Thieves" to give Chains a much needed break from a group of teenagers. Both stories are given equal page time with alternating chapters. I admit I found going back and forth between them annoying so ended up reading all the Interludes and then all of the present day plot. I don't think this hurt the story at all as the two plots never intersect, acting more as mirrors for each other and gave me a good foundation to understand where Locke and Sabetha were coming from.With all the build up around Sabetha's character, there's no way she could have lived up to expectations. And guess what? She's an absolutely normal, if highly infuriating, person. While I'm glad we got to meet her in some ways I almost wish Sabetha was left off screen so her mythology and mystery could continue to grow.It is fair to note that author Scott Lynch was going through a divorce and battling depression and anxiety while he wrote this book. It definitely shows. The story is missing that special spark of the previous two books and there is a definite sense of bleakness to the writing. I think the first portion of Locke dealing with the poison may have been Lynch putting himself into the book as he dealt with his depression. I also wonder if Locke and Sabetha's romance wasn't a reflection of his own divorce and that's why Sabetha came across more like she was leading Locke on instead of truly caring about him for most of the book.I realize I may be coming across rather negative in this review. I don't mean to. There is some spectacular dialogue and the world building continues to be amazing. I also enjoyed many quite moments between the characters, those little things that make them feel very real. There is one scene where Jean and Sabetha finally air their grudges that was especially touching.By the end all plot threads are nicely wrapped up, leaving Locke and Jean set to head off on their next adventure, and then we're hit with a bombshell of an epilogue. Lynch definitely saved the best for last! Locke, Jean and the world have no idea what's coming for them. I am feeling cautiously optimistic for the next installment.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Republic Of ThievesThis is the third book in the Gentleman Bastards series. The format changes in this book. It is broken up with flashbacks to Locke’s earlier life and his on and off again relationship with Sebatha; from his first weeks under Shades Hill to the current imbroglio he and Jean are caught up in.

    Locke is dying from a poisoning he incurred in book two, Red Seas Under Red Skies. Their grand scheme is in tatters and now they face the mother of the Bondsmagi they destroyed. Locke and Jean are given a contract they cannot refuse.

    Without knowing why we are revisiting old times the earlier flashbacks are interesting but a distraction form the main game. It is only as we travel further into their new scheme that the relevance of these earlier stories becomes apparent.

    What I like about this series is the irreverent banter between the Gentleman Bastards. Yes, horrible things happen and for the poor and downtrodden life can be unbearable. They cope by trading barbs and witty repartee.

    “’Didn’t Chains ever tell you about the Golden Theological Principle?’‘The what?’‘The single congruent aspect of every known religion. The one shared, universal assumption about the human condition’‘What is it?“‘He said that life boils down to standing in line to get shit dropped on your head. Everyone’s got a place in the que, you can’t get out of it, and just when you start to congratulate yourself on surviving your dose of shit, you discover that the line is actually circular’ “

    I look forward the fourth book in the series where we can be assured Locke Lamora is going to be in serious strife, just the way he likes it.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Many years ago, the Thieftaker sold a little boy to an old priest. The old priest turned out to be a brilliant con man and criminal, and the little boy became Locke Lamora, a man who is basically the embodiment of the platitude "too smart for his own good." After conning the rich, breaking the Secret Peace, fighting a mage and bringing down at least one government, Locke and his bff Jean Tannon are at their lowest point yet. As the book begins, Locke is dying of a slow-working poison with no possible cure.

    Then bondsmagi Patience offers the pair a choice: let Locke die, or fix an election for her in exchange for his life. Soon they're in Karthain pranking, manipulating, and bribing the populace into voting for their candidates. But fixing the election is harder than the Gentleman Bastards assumed, because the opposing side has also hired help--Sabetha. Locke has been in love with Sabetha since they were tiny thieves together, and the years have only intensified his obsession. Sabetha may love him back, but she's not above using their relationship to win the election.

    Interspersed with the election shenanigans is the tale of the Gentleman Bastards' first solo mission, when teenaged Locke, Sabetha, Jean, Calo and Galdo try to put on a play. Of course nothing is as easy as it seems--no sooner do they arrive than they find out their chief player has been locked up for a year and a day, and to solve that problem they get embroiled in an even larger one.

    This is an incredibly impressive book, from the whip-smart dialog to the twists and turns of the plots. I loved the play interlude--it's the best fantasy representation of a pseudo-Renaissance theatre scene I've ever read. Lynch creates a play with lines and plot that feels like Shakespeare, without being overly dependent or obvious.

    The election plot lacks the urgency of the first two books, because for once Locke's attention is not on conning an entire city, but instead on wooing Sabetha. I love the way they trade witticisms and pranks, but I still felt a little let down by Sabetha's introduction. She absolutely comes across as a character in her own right, which is no small feat considering the way the other characters have been referring to her and building up her reputation in the last two books. But I never really got why Locke and Sabetha were in love. This is possibly unfair of me, because they each explicitly tell the other all the reasons they're drawn to each other. They each have tons of awesome moments, so I can understand why someone would love either of them, but I never quite got the idea of why specifically Sabetha loves Locke, or vice versa. It felt a bit unearned. Whereas I have never doubted the friendship between Locke and Jean; Lynch sold me on it with every scene and never needed either of them to declare a thing.

    What is incredibly awesome about this book is that, looking back on it, my mild sense of disappointment in the low-stakes of the election plot is actually a mirror of the actual plot of the novel. The election was always just a distraction--the war between the bondsmagi was always the real plot, both within the book and for the reader. And Lynch absolutely succeeds with the bondsmagi. The magic war is terrifying, and the epilogue even more so. In point of fact, the epilogue (in which that motherfucking Falconer awakens and regains his magic GODDAMMIT) elicited so much rage and disgust in me that I will read however many books Lynch decides to write, just to see the Falconer fail and die someday. Even if Lynch killed off Locke, even if he killed off Jean (oh please god no), I would keep reading these books in hopes of seeing the Falconer get his just desserts. SO MUCH HATE.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When talking about 'Red Seas Under Red Skies' I mentioned that it was almost like 2 or 3 novels in one book. 'Republic of Thieves' is also two novels - but rather than being presented sequentially, they're mixed up. One starts where the last book left off, and the other is told in flashbacks to Locke Lamora's youth (and YES, we finally get acquainted with Sabetha!)

    Yes, I suppose the flashback sequences do relate to the 'present' action - kind of. But I think I would've enjoyed both stories just as much if not more, if they'd been presented separately - one as a 'prequel.'

    Content? Well, I don't want to give anything away. But it fully met all my expectations. Fantasy adventure, lots of derring-do, a good dollop of humor.

    It's a must if you've read the first two - but yes, you should read the first two first.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the third book in the Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch.
    It follows directly on from the ending of the second book, where Locke is dying and Jean is looking for absolutely anything to help him recover.
    The story moves from the present, back to when the Gentlemen Bastards were not much more than kids, and just finding their feet as a group. We meet Locke's lady love, Sabetha for the first time and see the complicated mess of their lives in both the past and the present day.
    The present day story has them involved in trying to fix elections and very much under the thumbs of their controllers. The past story had them trying to rescue a dissolute group of players from disaster, far from home and far from their boss, Father Chains.
    The first two books were absolutely fabulous and while this book isn't bad, I didn't find that I enjoyed it as much as the first two. While it was nice seeing the old crew back together again, on the whole the story didn't grab me as thoroughly as the others did.
    There were big revelations in this book and quite the cliff-hanger (which is truly evil, Mr. Lynch).
    As always, extremely well narrated by Michael Page.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Well, the book is here. So far so good.

    OLD REVIEW
    The sad things is that even if we get the read this book (maybe in 2013), which I am sure will be fabulous, we then have to wait for the next book and with the knowledge that the author has certain problems that might see the next book published many, many (I am tempted to put quite a few more many's behind the last) years into the future, perhaps as late as 2019. It almost makes you think if it isn't better to leave the books of Scott Lynch (I almost accidentally wrote scott lunch, haha, I know very childish)alone, but no I won't. This means many years of agony ahead. Taken together with the agony of waiting on George Martin's next book that means quite a bit of agony indeed. Sometimes I wonder if author's realise the effect delays have on us true fans. In the mean time I will have to amuse myself writing reviews on books that haven't even been published.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best "new" writers I've read in a long time. Fantastic world building, great characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book expands on the series more then the previous book. It looks back on Locke's life while trying to incorporate it into the present. While it is great to see the connection between Sabetha and Locke, it mostly comes out dry or frustrating. I guess in that aspect, it is quite realistic. The story and the writing are great as usual, although it did not pull me in as much as the previous two books. I really did enjoy the book, Scott Lynch just set the bar very high.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Like the previous two books in this series, this one has alternate chapters that flash back to the main characters' teenage years. Unlike the earlier books, those chapters form a complete story with its own conclusion in this one. The other chapters, which relate a story several years later, form a separate story. Together, they provide a tale of a romance begun and a romance rekindled. But this isn't a romance story. It is a fantasy adventure—-a very well-written one. Since there are already many reviews, I won't go on, but it's an enjoyable series with engaging characters, excellent prose, and an interesting setting. I recommend it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Republic of Thieves is the third book in Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard Sequence. The book opens with Locke still suffering from the poison he received in the last book, but a bondmage agrees to cure him in return for Locke and Jean’s assistance in helping to throw an election in the city-state of Karthain. To their surprise, this bondmage happens to be their deadly enemy’s mother. To further complicate things their opponent who is working on the other side of the election is Sabetha, who is also a member of the Gentlemen Bastards and the love of Locke’s life.Continuing on with his flashback style, we follow two stories, with one dealing in politics and the other the theatre. There isn't as much action in this book as there has been in the past. The back story covers a time when the Gentlemen Bastards, including Sabetha, are sent away to become actors and perform in a play entitled “The Republic of Thieves”. This is both to hone their skills and to give Chains a break from dealing with five teenagers and their hormones. In the present we are treated to the machinations of both Jean and Locke and the enterprising Sabetha who is more than a match for them.I totally enjoyed this book, finding it closer in style and content to the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora. The two timelines interwove nicely with both being about the complicated relationship between Locke and Sabetha. But I do have to add that the relationship that I enjoy the most in these books is the one between Locke and Jean. Lively, entertaining, and smart, The Gentlemen Bastard Sequence is one of my favorite series and I look forward to the next volume.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fun. And finally we get the backstory filled in. But I'm still really not happy with the author's style of frequent interludes to do so.Locke and Jean stumbled away from their last grand Heist with barely a few thousand Solari in their pockets, Jean cured, but Locke still dying from latent poison. Despite his best efforts to grit his way through it, he was properly dying. However that did give his favourite friends the Bondmagi a chance to deal with him - the offer of a cure was far too much for Jean to resist, and the only price a chance to play politics in the Bondsmagi's city. What fun. Until his patron revelaed that her opposition had also brought in an outside consultant, one who intimately knew how best to foil the somewhat extravagant gestures of a fit Locke and Jean, yes it was there old playmate Sabetha. Nearly all of the plot revolves around Locke and Sabetha reminiscing or re-acquainting themselves with each other, interrupted with interludes from the missing backstory. There are a few instances of the three of them having fun with the political process but it is mostly all for show. None of them are that concerned with making a profit, subdued as they are by the Bondsmagi. It's a new city with it's own strangeness and this allows plenty of room for new experiences. The reminiscences also feature a new city with a somewhat more drunken reprise of Calo and Galdo enacting their first group scam, learning to be Thespians. There is a minor plot hole here in that from RedSkies the implication was that Locke and Sabetha featured in a whole series of plays whereas it's very clear that they only had the one performance together. I wasn't totally convinced by the Bondsmagi's motivation, nor the squabble that underlies the whole book, but I will allow Lynch the credit for devising a vaguely plausible way to get them out of the rest of the series of books he's obviously planning to write. (Hopefully somewhat quicker than this volume!). TBH I feel he has mostly already plumbed the depths that Locke can provide and would be better off suited turning his hand to new characters, leaving Locke Sabetha and Jean to get one with their avaricious future. But these are such fun books that I'm sure I'll read them anyway.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Better than the second book in the series, and not quite as good as the first. On the other hand, "The Lies of Locke Lamora" is one of my all-time favorite books so living up to it is a real challenge.

    I loved the way that this book was told in the form of two alternating and related stories. The flashback portions of the story were my favorite, but the whole thing was good. Highly recommended to anyone who liked the first book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow, what a wait it was for THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES. I devoured this book over the course of two weeks, which is light-speed at my rate of reading.

    I loved it! Truly an amazing accomplishment for Scott Lynch. I will sacrifice a chicken and even a goat to whatever literary gods will listen so the next book comes out in a mere year.

    The very beginning and end were the best parts.

    At the beginning, Jean's efforts to save Locke show the depth of their relationship and do amazing things for their characters. Unfortunately, Jean gets shoved aside as the story moves to Karthain. Why!? Such a great set up, so much devotion to Locke and then he's practically furniture for the rest of the book. Plus, Jean never deals with the death of his lover in the previous book.

    I kept waiting for the flashback with the play to make itself relevant to the ongoing story, but it never did. We knew Locke pined for Sabetha for years and years. He's whined about it in the last two books. I didn't need to know how they finally hooked up, because it really didn't matter. There wasn't some key fact in the flash-backs that gave way to a twist with the election story line. Why was all that in the book? Couldn't it have been removed and released as a novella along with two other stories that will be published sometime soon?

    The end of the book was great, and a terrific set up for the future. I will say nothing else to avoid spoilers.

    As I read, I kept wondering if this book languished in pre-publication for too long. The dialogue was very polished, almost too clever with insults and various methods to refer to one's private parts. I half-suspect that the manuscript was finished years ago, and the author decided to go back and punch up the dialogue one too many times.

    All criticism aside, this is a brilliant book. Everyone should read it, after you read the first two books. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORRA and RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES are brilliant.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Of all the series being published right now there's just a few that I enjoy enough to want to catch the latest episode as soon as it appears. One, however, I adore to the extent that the arrival of a new volume is a red letter day, a reason to celebrate - a high point of my whole year.I was lucky enough to read The Lies of Locke Lamora in proof form just before it came out, in July 2006. It was already surrounded by hype - a string of translation deals, Hollywood option etc - and at first I was wary, but within about ten pages I was won over and I've been a fan ever since.The second book in the Gentleman Bastard sequence, Red Seas Under Red Skies, lived up to the promise of its predecessor (with added sea battles!) but came with a few rough edges - nothing major, just the occasional but unmistakable sign of having been produced at speed and under pressure. Considering it appeared the year after Lies and is more than six hundred pages long that's hardly surprising: I remain more surprised that the book is as thoroughly wonderful as it is.Then came a gap. The Republic of Thieves wasn't published until September 2013 - and I'm glad. Because, like Lies, this one has no rough edges. It's perfect.What makes the Gentleman Bastard sequence the treat it is /isn't/ its world-building (impeccable, intricate, inviting), its characters (debonair, dangerously charming) or even its plots (heists, scams and cons of teeth-clenching tension and gleeful outrageousness). What makes this series great is its sense of style. Lynch leaps between mirroring timelines with the elegance of an acrobat, etching into each story an apparent ease, a feeling of lightness and joy, that any real writer knows is only ever the result of deep thought, painstaking graft and crushing effort.The Gentleman Bastard sequence is the best fantasy series being written today. Every one of these books is a delight and however long the next takes, I know it will be worth the wait.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this - it wasn't Lies or Red Seas but it's probably unfair to expect that.

    The fourth star came in the last chapter or so (and WHAT a chapter or so!) but prior to that it was looking like a 3. It was well written and the dialogue was fantastic, but I couldn't help but feel like there was about a novella's worth of story and plot set up for the following books here that had needed to be padded out to novel length.

    I enjoyed the flashbacks to the other Gentlemen Bastards but overall the play flashbacks dragged for me, like really dragged. They didn't really add much to the book like they have in previous installments, they didn't even really seem to deepen the Locke/Sabetha connection, except by showing that they did once work together on things.

    This book lacked the "caper" element from the previous ones and had a different mood as a result. The Thorn of Emberlain's blurb hints at this element coming back to the fore in the next book, though, so I'm willing to accept that this book was a necessarily stranger and more slow paced installment. It's necessary from a series point of view, but as a story in itself it isn't as compelling as the previous books.

    Sabetha, I've come to realise, bugged me. She was emotionally immature and I can't see what's driving Locke's interest... yay, love! My annoyance grew over the course of the book but I have to conclude that I'm not a fan, but you know what? Good characters aren't always the ones you love, if you can evoke a reaction of genuine distaste, annoyance or outright hatred in a reader then that's a characterisation win, too. She is at least in this sense well realised, but just because she's well written doesn't mean I have to like her.

    Having said ALL that, it's getting four stars. Yes I didn't like Sabetha that much, yes it lacked a caper, yes I missed Jean because we barely saw him and yes I thought it was padded beyond what it needed to be. The prose kicked ass, though, I enjoyed being back in the world, and the final chapter brought it all home as a beautiful set up for the next books like Scott Lynch was giving a wink to the reader and saying "remember this is a FANTASY series?" Dark, original and superbly crafted concepts. Do it, not for the sake of the story in this novel, but for the one he's setting up.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fans of the two previous books in the series will no doubt be panting for more of Locke and Jean’s adventures – especially as this book features the much-anticipated appearance of Locke’s long-lost love, Sabetha.

    Don’t know who Sabetha is? Don’t know what went down in Camorr or Tal Verrar? Well, that’s the book’s first problem – it doesn’t stand alone very well. The second problem is that it takes the author about 200 pages to get Locke out of the corner he painted him into at the end of the second book. Then the fun can begin.

    But I didn’t really think it was that fun. Locke and Jean are pitted against Sabetha to rig an election… and I’m not that interested in politics, but to be fair, they never really talked about political beliefs, just skullduggery and dirty tricks. And more than half of the book is made up of flashbacks of Locke and Sabetha’s romance as teens while performing a play. I’m not very interested in theater production, either. And to be painfully honest, I didn’t think Sabetha’s character was very well fleshed-out. She is the object of Locke’s obsession, and came across as just that: an object.

    I enjoyed it – but I wasn’t as dazzled as I was by “The Lies of Locke Lamora”. I doubt I will read this one a second time, and I’ve read “Lies” at least three times so far.