Elitist Book Reviews

It's been a while, hasn't it? If you are like me, you've read Scott Lynch's first two novels several times while eagerly awaiting his THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES. There have been very few novels that I, personally, had anticipated as much as this one. I guess the real question is whether or not the wait was worth it?

For me, yes. I'm a patient sort for the most part. There are so many amazing novels to read that waiting doesn't bother me as much as it used to. That, combined with the knowledge that Lynch was facing some pretty severe personal issues, made me not care too much at the oft delayed 3rd novel in the Gentlemen Bastard Sequence. It's been five years since RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES, but now that the novel is here, I find I hardly care about that wait.

Here is my one and only warning. If you haven't read both THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA and RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES, don't read this review. I can't help but spoil a few things from those terrific novels here. That's it. You've been warned.

THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES is a very different novel from the previous two. It picks up pretty much right where RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES leaves off with Locke being poisoned. He has very little time to live, and Jean is doing his best to find a way to cure his friend. This leave Locke ripe for the manipulating, which the Bondsmagi of Karthain promptly do. They want Locke and Jean to rig an election for a certain political party in Karthain. Their opponent is none other than Sabetha, Locke's ex-lover whom he still loves.

What is promised here is a story of politics, manipulation and corruption on a massive scale. I was definitely intrigued. Except we really don't get much of this.

THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES really isn't about manipulating an election (though some of that comes into play). This is the Locke and Sabetha story. They story of how they met. How their relationship grew. How they finally became lovers. How they react to each other after not seeing each other for five years. Buried under everything, this is a love story and a tragedy. If you can't accept that, this novel will be a disappointment to you. I figured out this piece rather quickly, so I was able to enjoy the novel for what it was, and enjoy it I did. Immensely.

The questions that have always plagued me since first reading THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA centered over who Locke really was, and who Sabetha really was. They have always been more than just normal people, and I wanted some answers to those questions. They way this is all told is through a series of flashbacks (as usual in a Scott Lynch novel) to the time before Sabetha left the Gentlemen Bastards, and then the current political events in Karthain. The flashbacks cover a time when the whole of the Gentlemen Bastards are packed off by Father Chains to learn stagecraft. As usual, it all goes wrong.

The previous novels in this series have all had some grand scheme that Locke and Jean were trying to execute. THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES is a bit different in this regard. The big scheme is actually fairly limited to the flashbacks, and the political machinations devolve mostly into elaborate pranks (with the exception of a beautifully maneuvered finale). As such, the tone of the novel feels more like the main characters are just reacting to events rather than proactively setting and enacting large-scale schemes.

I don't want you to think I didn't like the novel. I did. In the end I loved it. It was paced far better, and was infinitely more cohesive than RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES. It just didn't go into the politics as much as I would have liked, and the characters were less active than in prior novels.

That said, I have come to the conclusion that Lynch is one of the most engaging wordsmiths in the business. His writing is captivating. I loved just reading the words, and the way he structures his chapters. It is extremely hard to pull of meaningful flashbacks in a novel, and this novel is half flashback--indeed I would say the flashback story is of far more importance than the current story.

The other thing I love is how consistent the characters are from book to book. This isn't to say they are stagnant, because they do learn. The Locke Lamora from THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA is a radically different character from the one he is in the REPUBLIC OF THIEVES. It's the logical reactions that Jean, Locke and Sabetha have that make them real. It's how their progression is consistent and, again, logical. They are never out of character, and that takes tremendous skill as an author.

I should also mention that within the flashbacks Lynch even created an original play. The play--titled The Republic of Thieves, of course--obviously is a window into the Gentlemen Bastards, and into the Locke/Sabetha relationship. It's awesome, but you can see how everything in the novel is focused on those two.

So what does this novel accomplish for the series? It's a question I asked myself frequently after finishing the book. In reality, it's pure setup. It sets up a super-villain of sorts. It sets up Locke and Sabetha with very real context. It moves Locke and Jean from the mess and tragedy at the end of RES SEAS UNDER RED SKIES into the next phase of the series. It gives us teases as to how bad things are going to get for Locke. In some ways the novel accomplishes little, while in other ways it accomplishes a ton.

Whether or not you will like the book will depend--wait for it--entirely on you. I loved it. The novel is a far more personal novel, and I really appreciated that tone. There aren't many novels out there that can compete with THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES.

Recommended Age: 18+
Profanity: Tons. Just like the last novels.
Violence: When it happens, it is brutal. But this novel has far less than previous volumes.
Sex: There are actually a few scenes in this book. They don't get too explicit, but there is some detail. Additionally there are a lot of vulgar references throughout the novel.

Stop screwing around and buy this series:

THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA
RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES
THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES

When you first novel is THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, you've made things very difficult on yourself. Scott Lynch's first novel was incredible. So incredible that it set the expectations for RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES incredibly high. I remember reading RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES and feeling a bit disappointed. Why? Because it wasn't the best novel ever, of course. How could I expect anything less after reading the first novel? It wasn't fair, and now that I've finished a re-read, I have a much better point of view on the novel than I did originally.

Let's face it, shall we? While RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES isn't as good as THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, I feel that it is still an amazing novel and better than 99% of the stuff out there in the Fantasy genre. It's just that RED doesn't blow LIES out of the water that has people feeling the disappointment.

Now I know what you're thinking. "But, Steve," you muse. "RED does have problems, right? You aren't just ignoring them because you love LIES so much, are you?" Indeed, RED does have some issues, and no, I'm not ignoring them.

RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES begins just after THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA leaves off. Locke is in a bad way physically, mentally and emotionally. Jean is dealing with Locke's inability to cope with the guilt he (Locke) feels after the events in Camorr. This portion of the story is told in flashbacks while we read the "current" part of the story of Locke and Jean trying to pull a heist on a gambling establishment called the Sinspire in Tal Verrar. While LIES was more of a novel about confidence schemes, RED is more Ocean's Eleven...at least in the beginning.

And this is perhaps the biggest issue people--including myself--have with RED.

The book starts out promising a heist novel and then switches gears 1/3 of the way into the novel...into a pirate novel. This does two things. First, it gives the novel an impression that it didn't quite know what it wanted to be. Second, when the pirate parts start, the pacing of the novel is restarted completely from scratch. It isn't a permanent reboot within the novel as we revisit the heist here and there, but any time the novel shifts from pirates to casinos, the pacing restarts. Honestly, it feels like the heist story was what the novel was intended to be, then Lynch realized there wasn't enough meat here for a full-blown story.

That said, it's not like either of the portions of the story are bad. Not in the least. I loved the heist story. I loved the pirate story. It was the odd juxtaposition of the two that threw me off initially when I first read the novel several years ago. Upon a second read, this didn't bother me near as much, and I could just enjoy the novel. And I have to say, the sea battles in RED are thrilling. As usual, Lynch's action scenes are chaotic and well described. It still amazes me how people don't talk about Lynch's ability to write action.

What Lynch still excels at in RED is his sense of the characters. While Locke and Jean have just a shaaade too much false conflict, I love their interaction. I love the banter they have between themselves and with the other, side characters. Speaking of side characters, I love both Zamira Drakasha and Ezri Delmastro. Lynch writes them so well. I love the little quirks, and the major character defining elements to each of them. They mesh so well with Locke and Jean, and so it makes the ending of the novel that much more powerful.

On my second read-through I read RED as if it were a tragedy, and for some reason that made me enjoy the novel quite a bit more. There were some points that still made me tear up even though I knew they were coming. That's good writing. Good characterization.

Scott Lynch is such an amazing writer. There are moments where he easily approaches a literary lean, but then others where it's almost pulp. Horror in some places, with good comedy in others. Happiness mixes with tragedy. It is in these contrasts that Lynch sets himself apart from his peers.

RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES isn't as good as THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, but how many novels are? Seriously, think about that for a minute. RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES is still a fantastic novel, and it holds up exceptionally well upon multiple reads.

My re-read of the series has concluded and I'm convinced that this is a must read for every fan of Fantasy. If you haven't read Lynch's work thus far, now is the perfect time to start. THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES is set to come out next week (10-10-13).

Recommended Age: 17+
Profanity: Tons. Just like the first novel.
Violence: Definitely. Throats are cut, dudes are stabbed, fires consume people.
Sex: It's talked about, but never shown in detail.

Get the novels here:

THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA
RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES
THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES

I know, I know. The book is old. You already know I love it. But here's the thing, THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES is finally about to be released. Before I jumped into Scott Lynch's newest, I needed to go back and revisit both THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA and RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES. So I'm taking the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you discerning readers. This of this as a re-read review.

I'll be blunt up front and share what you should already know. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA was one of my favorite books ever when I read it for the first time five years ago. I accidentally ended up with a review copy of it when I worked for Waldenbooks. The novel sat on my shelf for about a year, untouched. It had a cover that made me think it was some sort of weird, literary fantasy romance novel. I actually began reading it by accident. I blindly pulled the novel off the shelf, thinking I'd grabbed the latest R. Scott Bakker novel, and flipped to the first page. It was fairly obvious from the opening paragraph that I'd grabbed the wrong novel. But I kept reading. And reading.

And reading.

I loved it. Ever freaking word of every line. By this point I had already left the book store since it was a toxic environment perpetuated by the idiotic members of Borders' executive management (sorry, mini rant over). I had very few outlets to express my love for the novel. We've been very vocal here at Elitist Book Reviews about our love for the novel, but perhaps you want to know why? Perhaps you even want to know if THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA holds up after a subsequent read (or a third in my case).

First things first. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, to me, is even better now than when I first read it. I appreciate it more. The ensemble cast of Locke Jean and the rest demand a reader's attention. This isn't a book you can just skim through like many novels in the Fantasy genre. Everything adds character, whether to the main characters, the villains, or the city of Camorr.

The novel follows Locke Lamora and his small gang as they execute a confidence game--or a long con if you prefer--on one of the rich and powerful couples in the city of Camorr. As you'd imagine, things go sideways, and a bigger threat to the city itself emerges. Locke and his crew are forced into the upheaval.

What I like so much about the way Lynch tells the story is that we jump back-and-forth in time as we glean bits from Locke's and Jean's past and how those moments relate to the current situation in the city. The timing of these flashbacks with either elevate the tension of the current timeline, give the reader a hint at how Locke and the gang will resolve an issue, or serve to maximize comedic impact. Make no mistake, THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA is profane and violent, but it also hysterical when the situation calls for it. This balancing act of emotions is by far one of the most impressive things Scott Lynch is able to pull off in the novel.

The city of Camorr, and its denizens, is a character unto itself. I love the way Lynch paints the contrasts of the city. The good, the decadent, the bad, and the atrocious. These opposites and all the blendings in between are shown in terms of lifestyle, food, clothing, neighborhoods, language...everywhere. It makes the city feel alive in a way that few authors manage.

I think what gets lost in people's musings on THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA--and on Scott Lynch in general--is how well he does action. I wouldn't consider him the best in the business, but Lynch crafts his action extremely well. I'm never confused as to who is present in the scene, and to how things are happening. Additionally, I particularly like how Locke isn't exactly good at fighting. Not even close really. It adds humanity to a character who has other talents.

In all, this is the type of book that any author should strive to write. And it Lynch's first. This was my third time reading THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, and it was even more entertaining this time as the first time I turned its pages. If you get a chance, listen to the book on audio. It is narrated by Michael Page, and it's completely amazing.

I'll review RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES next week to conclude my re-read. Then I'll be delving into my review copy of THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES.

Look. If you aren't reading this series, you're doing it wrong. There isn't anything else out there truly like it. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA remains one of my favorite novels of all-time. I can't possibly recommend it more highly.

Recommended Age: 17+
Profanity: All sorts. It never feels out of place though. This will likely turn off quite a few readers. This is just a heads up.
Violence: Quite a bit. Lots of throat cutting. This is a really bloody book.
Sex: Nope. It's mentioned and talked about, but never shown.

Here are your links to pick up the book, and the rest of the series:

THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA
RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES
THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES