[email protected] reviewed Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
Ambivalent
3 stars
Content warning Mild spoilers, a bit of ranting
As the finale of the Gentlemen Bastards series, it was um.. unsatisfactory. By this point, the formula is established: there are two stories, one set in the present in which the Gentleman Bastards are bought or forced to topple a faction or government and one in the past that fleshes out the backstory of the Gentleman Bastards. In this final part of the series, the relationship with an old love interest is being explored.
First the pros: the setting is very imaginative. It is reminiscent of the early Renaissance in the Mediterranean, but with ruins of unknown technology. The plots are well wrought. They are basically major scams that are being thoroughly prepared and executed by the main characters. The main characters are a bit meh, but at least well fleshed out.
As for the intertwining stories: there is something wrong with the pacing. So much, that I seriously considered putting the last book down. For all three parts of the trilogy, the first part sets up the scene, then during the second part, the story develops at a slow pace, whereas in the third part, it feels hastily concluded. This was worst in RoT.
On other thing that really irked me, is that Lynch did a George RR Martin on the reader. The final part of the series ends with a huge cliffhanger. As it was released is thirteen years ago old at the time of this writing, I have no hope of this cliffhanger being resolved.
I mentioned the characters being a bit 'meh' before. The trope of the emo rogue main character is a fun one, but in the case of Locke and Jean it does not really work well. The contrast between the mastermind scammers and the bickering old couple feels forced.