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littletreetales's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Pirates are always a welcome addition
zach_r's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
asriram's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic entry in the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch. Like the last one, the ending had me on the edge of my seat, particularly the last couple of chapters. That being said, the sudden switch from heist novel to seafaring adventure midway through was a shock to me, and until I got used to it, did hamper my enjoyment slightly, with the characters introduced bringing this to just under the first novel in the series for me. While I thought I was going to take a break from the series, I think I’m just going to go straight into Republic of Thieves instead.
amblygon_writes's review against another edition
5.0
I wrote such a long review for book one, I think I'll just share a couple of thoughts about book two. Most of what I said for book one still stands: amazing characters and amazing setting. I felt like some plot points were a little out of that world, and there were a few parts where I wasn't quite convinced that a particular character really would've believed that lie, but oh well, it was still an extremely exciting read! Great work with the nautical terms (I have pretty much no experience so I can't comment from a professional point of view, but from a layman's point of view, it was convincing). Why does each ending have to be so exciting? It means I just had to start reading book three even though I have a dozen things to do today...
vabutler's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jettreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
bookboyfriend's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Amazing. Sherlock holmes meets pirates of the carribean.
eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 Stars
I'm not sure if you've heard, but many readers say that the Gentlemen Bastards series goes downhill after the first book. And so far, I kinda agree? I mean, this book is still good, but it's not nearly as good as the first.
The story picks up a couple of years later. Locke and Jean are in the middle of another scheme in Tal Verrar, only for the (unfair) consequences of past actions to throw a big wrench into the whole thing. Though that doesn't happen immediately. First, we spend 100 or so pages learning about Tal Verrar and how Locke and Jean came to be here.
As you might know, I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but I like the ones in this series. Though The Lies of Locke Lamora had better ones. They had Father Chains. I miss Father Chains. Still, I enjoyed these flashbacks too. Especially the ones in Vel Virazzo and Salon Corbeau. The latter gave Jean more of a chance to shine, which was great.
Then came the part where shit started going sideways, and my interest in the story varied a lot. The pacing in this book is all over the place. We spend so much time doing not-much-at-all, see some excitement, go back to not-much-at-all, and then rush the ending! The story here already isn't as strong as the first book, and then to have the climax be rushed after such a long build-up?
In so many ways, I could just call this book "not as good as the first" and leave it at that. Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. The book is very well-written, a lot of fun, has great world-building, some decent pay-offs, and most importantly, two fantastic protagonists. Not to mention, Michael Page does a great job with narrating. So reading it wasn't exactly a hardship. And I do want to read the third book. But...
So, before I started the review, I kinda fell down a rabbit hole of looking up the various times the fourth book was almost done or coming out in a year or two. And yeah, it's happened a few times. Lynch seems to be on the verge of joining Rothfuss and Martin on the list of Fantasy Authors Who Will Probably Never Finish Their Series. And it makes me wonder if I should read the third book. I really want to, especially since this one has a few loose threads, one of 'em really big, but the uncertainly of the series ever getting completed is putting me off. But I do already have the third book, so I'll probably read it.
Overall, this was a good read that could've used a better pace and a climax with some more scheming. And Father Chains.
I'm not sure if you've heard, but many readers say that the Gentlemen Bastards series goes downhill after the first book. And so far, I kinda agree? I mean, this book is still good, but it's not nearly as good as the first.
The story picks up a couple of years later. Locke and Jean are in the middle of another scheme in Tal Verrar, only for the (unfair) consequences of past actions to throw a big wrench into the whole thing. Though that doesn't happen immediately. First, we spend 100 or so pages learning about Tal Verrar and how Locke and Jean came to be here.
As you might know, I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but I like the ones in this series. Though The Lies of Locke Lamora had better ones. They had Father Chains. I miss Father Chains. Still, I enjoyed these flashbacks too. Especially the ones in Vel Virazzo and Salon Corbeau. The latter gave Jean more of a chance to shine, which was great.
Then came the part where shit started going sideways, and my interest in the story varied a lot. The pacing in this book is all over the place. We spend so much time doing not-much-at-all, see some excitement, go back to not-much-at-all, and then rush the ending! The story here already isn't as strong as the first book, and then to have the climax be rushed after such a long build-up?
In so many ways, I could just call this book "not as good as the first" and leave it at that. Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. The book is very well-written, a lot of fun, has great world-building, some decent pay-offs, and most importantly, two fantastic protagonists. Not to mention, Michael Page does a great job with narrating. So reading it wasn't exactly a hardship. And I do want to read the third book. But...
So, before I started the review, I kinda fell down a rabbit hole of looking up the various times the fourth book was almost done or coming out in a year or two. And yeah, it's happened a few times. Lynch seems to be on the verge of joining Rothfuss and Martin on the list of Fantasy Authors Who Will Probably Never Finish Their Series. And it makes me wonder if I should read the third book. I really want to, especially since this one has a few loose threads, one of 'em really big, but the uncertainly of the series ever getting completed is putting me off. But I do already have the third book, so I'll probably read it.
Overall, this was a good read that could've used a better pace and a climax with some more scheming. And Father Chains.
nogould's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I didn't find this one as captivating as The Lies of Locke Lamora. Bringing them out to sea with pirates did make for a fun adventure, and I'm glad the crew was more diverse this time.
matthewjbenedict's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5