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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Apparently I'm no longer able to read books without dwelling on their negative aspects (thank you George R.R. Martin). For the first two-thirds of this book, all I could think about were the things I didn't like. The dialogue was "too much" in the way that Dumb and Dumber was "too much." The plot felt like he knew he had to fill 400 pages and he didn't have a way to fill the pages other than to come up with a random sequence of events and stick them in without regard to whether they formed the basis for a good story. More specifically, it never felt like the book was driven by the characters' actions. It felt like the all-powerful narrator was thwarting them at every turn and forcing them into new, unpleasant situations.
In the book's defense, Lynch is a pretty good writer and the book is a fun read (if you don't dwell on the negatives). The last third of the book was definitely better than the rest. It felt more like a coherent, character-driven story than the first two-thirds. I also appreciated the ending, which (without giving anything away) was bittersweet.
In the book's defense, Lynch is a pretty good writer and the book is a fun read (if you don't dwell on the negatives). The last third of the book was definitely better than the rest. It felt more like a coherent, character-driven story than the first two-thirds. I also appreciated the ending, which (without giving anything away) was bittersweet.
adventurous
dark
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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:
Yes
I'm not a fan of boats/pirates/nautical terms, and if this hadn't been a Gentleman Bastard book, I wouldn't have read it.
I feel like everything wrapped up a bit too neatly at the end. Their scheme with the Sinspire wasn't as complicated or cool as I expected, almost as though the entire thing was only an afterthought to the whole pirate adventure. Even their victory over the Arkanum guy seemed a bit too easy...granted, they didn't get their antidote, but still.
Opening the book with a scene where Jean betrays Locke (which doesn't even occur until 75% of the way through the book) was a cheap ploy to get the reader's attention and it made me a bit annoyed. I would have been fine with it if that betrayal had been somehow important to the plot or if it had even been a betrayal at all. But it literally got resolved seconds later.
And Jean's girlfriend's death also felt too neatly wrapped up. Of course she had to die--she was intruding on their bromance. I doubt they'll just move on and forget about her, but still.
*sigh*
This book was fun, but also not nearly as clever as it thought it was.
I feel like everything wrapped up a bit too neatly at the end. Their scheme with the Sinspire wasn't as complicated or cool as I expected, almost as though the entire thing was only an afterthought to the whole pirate adventure. Even their victory over the Arkanum guy seemed a bit too easy...granted, they didn't get their antidote, but still.
Opening the book with a scene where Jean betrays Locke (which doesn't even occur until 75% of the way through the book) was a cheap ploy to get the reader's attention and it made me a bit annoyed. I would have been fine with it if that betrayal had been somehow important to the plot or if it had even been a betrayal at all. But it literally got resolved seconds later.
And Jean's girlfriend's death also felt too neatly wrapped up. Of course she had to die--she was intruding on their bromance. I doubt they'll just move on and forget about her, but still.
*sigh*
This book was fun, but also not nearly as clever as it thought it was.
It was enjoyable but nowhere as good as the first book.
I was entertained as opposed to being on the edge of my seat like I was with [b:The Lies of Locke Lamora|29588376|The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)|Scott Lynch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458646334l/29588376._SY75_.jpg|2116675]. Everything was at a much lower stake and I also did not find the surrounding characters that endearing (except for Ezri). I felt like the narrative was being ambitious rather than being in its own element. I also found a lot of situations predictable which I would have never been able to say about the first book.
I did thoroughly enjoy the exploration of Locke and Jean's relationship, as well as how they dealt with what happened in the previous book (which I still felt somewhat lacking but oh well I hope the next book will cover it). As much as I loved these two idiots in this book, I preferred all the scenes where they were not on the sea because that was where the substantial scheming occurred.
I nevertheless really liked this book, the characters are fleshed out pristinely, the narrative is beautiful and the insults remain as imaginative and convoluted as ever!
I was entertained as opposed to being on the edge of my seat like I was with [b:The Lies of Locke Lamora|29588376|The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)|Scott Lynch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458646334l/29588376._SY75_.jpg|2116675]. Everything was at a much lower stake and I also did not find the surrounding characters that endearing (except for Ezri). I felt like the narrative was being ambitious rather than being in its own element. I also found a lot of situations predictable which I would have never been able to say about the first book.
I did thoroughly enjoy the exploration of Locke and Jean's relationship, as well as how they dealt with what happened in the previous book (which I still felt somewhat lacking but oh well I hope the next book will cover it). As much as I loved these two idiots in this book, I preferred all the scenes where they were not on the sea because that was where the substantial scheming occurred.
Spoiler
I think my biggest complaint is that the revelation that their two years of hard work in Tal Verrar ended up in smoke since they stole counterfeits was disappointing to say the least. It was a good plot twist, but I would argue that it is so big a plot twist that it actually exists at the expense of the purpose of the book. Equally, the amazing prologue took shy of 550 pages to be brought into context - really building my anticipation there - and then was sorted in the space of two pages... I was just bummed...I nevertheless really liked this book, the characters are fleshed out pristinely, the narrative is beautiful and the insults remain as imaginative and convoluted as ever!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-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