Scan barcode
A review by frogsarelovely
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
4.0
Ok so first, I still hold that Scott Lynch is one of the best fantasy writers. The characters, plot, world-building and dialogue were spectacular as usual. I enjoyed seeing characters and settings return from the first book, and I loved all of the new thespian characters.
The issues I have with the book are more down to personal preference. Mostly I didn't enjoy the romance element of this book. It takes up around 80% of the book, and going from the previous two books that focused mainly on Locke's schemes, it felt like an odd shift. The romance isn't done badly, it's good and both characters are great. I just personally don't really like romance, and so coming into that so strongly after the previous two books, with the focus on crime and other such fun stuff, I found it a bit boring.
The book also didn't feel as dense as the other two. The plot felt less complex and overlapping, and I was surprised that I managed to knock out this 700+ page book out in a few days (where as The Lies took me 3 months).
And did Jean always have this obsession with coffee? I might be remembering wrong but he seemed to have gone from zero to 100 on his coffee mentioning in the third book.
Lastly I didn't really like the twist near the end of the book concerning Locke's identity. I feel like it takes away from the image of Locke just being an orphan criminal genius with a vague background. I love that about him, and him being ordinary is what makes him so interesting. I feel like with this new information that has been overturned and he has become something much bigger. Again, this is personal preference and could all change in the next book.
Even with all those personal nitpicks, the book is fabulous as always. This is one of the best fantasy series around and absolutely worth the read. I look forward to seeing all of these characters again in the next book!
The issues I have with the book are more down to personal preference. Mostly I didn't enjoy the romance element of this book. It takes up around 80% of the book, and going from the previous two books that focused mainly on Locke's schemes, it felt like an odd shift. The romance isn't done badly, it's good and both characters are great. I just personally don't really like romance, and so coming into that so strongly after the previous two books, with the focus on crime and other such fun stuff, I found it a bit boring.
The book also didn't feel as dense as the other two. The plot felt less complex and overlapping, and I was surprised that I managed to knock out this 700+ page book out in a few days (where as The Lies took me 3 months).
And did Jean always have this obsession with coffee? I might be remembering wrong but he seemed to have gone from zero to 100 on his coffee mentioning in the third book.
Lastly I didn't really like the twist near the end of the book concerning Locke's identity. I feel like it takes away from the image of Locke just being an orphan criminal genius with a vague background. I love that about him, and him being ordinary is what makes him so interesting. I feel like with this new information that has been overturned and he has become something much bigger. Again, this is personal preference and could all change in the next book.
Even with all those personal nitpicks, the book is fabulous as always. This is one of the best fantasy series around and absolutely worth the read. I look forward to seeing all of these characters again in the next book!