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A review by perusinghannah
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
2.0
Well, that's done. And it only took me a month of my life.
This series so far has been a bumpy ride for me, and this third book is my least favorite yet. To make it extra sour, it actually started out the strongest for me out of all three. For a minute there at the start, I thought "There. He's settled into his own style", and genuinely thought this would be the continuation of an upward trend.
And then, Sabetha. Elusive Sabetha, who I've been curious about since book one, turned out to be such a massive bummer of a disappointment that I found myself irritated in a way I haven't in a very long time. To me, she reads exactly like a man's stereotypical idea of a strong woman, and that has rarely been a good thing for my reading enjoyment (and not only because Locke keeps calling her bitch, but as a 'compliment'). Obviously anyone's mileage may vary, but I found Sabetha both flimsy and boring.
Now why is that so much of a problem, you ask? Well, the whole bloody book is about her and her relationship with Locke (who, as a result of their... whatever it is... has now not only lost my respect for him as a thief, but also just genuinely as a human being. Yikes, dude). Yea, there's a hint of a political plotline somewhere, and yea, we get a glimpse of our main characters partaking in it here and there for a second or two, but let's be real - the plot was so thin you could read a newspaper through it. And as an added bonus, we get a past timeline that also seems to exist for no other reason than to give us Sabetha and Locke backstory. Joy.
The one thing I actually steadily enjoy in these books is Jean, and he's the only reason I stuck with this book at all.
As of now, no fourth book seems to be on the horizon, and honestly even if it was I don't think I'm willing to continue on with the series. I can sincerely say I gave it my very best shot, and it's just not the sort of fantasy for me.
This series so far has been a bumpy ride for me, and this third book is my least favorite yet. To make it extra sour, it actually started out the strongest for me out of all three. For a minute there at the start, I thought "There. He's settled into his own style", and genuinely thought this would be the continuation of an upward trend.
And then, Sabetha. Elusive Sabetha, who I've been curious about since book one, turned out to be such a massive bummer of a disappointment that I found myself irritated in a way I haven't in a very long time. To me, she reads exactly like a man's stereotypical idea of a strong woman, and that has rarely been a good thing for my reading enjoyment (and not only because Locke keeps calling her bitch, but as a 'compliment'). Obviously anyone's mileage may vary, but I found Sabetha both flimsy and boring.
Now why is that so much of a problem, you ask? Well, the whole bloody book is about her and her relationship with Locke (who, as a result of their... whatever it is... has now not only lost my respect for him as a thief, but also just genuinely as a human being. Yikes, dude). Yea, there's a hint of a political plotline somewhere, and yea, we get a glimpse of our main characters partaking in it here and there for a second or two, but let's be real - the plot was so thin you could read a newspaper through it. And as an added bonus, we get a past timeline that also seems to exist for no other reason than to give us Sabetha and Locke backstory. Joy.
The one thing I actually steadily enjoy in these books is Jean, and he's the only reason I stuck with this book at all.
As of now, no fourth book seems to be on the horizon, and honestly even if it was I don't think I'm willing to continue on with the series. I can sincerely say I gave it my very best shot, and it's just not the sort of fantasy for me.