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A review by amblygon_writes
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
5.0
So I'm back, and I decided to spoiler this, not because it's definitely going to include spoilers, but because I don't want to tip-toe around issues by describing scenes as neutrally or as cryptically as possible. (Actually, I do go on to discuss spoilers so don't read if you don't want spoilers or rambling.)
Finally, we get to meet Sabetha! I love that this took so long. Yes, one of my issues with the first book was the lack of an interesting female character (Sabetha was mentioned so rarely and mostly as the lost love of Locke that I wouldn't really say she had a meaningful presence). I like Sabetha as a character; she didn't seem forced to me and I like how strong she is. I also enjoyed the fact that her returning Locke's feelings was not an automatic process and it didn't feel inevitable (especially since we knew what was going to happen).
I thought the start was a little slow again, but this story does crook its fingers and at some point you realise you're racing to the end. The alternation between interludes and Karthain events was exasperating, but also exhilarating. I loved both stories and the pacing was great.
The one niggle I had was the continuing relationship with Sabetha. I was particularly interested in the fact that she had left him (for whatever reason - hopefully their relationship gets picked apart a bit more in the next book); it shows depth and makes her relatable. What I didn't really understand was why she was so bothered by the discovery that he wasn't necessarily who he said he was. It was quite clear that he was either a master liar and something terribly weird was going on (in which case she should've left that nest well alone) or perhaps he was as lost as she was. I'm not sure she had any particular reason to trust Patience as opposed to the man that she clearly has feelings for (and who has explicitly shown the vast amount of trust and love, however puppy-like and naive, he has for her). Perhaps her aversion to men who want her just for her red hair should've been made clearer; I just felt that Locke had shown a lot of reasons to love her and respect her despite her red hair (or well maybe in addition to it) so the fact that some crazy super-powerful woman who's basically holding her friends' nooses in her hands says that Locke used to be someone who loved a red-haired woman makes her bolt is a bit weird. Ah well, maybe that was just me reading too fast because I was too excited to know what happens. :D
Anyway, what a shame, I thought book 4 was already out! I ran off to look on Amazon and was ready to click the button to purchase it when I noticed it was a pre-order button rather than a deliver-instantly-to-Kindle-and-proceed-to-devour button. Something to look forward to in July! And oops, this did include quite a few spoilers. :D
Finally, we get to meet Sabetha! I love that this took so long. Yes, one of my issues with the first book was the lack of an interesting female character (Sabetha was mentioned so rarely and mostly as the lost love of Locke that I wouldn't really say she had a meaningful presence). I like Sabetha as a character; she didn't seem forced to me and I like how strong she is. I also enjoyed the fact that her returning Locke's feelings was not an automatic process and it didn't feel inevitable (especially since we knew what was going to happen).
I thought the start was a little slow again, but this story does crook its fingers and at some point you realise you're racing to the end. The alternation between interludes and Karthain events was exasperating, but also exhilarating. I loved both stories and the pacing was great.
The one niggle I had was the continuing relationship with Sabetha. I was particularly interested in the fact that she had left him (for whatever reason - hopefully their relationship gets picked apart a bit more in the next book); it shows depth and makes her relatable. What I didn't really understand was why she was so bothered by the discovery that he wasn't necessarily who he said he was. It was quite clear that he was either a master liar and something terribly weird was going on (in which case she should've left that nest well alone) or perhaps he was as lost as she was. I'm not sure she had any particular reason to trust Patience as opposed to the man that she clearly has feelings for (and who has explicitly shown the vast amount of trust and love, however puppy-like and naive, he has for her). Perhaps her aversion to men who want her just for her red hair should've been made clearer; I just felt that Locke had shown a lot of reasons to love her and respect her despite her red hair (or well maybe in addition to it) so the fact that some crazy super-powerful woman who's basically holding her friends' nooses in her hands says that Locke used to be someone who loved a red-haired woman makes her bolt is a bit weird. Ah well, maybe that was just me reading too fast because I was too excited to know what happens. :D
Anyway, what a shame, I thought book 4 was already out! I ran off to look on Amazon and was ready to click the button to purchase it when I noticed it was a pre-order button rather than a deliver-instantly-to-Kindle-and-proceed-to-devour button. Something to look forward to in July! And oops, this did include quite a few spoilers. :D