The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch ---Review

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall a strong 4.5/5

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch-ARC from Netgalley

Writing 5/5
Imagination 5/5
Plot 4/5
Setting 4.5/5
Characters 4/5

I really liked this book. It has much of what I loved in The Lies of Locke Lamora and was much better to me than Red Seas Under Red Skieswhich I did not finish. The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of my favorite fantasy novels and while I did not like this as much as that one, I was very satisfied with it. All Gentleman Bastard series fans will love this book. We get a closer look at Locke's past and follow along on his and Jean's newest adventure.

The writing again is superb! At times gritty and dark and at times light and humorous, I could read Scott Lynch prose all day. For the most part the plot was easy to follow even with a relatively large cast of characters and more are continuously added throughout. The dialogue is excellent as is the narration. The world and its characters are all so vibrant it's easy to imagine being there. Scott Lynch has created a very believable world highly imagined and it is very unique and thrilling to learn more about. The plot advanced very well and at times was ingenuously written. I remember several times being consciously aware of how well a plot point was handled/resolved with such creativity and imagination. The magic system is one of my favorites in all of fantasy and I would love to see it expanded on. I love the Bondsmagi and would love to learn more of the history. Furthermore, we learned some more about the Eldren race and I anticipate learning more in the future. Lore is one of my favorite parts of fantasy stories and there is some here and a lot to work with if the author chooses in the future.

Toward the end of the book we learn some things about Locke's past and that is a high point of this book for me. I always thought there was more to the character and while it is starting to come out, we are still not sure by the time the book ends. I am totally hooked and the next book in the series The Thorn of Emberlainis one of my most anticipated future fantasy books.

For me there are only 2 things that make this less than a 5 star book and they are tied closely together. This is the length and sub plot. This book is not necessarily too long for the story(s) it gives but I favor work that is under 500 pages, preferably 300 or under. At 800 pages this was a bit overwhelming for me. Although I have read many 1000+ page books, most of my all time favorites are on the short side. I have a very high rate of "did not finish" books and also books I start but put aside to read later cause they just did not hook me. Thankfully, this was not the case with this book. I admit to skimming a few parts of the interlude sub plot story which was not a bad story but I just wasn't wowed as with the main story.

Highly recommended!

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