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BananaNutkins posted:Republic of Thieves just got brutalized by Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. The tears...they are flowing. Considering what a shitpile that website is my anticipation for this book just shot up four notches.
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Oct 6, 2013 09:21
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Popular conception amongst bloggers (beyond Pat's Fantasy Hotlist being a shitpile) is that Pat torpedoed it for quick attention. I'm reading it myself right now. It's still lots of fun.
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Oct 6, 2013 12:13
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BananaNutkins posted:Fingers crossed that he just has bad taste on this one. he hated it. First hundred pages are good and then it just falls apart
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Oct 6, 2013 17:04
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Eh, popularity doesn't really have much of a correlation with quality. It's a bit disingenuous to assume that someone hating something popular hates it solely because it's popular. They could genuinely hate it! That said I don't care for Pat's Fantasy Hotlist since it comes off as rather shill-y (I blame the fact that most entries on his blog seem to be Amazon referral links for books, that just rubs me the wrong way) and his reviews feel wishy-washy, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Still, I don't think it's impossible that someone who really loved the previous books could be disappointed with the new one; 7 years is a heck of a long time for a sequel, so massive hype plus changing tastes over the years could make a world of difference. Which is why I'm being cautiously optimistic about Republic of Thieves instead of letting myself get excited about it.
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Oct 6, 2013 17:17
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Major props to Scott Lynch for putting links to negative reviews on his website. I'm definately getting it when it comes out, regardless of the word. I just want Lynch to be an explosive success ;_;
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Oct 6, 2013 23:37
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sotamarsu posted:I haven't read Republic of Thieves yet, but usually when most people seem to like a book (see: Goodreads ratings, most other reviews) and "That Guy" (or "Those Guys") steps in to completely tear it down it's usually just geekier version of hipsteritis. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not. You're definitely not wrong. Just look at our thread on The Name of the Wind. A lot of good points there, but a lot of them exaggerated by the book's popularity.
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Oct 7, 2013 01:30
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Has anyone heard anything about the audiobook? It was coming up on the auto complete on audible, but now even that listing is gone. I'll be disappointed if it doesn't come out tomorrow also.
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Oct 7, 2013 21:26
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LASER BEAM DREAM posted:Has anyone heard anything about the audiobook? It was coming up on the auto complete on audible, but now even that listing is gone. I'll be disappointed if it doesn't come out tomorrow also. 
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Oct 7, 2013 21:36
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Just read the review on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist (never heard of that blog until it was mentioned here) and I agree with a lot of what he said, though the review itself is poorly written.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:33
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LASER BEAM DREAM posted:Has anyone heard anything about the audiobook? It was coming up on the auto complete on audible, but now even that listing is gone. I'll be disappointed if it doesn't come out tomorrow also. Coming out around the 22nd.
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Oct 8, 2013 16:16
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20% of the way through, I'm a fan so far. I am tired of reading about sick Locke Lamora though. One trope I could do without.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:39
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Ok, I've read it. I liked it. It's not as good as the first one but more entertaining overall than the second, or at least I thought so. I think the negative reviews must be more a function of the seven year wait than the book itself. Having only read the first two books for the first time last month this seemed like a good companion piece. The only downside is that the early to middle portion of the book kinda lacks tension; it's fun to read but there's no driving compulsion or sense of horrible danger like with the others. The writing is just as wry and funny and sharp as in any of the others though.
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Oct 9, 2013 01:43
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Having finished The Republic of Thieves I think it's going to take awhile to decide what I actually think of all the things that happened and were revealed in it, but one thing I know for sure: at page 200, I was thinking, gently caress, this book is only half as good as the second, which was only half as good as the first, fuuuuuck, and then at around page 250, I was suddenly thinking NEVERMIND, EVERYTHING IS GREAT. So yeah. It takes a long time to ramp up but I really loved it once it did. I don't think it's as overall start-to-finish loving GOOD as the first book, but I do believe it's better than Red Seas was. Probably mostly because god drat, I love Sabetha.
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Oct 9, 2013 15:04
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Sometimes I wonder if Scott Lynch read way too much Vonnegut in his youth See the cat? See the cradle?
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Oct 9, 2013 17:19
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I'm about half way through it, but I feel it's just as good as book two. The first one was 10/10, the second and third books are both 8/10 (not as good as the first, but still very good). Is it just me or have the characters really cranked up the profanity? I love Lynch's dialogue (and a realistic use of swearing is part of that) but it seems like these guys swear WAY more than they did in the first two books.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:48
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I reread Lies before starting Republic of Thieves and yeah. There's a lot more swearing in the latter.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:54
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I wish I could change my username to Beefwit Smallcock.
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Oct 9, 2013 21:59
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Why can't you?
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Oct 10, 2013 01:03
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Just finished RoT. I don't think it was as good as either of the previous books because it doesn't seem like Locke and Jean did anything really clever. None of that Ocean's 11 poo poo that was so appealing.
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Oct 10, 2013 01:12
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Suxpool posted:Just finished RoT. I don't think it was as good as either of the previous books because it doesn't seem like Locke and Jean did anything really clever. None of that Ocean's 11 poo poo that was so appealing. This is my thought process too. I also thought Sabetha was way too one dimensional and the Locke reveal seemed irrelevant considering what happened to Foresight. Obviously later in the series it will become more apparent but with 4 books in the distant future, prophecies as bizarre as that are kinda frustrating. On the other hand, I've been waiting for this book for years and I'm still happy with it. Here's hoping Lynch can churn out ToE quickly.
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Oct 10, 2013 03:56
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I stayed up way too late to try and finish this, and I'm still 150+ pages from the end, but I'm starting to get really annoyed with how the B plot keeps switching gears from a fantasy remake of National Lampoons European Vacation to a community college production of Romeo and Juliet. Oh, and there's a scene where Sabetha explains that she dyes her hair because red haired children get enslaved, castrated and raped to death as a cure for syphilis. What the gently caress did I just read. 
Ghetto Prince fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 08:23
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I'm not too far in but I'm really enjoying the flashback stuff. Father Chains is one of my favorite characters. Book 1 Spoiler Killing off Callo, Galdo, and Bug worked well for the first book but I think the second two books suffer for it.
funkymonks fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 17:45
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Just finished Republic of Theives and thoughts in no particular order I thought the book suffered for not having a big confidence game at its center. I want to see Locke and Jean outsmarting everyone. I'm not sure what to make of it being Sabetha in the painting. Why would anyone believe that its even remotely real? Patience was a bitch. Just further cements the magi as being assholes and I thought her 'arc' was really well done. The flashback scenes, while providing a few chuckles, seemed pretty unneccesary. I get that we were supposed to learn about Locke and Sabetha, but again, it didn't seem like a game most of the time. I'm worried that the quality of the books has declined from 10/10 to 9/10 to 8/10.
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Oct 10, 2013 18:39
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Phummus posted:Just finished Republic of Theives and thoughts in no particular order I didn't think it was Sabetha but was a red head which showed why Locke was so enthralled with Sabetha. Also I would rate them 10/10 to 8/10 to 9/10 myself. And for some reason I thought this was a trilogy and am glad to have more coming our way. kenny powerzzz fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 20:16
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uh zip zoom posted:I wish I could change my username to Beefwit Smallcock. If I can be the Lord of Whores, you can be whoever you want to be.
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Oct 10, 2013 21:34
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Whorelord posted:If I can be the Lord of Whores, you can be whoever you want to be. I thought there was a 15 character limit.
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Oct 11, 2013 01:50
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Just finished it. I have a question about the end. What "information" could Patience possibly have given to Sabetha that made her flee Locke like that (again)? Its implied that it was seeing the photo of the mage's red headed wife, but Patience already told them that's why Locke likes red heads (and its implied they understood what she was saying).
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Oct 11, 2013 06:58
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About a fourth of the way through and really enjoying it so far. Locke's conversation with Jean about getting unpoisoned went on way too long, but other than that I have no real criticisms so far.
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Oct 11, 2013 07:26
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syphon posted:Just finished it. I have a question about the end. What "information" could Patience possibly have given to Sabetha that made her flee Locke like that (again)? Its implied that it was seeing the photo of the mage's red headed wife, but Patience already told them that's why Locke likes red heads (and its implied they understood what she was saying). I don't think it's something we are supposed to parse out from this or previous books but I think it has to do with the premonition she gave Locke. Specifically that his child would have the magic or whatever it is that the bonds magi take children for. I didn't like that this was left so ambiguously though.
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Oct 11, 2013 07:54
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syphon posted:Just finished it. I have a question about the end. What "information" could Patience possibly have given to Sabetha that made her flee Locke like that (again)? Its implied that it was seeing the photo of the mage's red headed wife, but Patience already told them that's why Locke likes red heads (and its implied they understood what she was saying). I was confused by that too. It seemed to me that the author was just using it as a way to send Sabetha off so the next book would just be the adventures of Locke and Jean instead of the three of them. Maybe the next book will be better for it, but in my opinion it didn't help this book's ending.
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Oct 11, 2013 12:50
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I'm two thirds of the way through this book, and maybe it's a fault of mine that I don't know how to recognize that fantasy when I read it, but I'm really not seeing any problem thus far. Even all of the scenes in Espara I pretty fun. I just finished the scene between Locke and Sabetha (and also Gennaro, I guess) on the rooftop and it definitely didn't end up the way I had thought it would. I guess I just have way too much empathy for the guy. When I was 16, my virtue was taken by a redheaded woman, and I just have not been the same since.
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Oct 11, 2013 14:56
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Here's my personal thoughts on the whole thing with the end (and lots of words about hair colors): The important thing in regards to "why is Sabetha so loving freaked out" is, I think, looking back at the story she tells Locke about what happens to red haired girls -- Sabetha has lived her whole life absolutely loathing red haired fetishism, because of the disgusting poo poo it's led to. She flips out at Locke because he mentions how struck he was by her red hair, and prompts the whole retelling of that gruesome story, you have to keep in mind that's been a huge horrible weight on her for her whole drat life. So now she finds out, thanks to Patience, that Locke is sort of a red hair fetishist for a really loving wild reason, she gets a little freaked out. I think it's pretty reasonable. The implication is that they mutually decided maybe Patience made the whole thing up, wove a story around the name she got from Jean just to gently caress with them, but then, at the very end, she comes back with that painting as "proof" and Sabetha leaves to gather her thoughts on the whole thing and come to terms with it. Basically Sabetha has an understandable complex with her hair that's being really aggravated by this whole business thanks to being told as a child that she'd be brutally gangraped to death if anyone saw it. And Locke promised to let her deal with her poo poo in her own time, so he let her go at the end. I'm pretty sure she'll be back in the next book, I'm just not sure in what capacity.
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Oct 11, 2013 15:26
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I liked the book, except of one thing. There is a big con game, in fact - the one in the flashback. The election shenanigans don't amount to much, because they are only a pretext to show what's this part of the plot really seemed to be about : the Bondsmagi and Locke's relationship with Sabetha. Which for me was quite frustrating to read about, but not because of the boredom. I'm not sure how I feel about the reveal. At first, I felt like I went to an expensive restaurant, proceeded to engorge myself with delicious seafood and found a gleaming, brown turd between the mussels. It came out of completely nowhere and seemed completely unnecessary for a series about a loving con artist. This was something I could have expected to find in a bad fanfic... or one of the later seasons of Battlestar Galactica. Two things really convinced me to trust the author and not to give up on the series. First was that there is enough foreshadowing in the first book to convince me Lynch planned this beforehand, instead of making the plot up as it goes. The second reason to continue is that the rest of the book was really good. The first chapters seemed to drag a bit, but there were no obvious pacing problems like in "Red Seas". And the dialogs, as always, were stellar. It still wasn't as good as "Lies of Locke Lamora", but still great to read. From the reviews, I expected another "Dance with Dragons".
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Oct 11, 2013 21:45
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Gantolandon posted:From the reviews, I expected another "Dance with Dragons". As long as you don't expect an actual winds of winter. Anytime soon.
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Oct 12, 2013 02:20
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I enjoyed Republic of Thieves but not as much as LoLL. I need to re-read Red Seas sometime -- not sure if I'd put it above or below RoT at the moment. RoT didn't drag but it didn't feel as meaty as the previous books, though it did have some fun moments and plenty of quality banter. Regarding the reveal towards the end I was a little disappointed -- I don't think Locke needs to have some mysterious further backstory to be an interesting character. I've read maybe a bit too much fantasy where the protagonist ends up being special somehow, and was sort of enjoying Locke being just this guy getting by by his wits. I have mixed feelings about the Falconer being back at the end. He's going to be trouble, that one. I do hope book four includes some truly epic caper.
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Oct 12, 2013 03:30
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Gantolandon posted:I'm not sure how I feel about the reveal. At first, I felt like I went to an expensive restaurant, proceeded to engorge myself with delicious seafood and found a gleaming, brown turd between the mussels. It came out of completely nowhere and seemed completely unnecessary for a series about a loving con artist. This was something I could have expected to find in a bad fanfic... or one of the later seasons of Battlestar Galactica. I'm really hoping it was just Patience loving with him. It would totally be something one of his characters would do, but I don't know whether he's that ballsy.
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Oct 12, 2013 08:09
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Kreeblah posted:I'm really hoping it was just Patience loving with him. It would totally be something one of his characters would do, but I don't know whether he's that ballsy. I also hope for that, but the reaction of other Bondsmagi made me think this was at least partially genuine. Even if she just made the big reveal as another distraction for the exceptionalists, at very least there existed a necromancer with Locke's "true" name.
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Oct 12, 2013 11:30
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Overall I was somewhat let down by the book. I really wanted it to go in a different direction than it did. My favorite underlying theme to the whole series has always been, thieves prosper and the rich remember. Now we're taking a left turn from that into Locke's a wizard and space monsters! I want to read about a guy who is just so god drat good at being a thief that he pulls one over, even on all powerful wizards. But it seems to be diverging more and more from that ideal.
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Oct 12, 2013 18:27
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I just finished it and read both Sabetha's running off and Patient's 'gently caress-you' moment rather differently. Regarding Sabetha - in my view she ran off because she's genuinely afraid of not understanding Locke. Somewhere around 150 pages before the end she talks about how she can't handle him having a third side, and my understanding is that she sees his fascination with red-hair'd women as another notch on the 'yes' side of her list of reasons for and against Locke being this mysterious other dude reincarnated. So she runs off. Also because the books are more interesting without her around and I think Lynch had trouble writing her, but that's just my opinion. As for the other thing: I read that as Patience's ultimate revenge. Her solution to getting one over on Locke is tailor made for his need to know everything. She is 100% sure that he will never truly know one way or another, and that will haunt him far more than any death or physical harm ever would. "Made to fit" or whatever the wording was. It doesn't need to be true or not true, and we needn't ever know one way or the other. It just needs to be convincing enough a story. For all we know she's played a long con on him, and now she's dead so they'll never find out from that angle anyways. Edit: While i loved this book and super appreciated the return of flashbacks, what I felt super uncomfortable with was any one of Locke and Sabetha's "dates". They all felt really artificial and like some newspaper column's summary of 'my best date ever'. Awkward as hell. RobinPierce fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Oct 12, 2013 22:51
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RobinPierce posted:As for the other thing: I would really really enjoy it if Patience's claims about Locke's background and/or her purported forseeing were never resolved -- apart from Locke possibly obsessing about them. One thing I am frustrated by at times in fantasy or sci-fi is things being over-explained until they're just lifeless and dull. I'm cool with some things just remaining mysterious.
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Oct 13, 2013 07:53
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