Gentlemen Bastards series

I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora. Although quite well-written and inventive, it was also one of the most depressing, Crapsack World works of fantasy literature I'd read in some time- the article calls it Ocean's Eleven in fantasy Venice, but it's far darker than that, in my opinion. Ocean's Eleven has a very lighthearted sense of style over substance and globe-trotting adventure; the book's setting of Camorr seemed like an unending parade of misery, selfishness, and barbarism.

What do you folks think?

edited 29th Dec '10 10:31:57 PM by Roland

That's pretty much my opinion, which is why I didn't really care for it.

I really liked the series, I just want the next books to come out already.

Guh, this series is brilliant. I just reread them both for the second time the other week and liked them even more. The characters are genuine, the plots are complex but not too hard to follow, the world building is fantastic, I could go on and on but I like to pretend I have some self control.

It is very dark, but I think the moments of humour laced through it balance it enough so that the reader doesn't wallow. Both books often surprised me into laughing out loud. Then again I guess your mileage may vary on this.

It's definitely a world that interests me and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I'm thinking of reading them...I don't know, I'm normally okay with dark and depressing stuff, as long as there's some kind of point other than to be dark and depressing. They've been on my mental 'I plan to read these at some point in my lifetime, hopefully' list for a while, but maybe I should move them to my mental 'actually going to try and find them in a bookshop sometime' list.

See, I wouldn't call the books dark. Oh, sure, they describe a Crapsack World filled with soul-crushing brutality, but the focus of the books is largely on often-humorous adventures.

I mean, I'd say The Simpsons has got a more corrupt, hopeless, and overall-sucks-to-be-in-it reality than most Film Noir, but that doesn't make it a dark story.

Dude, compared to A Song Of Ice And Fire, these books are a mardi gras.

And I heard the third one is actually due out this year. I hope.

I read the first one and really liked it, but I never got around to reading the second one. I keep reminding myself too, only to get sidetracked by other books (I just started A Game of Thrones, so I doubt I'll get around to reading it anytime soon).

This month, even.

Really dark? Seriously? I found it pretty light, personally... yeah, it had some dark-ish moments, but compared to, say, Scott Bakker (shudder), or even Abercrombie, it's pure fluff. I thought The Lies Of Locke Lamora was OK (but could make a better movie than a book), but I didn't like it enough to read the second part, and the third seems to try to compete with A Dance With Dragons in terms of release postponement :) Maybe I'll read the whole cycle when/if it's finished, depending on the reviews.

edited 8th Feb '11 5:48:18 AM by FurryFury

Can't wait to read the third one. That was one hell of a cliffhanger. I'm hoping there's no easy resolution.

Third book came out, The Republic of Thieves.

(no spoilers) I just finished reading it, and it was alright. It was certainly suspenseful and a fun read, but some of the writing made me cringe and the epilogue just felt like a giant plot hole. It read very easily considering don't remember what happened in the first book at all, and hardly remember the second book. Right now it has a 4.5 on Amazon, a 4.30 on Goodreads, and a 4.1 on Library Thing, but I expect to see that drop as the people obsessed enough to read it within a week of its release get diluted.

It was good, but kind of anticlimactic. It kept the "present time plot intercut with flashback plot" format as the previous two books, which can be good at times, but can also make it feel like it's taking forever for anything to happen.

So, while I am atm reading the 3rd book, I was also watching the Live Action Lupin The Third movie atm and I realized a thing.

Gentleman Bastards are not Oceans Eleven in a Fantasy Setting.

Its Lupin The Third in a Fantasy Setting and everything Lupin plays for comedy is played for drama. Its like someone took Lupin, added in a good portion of later season Game Of Thrones and then made books out of it.

Locke is Lupin

Jean is Jigen

Sabetha is Fujiko

So far no Goemon or Zenigata expies but there is still time?

Both Locke and Lupin are smart-assed crime geniuses infatuated with a equally skilled female thief (Sabetha/Fujiko). But where Lupin is usually upbeat and takes being tricked in stride, Locke is the opposite, tending to go into deep depression and stuff.

Jean and Jigen are the trusted partners, the muscle and confidante.

edited 28th Jun '15 4:45:35 PM by 3of4

I've now read books 1 & 3. Here's my review of the first one, and the review of the third can be reached via the "related posts" at the bottom.

http://www.skjam.com/2013/08/23/book-review-the-lies-of-locke-lamora/

Just saw this thread come up again. Since posting under my original handle (Jordan) a while back, I've reread Lies and am now midway through Red Seas.

I liked Lies more this time around- perhaps in part because I'm more acclimated to grimdark fantasy. I got a lot more of the humor this time around and appreciated the writing style.

I do think it is a bit of an issue that Locke is a fairly unlikeable character, given that he's the protagonist. I'm finding him easier to like in the sequel though. His bond with (the much more likeable) Jean is definitely a big part of what makes him someone you can root for.

This will sound like a criticism of the books (and maybe it is), but I think my being able to enjoy them has a lot to do with appreciating it as a story and not being hugely emotionally invested in the characters.

I feel like the "present day plot interspersed with flashbacks" model just subtly doesn't work for me. It always ends up feeling like the flashbacks are only there to give emotional weight to the present-day stuff and are otherwise mostly padding, which is not exactly the case, but it feels that way often enough to get on my nerves. It's like neither story stands up well enough on its own.

That's a minor quibble, though, I find them otherwise a lot of fun.

Read the first book. Liked the world, liked the characters. Didn't find it all that dark compared to say GRRM, Abercrombie or Donaldson