Editors Reads Verdict
The Republic of Thieves delivers what fans of the series had been waiting six years for: the appearance of Sabetha, the woman who has been the emotional horizon of the previous two books. Lynch's election-rigging plot is inventive, and the flashback sequences showing the young Gentlemen Bastards preparing a theatrical production are some of his most entertaining writing.
What We Loved
- Sabetha is a fully realised character who matches Locke in intelligence and outmatches him in self-awareness
- The theatrical flashbacks are delightful — some of Lynch's best comic writing
- The election-rigging mechanics are clever and the competing cons are satisfying
Minor Drawbacks
- The six-year gap between books two and three created expectations the novel only partially meets
- The Bondsmagi subplot introduces mysteries that are not fully resolved within this volume
Key Takeaways
- → Romantic rivals who respect each other are more interesting than those who don't — and more dangerous
- → Theatre and con artistry share the same fundamental skill: making an audience believe in what is not there
- → Rigging an election is only possible when both sides are willing to be bought
| Author | Scott Lynch |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Del Rey |
| Pages | 640 |
| Published | October 8, 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy, Adventure, Heist Fiction |
The Return After Six Years
Fans of the Gentlemen Bastards series waited six years between Red Seas Under Red Skies and The Republic of Thieves — years during which Lynch dealt with severe depression and creative difficulties that he has discussed publicly. The wait, and its reasons, are worth acknowledging because the novel that finally arrived was clearly written under strain and represents both the series at its most emotionally ambitious and at its most structurally complicated.
Locke Lamora is dying. The poison that has been working through him since the end of the second book has reached a stage that Jean’s nursing and available medicine cannot address. Then the Bondsmagi — the powerful fraternity of magic users who have been the series’ shadowy antagonists — offer a cure in exchange for a job: travel to the city of Karthain and run the electoral campaign for one of the two factions competing for control of the city’s government. The catch is that the opposing campaign will be managed by Sabetha.
Sabetha
From the first novel’s early scenes, Sabetha Belacoros has been the character the reader most wanted to meet — Locke’s equal, his obsession, the one person whose opinion of him he cannot manage. Lynch had been building toward her for two novels, which is a lot of anticipation to satisfy. He largely succeeds. Sabetha is formidably intelligent, aware of exactly how Locke sees her and exactly how to use that, and carrying her own history of damage that is not about Locke at all. She is the most complete character in the series.
Theatre and Politics
The alternating flashback sequences — set during the young Gentlemen Bastards’ participation in a theatrical production, under the direction of their mentor Chains — are among Lynch’s most purely enjoyable writing. The comedy of young criminals learning to perform, of Locke’s early romantic disasters with Sabetha, and of Chains’s idiosyncratic pedagogy gives the novel a warmth and lightness that the present-timeline political machinations can occasionally lack.
The election-rigging plot, with Locke and Sabetha competing to out-manoeuvre each other while also being covertly attracted to each other, is satisfying in its mechanics and emotionally complex in its implications.
Our rating: 4.1/5
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "The Republic of Thieves" about?
Locke and Jean are coerced by the Bondsmagi into rigging an election in Karthain — and Locke discovers his opponent is Sabetha, the one woman he has always loved and never quite managed to win.
What are the key takeaways from "The Republic of Thieves"?
Romantic rivals who respect each other are more interesting than those who don't — and more dangerous Theatre and con artistry share the same fundamental skill: making an audience believe in what is not there Rigging an election is only possible when both sides are willing to be bought
Is "The Republic of Thieves" worth reading?
The Republic of Thieves delivers what fans of the series had been waiting six years for: the appearance of Sabetha, the woman who has been the emotional horizon of the previous two books. Lynch's election-rigging plot is inventive, and the flashback sequences showing the young Gentlemen Bastards preparing a theatrical production are some of his most entertaining writing.
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