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Locke and Sabetha, Sitting in a Tree
June 2014
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch - Gollancz, 2013
* * *
I have only just realised the extraordinary similarity of the two main characters of this series, Jean and Locke, to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, the protagonists of Fritz Leiber's seminal Lankhmar stories that kicked off the whole swords and sorcery sub-genre. Both feature a pair of rogues, one big, solid and dependable, the other small, weak and quick-witted. Both involve capers set in worlds with overpowered magic. Both are largely urban in nature, with very little feel for life in the country outside.
The comparison hadn't struck me before because of one significant difference, which was the agency of the heroes. In the Lankhmar books, the protagonists have wizardly patrons, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, who often send them on quests, whereas in the first two Gentleman Bastard books, Jean and Locke are free agents who set up their scams for reasons of their own. But not this time. Due to complications occurring at the end of Red Sea under Red Skies, Locke and Jean find themselves working for a Bondsmagus called Patience to rig an election in Karthain. An original and entertaining idea to be sure, but the lack of agency is a problem.
For one thing, it means that the plot takes over two hundred pages to get going because Lynch has to set up the circumstances in which the heroes would ever work for their hated enemies and explain the rather convoluted background. Actually I didn't mind this too much, as he addresses the criticism about why such powerful mages are not ruling the world. I still wasn't entirely convinced by the notion that Bondsmagi factions would use political parties in Karthain as proxies for their internal disagreements, but so be it.
This, however, is fundamentally the story of Locke and Sabetha and their on-again, off-again romance. And that means yet another lengthy flashback to Locke's teenage years when the Gentlemen Bastards are somewhat improbably sent to impersonate a group of actors in order to help a down-on-his-luck impressario who is a friend of their master Chains. While the interlude has some impressively lengthy quotes from a Jacobean-style play and is an entertaining story in its own right, it is intercut with the main vote-rigging plot and fatally weakens the pacing.
It is also not as entertaining. Needless to say, Sabetha and Locke are on opposite sides and are equals in invention and cunning, which makes the events of the election as tumultuous and funny as you could hope. When the interlude kicks in, you keep wishing for the action to return to the main event, however sweet the blossoming romance. This is another case where a simple "tell one story, then the other" structure would have worked better than trying to intercut them.
There is also a sense in both stories of punches being pulled because of the lack of agency of the main characters. The fact that the invisible and deadly Bondsmagi are behind everything restricts their actions, to the extent that I suspect that the reason why the interlude became so lengthy was that Lynch realised that the election story was looking rather thin on its own.
However, this is still an enjoyable yarn that is a cut above the average. A plotline that involves gerrymandering an election is a first for fantasy as far as I am aware, and Patience and Sabetha further display Lynch's talent for strong female characters that he first showed in the latter half of Red Sea under Red Skies. As long as he can get away from Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser comparisons by making his characters free agents again, this sequence is still looking good.
One last thing. "Stories", a word that occurs frequently in the text, is misspelt as "storeys" throughout. I don't recall coming across a book from a reputable publisher with such an obvious and fundamental error. In the past, when publishers took pride in their work, the entire print run would have been pulped. The editors at Gollancz should be ashamed of themselves.
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch - Gollancz, 2013
* * *
I have only just realised the extraordinary similarity of the two main characters of this series, Jean and Locke, to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, the protagonists of Fritz Leiber's seminal Lankhmar stories that kicked off the whole swords and sorcery sub-genre. Both feature a pair of rogues, one big, solid and dependable, the other small, weak and quick-witted. Both involve capers set in worlds with overpowered magic. Both are largely urban in nature, with very little feel for life in the country outside.
The comparison hadn't struck me before because of one significant difference, which was the agency of the heroes. In the Lankhmar books, the protagonists have wizardly patrons, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, who often send them on quests, whereas in the first two Gentleman Bastard books, Jean and Locke are free agents who set up their scams for reasons of their own. But not this time. Due to complications occurring at the end of Red Sea under Red Skies, Locke and Jean find themselves working for a Bondsmagus called Patience to rig an election in Karthain. An original and entertaining idea to be sure, but the lack of agency is a problem.
For one thing, it means that the plot takes over two hundred pages to get going because Lynch has to set up the circumstances in which the heroes would ever work for their hated enemies and explain the rather convoluted background. Actually I didn't mind this too much, as he addresses the criticism about why such powerful mages are not ruling the world. I still wasn't entirely convinced by the notion that Bondsmagi factions would use political parties in Karthain as proxies for their internal disagreements, but so be it.
This, however, is fundamentally the story of Locke and Sabetha and their on-again, off-again romance. And that means yet another lengthy flashback to Locke's teenage years when the Gentlemen Bastards are somewhat improbably sent to impersonate a group of actors in order to help a down-on-his-luck impressario who is a friend of their master Chains. While the interlude has some impressively lengthy quotes from a Jacobean-style play and is an entertaining story in its own right, it is intercut with the main vote-rigging plot and fatally weakens the pacing.
It is also not as entertaining. Needless to say, Sabetha and Locke are on opposite sides and are equals in invention and cunning, which makes the events of the election as tumultuous and funny as you could hope. When the interlude kicks in, you keep wishing for the action to return to the main event, however sweet the blossoming romance. This is another case where a simple "tell one story, then the other" structure would have worked better than trying to intercut them.
There is also a sense in both stories of punches being pulled because of the lack of agency of the main characters. The fact that the invisible and deadly Bondsmagi are behind everything restricts their actions, to the extent that I suspect that the reason why the interlude became so lengthy was that Lynch realised that the election story was looking rather thin on its own.
However, this is still an enjoyable yarn that is a cut above the average. A plotline that involves gerrymandering an election is a first for fantasy as far as I am aware, and Patience and Sabetha further display Lynch's talent for strong female characters that he first showed in the latter half of Red Sea under Red Skies. As long as he can get away from Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser comparisons by making his characters free agents again, this sequence is still looking good.
One last thing. "Stories", a word that occurs frequently in the text, is misspelt as "storeys" throughout. I don't recall coming across a book from a reputable publisher with such an obvious and fundamental error. In the past, when publishers took pride in their work, the entire print run would have been pulped. The editors at Gollancz should be ashamed of themselves.