cdonegan's reviews
125 reviews

Lovely magical realism book :) I’ll come back and write an actual review after sitting on it for a day or two lol

Will write a longer review later. I liked the book more as it went on — I never really enjoy having a misanthrope for a main character, but at least that type of character tends to have an arc that involves them learning to actually like and trust other people. Galadriel was no exception to that rule, so I enjoyed it more as she started to actually have connections with other characters!

I have now joined the ranks of the Gentleman Bastards fans anxiously waiting for more books!

The plot of The Republic of Thieves was somewhat more straightforward than the previous book, but it took a while for it to really get into the thick of things. I was about 2/3 through the book before the true action with the election really began! Even so, I don’t feel like it took me that long to get into the book. I do wish Stragos’s poison had had more of an impact — obviously Locke was nearly dead in the beginning, but once they dealt with the poison that was it. It was humorous how it made him starving for the rest of the book, but I kind of wish there had been more of a lasting impact than that, I guess? Regardless, Patience and Coldmarrow transferring the poison out of him was a really incredible scene to introduce us to Bondsmagi other than the Falconer. Patience in general was a great character who I wish we’d seen more of, and I’m a little sad about her ending… but boy am I excited to see more of her son.

Also, regarding the Falconer — I do love a conniving character dead set on revenge, although the epilogue seemed to imply there’s something else he’s going after. Going after the other (now former) Bondsmagi rather than dealing with Locke and Jean, perhaps?

The Interlude plotline was very fun. It reminded me of Moulin Rouge, if they’d killed the Duke and had to dispose of his body. Teenaged Gentleman Bastards, trying to put on an actual stage production without any thievery! There wasn’t much of Father Chains in this one, but it was nice to see Calo and Galdo again, as well as Sabetha. I loved getting to finally meet her after two books of her looming reputation. I wish we’d spent more time with her in the present, and I would’ve loved to have seen more of her and Jean (it was mostly just her and Locke’s relationship), but I liked what we got to see. It was very fun to see Locke and Jean meet their match with another Gentleman Bastard, and I’m intrigued to know what seemed to be hanging over her head, why she needed to take the job as their opposition. It was kind of adorable how absolutely down bad Locke is for her, and I like how he really learned to actually listen to her. There were various moments where he seemed to trample over her (like on the inn rooftop, she mentioned being scared, he replied something like “you’re never scared” — I think she knows her own emotions, kid), but he clearly seemed to grow past that and really respect her.

As for Locke’s character arc, and where it seems to be headed… I normally don’t really like when a character’s arc basically goes “oh by the way, you’re actually some really important unique person and you just forgot.” It often feels cheap, unearned, a boring attempt at making a character interesting. But at least so far, I don’t think I mind how it’s being implemented with Locke. There’s still more to see, of course, nothing has really happened yet beyond him learning who/what he is (or was), but I’m hopeful it’ll play out well. I’m also interested to see if he really is a mage’s soul in an utterly normal body, or if there will be something more there.

Fantastic Locke and Jean moments as always. The scene where Jean yells at him about how he doesn’t stand still, endliktgelaben… heartbreaking! I’m always a sucker for scenes when characters get mad at each other because of how much they love each other.

All these wishes/expectations for the future of the series hinging on The Thorn of Emberlain being released, of course! I believe in you Scott Lynch, I’m on my way to read the new short story now so I know the series isn’t dead <3

This was a very fun read, although I liked the first book more. I think the character moments really shined in this book -- tons of great Locke and Jean moments, and I really enjoyed the relationship between Jean and Ezri (sobbing). Drakasha was a very fun character, too!

The plot was a bit weaker in my opinion, but still enjoyable. I think it was all a bit too convoluted for my taste... I expect lots of twists and turns with this kind of book, but it was all a bit much in this one! First the Sinspire, then we bring in the archon, then pirates, and finally the Priori at the end? I feel like at least one of these could have been cut and the book would have been better off. I think the Sinspire in particular was set up to be a very interesting setting, only for it to barely appear after Act 1.

Can't wait to read Republic of Thieves and see what happens next :) we've definitely been left in a very interesting spot!

Such an incredibly fun read. This has been on my list for a while, and I’m happy to have finally gotten around to it. Locke is delightfully smug, and I really enjoyed both the moments where his plans paid off and the moments they didn’t.

It does have some of the sort of absentminded sexism you expect from many male authors. Pseudo-egalitarian world but many ramifications of sexism still exist. Nothing too overt, but women clearly don’t have as much plot importance as men overall. Far from the worst I’ve seen so I was largely able to overlook it… but I shouldn’t have to!

My favorite part of the book was perhaps when Locke tried multiple times to get fancy clothing from the Meraggio. Absolutely hilarious

I have very mixed feelings on this book. From the first few chapters I thought I wasn’t going to like it very much; then about halfway through it picked up for me; then it started to drag a bit more; and then finally in the final act (or two acts really, since the last one is incredibly short) I was liking it again.

The main thing that threw me off was the writing style. It’s very casual, it has jokes, it even has the occasional reference to a meme. I don’t mind more humorous writing (see my previous reviews for In the Lives of Puppets and the Murderbot Diaries for more thoughts on that), but in this case it just wasn’t for me. It felt crude at times, which I hate to say because I really don’t mind cursing, innuendo, et cetera, but in this book it just didn’t click.

I found Gideon to be quite annoying as a character, honestly. I don’t need a protagonist to be likable or relatable to enjoy a book, but I just found her to be grating! She had her moments but overall, wasn’t her biggest fan. I found Gideon and Harrow to be less compelling than many of the secondary characters, honestly. Palamedes was my favorite, and for the brief time we really got to know the angsty teens, I really liked them too!

Now for the positive! I really like when books combine aspects of sci-fi and fantasy. Necromancers in space is just a cool concept, and I think it was done well. It did leave me wanting more at times by virtue of having a non-necromancer as our narrator; other characters would be discussing necromantic things, with Gideon listening in, but she didn’t have that necromantic background so it wouldn’t be expanded on much. (In general, a lot of the plot felt like it was being pushed forward by anyone but Gideon… I wish she’d had more agency in the story.) If I decide to continue with the series, I look forward to actually having a necromancer as the narrator. And perhaps my issues with the tone of Gideon’s POV will be fixed by having a different narrator, too?

I’m going to sit on this series for a bit before deciding if I want to keep reading. I have been told by others that Harrow the Ninth is basically a masterpiece, so I think eventually I‘ll probably get it from the library and at least start it.