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Scott Lynch’s The Republic of Thieves.. SPOILERS


Howdyphillip

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Sabetha is the world's greatest thief. Locke is the 2nd but is viewed as the 1st because he's a dude.

 

Sabetha entertained Locke as her lover. She moved on.

Locke has made her his one true love.

 

I'm actually wondering if Scott really could go with, "No, Sabetha and Locke won't end up together because that's how the narrative should go. Locke will just have to get over it."

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Sabetha is the world's greatest thief. Locke is the 2nd but is viewed as the 1st because he's a dude.

 

Sabetha entertained Locke as her lover. She moved on.

Locke has made her his one true love.

 

I'm actually wondering if Scott really could go with, "No, Sabetha and Locke won't end up together because that's how the narrative should go. Locke will just have to get over it."

 I only feel comfortable talking about this because Scott Lynch was very verbal about dealing with issues that he was going through while writing the book. He has become somewhat of a champion when it comes to dealing with depression, and overcoming personal difficulties.

 

 While this book was being written, the author was going through a divorce and suffered from incapacitating depression. Reading his thoughts about this on his blog was inspiring for me, as I have been through very similar things. Going through my own process, I realized how much I objectified the woman that I was with for many years. 

 

 I think that Mr. Lynch brilliantly described that type of relationship, I think that more than likely, his telling of this fictitious work probably was inspired by serious introspection, and all of the ground work is laid firmly in place for either the relationship to change completely or more likely for Locke and Sabetha to go their separate ways permanently.  

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Well I can't comment on Scott Lynch's personal influences as I haven't read said works but from a narrative perspective, I like how the issues Sabetha has with Locke and their relationship are serious ones and, in real life, really wouldn't be overcome.

 

Which is why I forgive a lot in Book 3#.

 

Just the basic premise of, Sabatha's "I am not a supporting character in your narrative."

 

Which is a hilarious bit of meta-commentary.

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It is pretty meta, since it's pretty likely that a good chunk of the reason why Gentlemen Bastards is about Locke and not Sabetha is that he's a man and she isn't.

 

Indeed,

 

I liked this review on the feminist elements of the story.

 

http://feministfiction.com/2014/05/02/a-few-thoughts-on-sabetha-belacoros/

 

Locke is totally nice-guying her.

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It is pretty meta, since it's pretty likely that a good chunk of the reason why Gentlemen Bastards is about Locke and not Sabetha is that he's a man and she isn't.

 

Someone else a while back suggested a better framework for the series would have been one book focussed on Locke, one on Jean, and one on Sabetha. That way The Gentleman Bastard series would live up to its name, rather than just being The Life and Times of Locke Lamora.

 

(Caveat: I love the first book dearly, and tolerate the second as harmless cheese).   

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It's actually a thoroughly depressing bit of meta-commentary. Both Sabetha and Jean are insistent that they have lives of their own. Except that they don't. They're bit players in a Locke-centred world.

 

That actually retroactively made Red Seas under Red Skies better for me when I realized, in fact, it WAS Jean's story rather than Locke's. The story was, increasingly, Jean's frustration Locke was ignoring that it was his epic love story and revenge.

 

Which, sadly, the readers missed too.

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That actually retroactively made Red Seas under Red Skies better for me when I realized, in fact, it WAS Jean's story rather than Locke's. The story was, increasingly, Jean's frustration Locke was ignoring that it was his epic love story and revenge.

 

Which, sadly, the readers missed too.

 

Except that Red Seas Under Red Skies is about Jean trying and failing to have his own life. He has a love interest... which in this series is a death sentence, because it gives Jean something to hold onto that isn't Locke. So the love interest must die, in order for Jean to wind up back where he started.

 

It's very depressing.

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Lynch has confirmed that The Thorn of Emberlain will not be released in 2015:

 


Dear readers and fans of the Gentlemen Bastards—

 

I’ll lay it out as plainly as I can.

 

With the utmost regret, we have been compelled to move The Thorn of Emberlain from its expected autumn 2015 release date to a 2016 date. I requested an opportunity to write this note so I could emphasize how little this is the fault of anyone but myself. My publishers around the world have, in fact, held the door open for a length of time that is somewhere between heroic and insane. The fault is mine; the severity of my ongoing anxiety attacks has simply made it impossible to turn the manuscript in and commit to the accelerated production process our original release date would have required.

 

While this is not the outcome we’d hoped for, we have every expectation that this will ultimately do more good than harm. I will continue to try to keep you more closely informed of Thorn’s progress, and I don’t think it will be long before we’ll be able to announce that the manuscript is secure and the production process has begun. We’re very close.

 

Although I withdrew from several public appearances in early July on account of those same anxiety issues, I am now fairly confident that I’ll be able to maintain the rest of my planned public appearances for 2015, including WorldCon, World Fantasy, and a few others yet to be announced.

 

Cheers, and many thanks for your continued patience and support.

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Except that Red Seas Under Red Skies is about Jean trying and failing to have his own life. He has a love interest... which in this series is a death sentence, because it gives Jean something to hold onto that isn't Locke. So the love interest must die, in order for Jean to wind up back where he started.

 

It's very depressing.

 

To be fair, Locke loses everything but Jean too.

So, there is that!

...yay?

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  • 1 month later...

 

That actually retroactively made Red Seas under Red Skies better for me when I realized, in fact, it WAS Jean's story rather than Locke's. The story was, increasingly, Jean's frustration Locke was ignoring that it was his epic love story and revenge.

 

Which, sadly, the readers missed too.

 

 

I agree with this (and your analysis that both Jean and Locke were left with only each other at the beginning of Republic of Thieves). To my mind, RSuRS had more of a pacing problem than a problem with anything else. Plus I think Jean is totally dreamy, so there is that. I'd much rather read about him than Locke.

 

 

 

Indeed,

 

I liked this review on the feminist elements of the story.

 

http://feministfiction.com/2014/05/02/a-few-thoughts-on-sabetha-belacoros/

 

Locke is totally nice-guying her.

 

 

 

100% this. Sabetha is very clearly defined as her own person and as it states in the article, as someone who knocks down that pedestal over and over again. The fact that she's also not really sure how she feels about Locke is really refreshing too. Most characters in SFF tend to be either on or off, but rarely in kinda sorta maybe? this is complicated-land. Which happens a lot in RL.

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  • 3 months later...

Well, that was the plan in 2006 so good to see that he's still planning that.

 

Wait, it's ten years since The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Blade Itself came out?

Indeed... Where did time go?

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