Liars, Thieves, Gentlemen...Bastards!

The reaction that greeted the news in this post.

Travels Through Iest, always last with the news. Sometimes living in Australia has it's disadvantages.

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Scott Lynch and his Gentleman Bastards series. Like many others I have been waiting years to hear the announcement Scott and his publisher Gollancz made public last night.

The Republic of Thieves is finished! The long awaited third book of Locke Lamora's adventures will be released to the public in October of this year. The US version comes out on the 8th of October and the UK release will be 2 short days after on the 10th. I'm currently trying to decide whether to order from overseas or wait until I can get it down here. Hey, I've waited nearly five years, a few more days won't hurt.

I've already read the prologue that Scott has had available on his website for some time and I was also lucky enough to see the first chapter that he sent to a group of fans some years ago. Both were brilliant and up to the high standard readers have come to expect from Scott Lynch.

This is about the best news I could have ever hoped for!

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

Warning: there will be significant spoilers for The Lies of Locke Lamora in this review. If you haven’t read The Lies of Locke Lamora, first of all why not? And secondly you definitely should before reading the review, besides it’s a really great book and you won’t regret it.

In one way I was fortunate that I was a little late to The Lies of Locke Lamora party, it meant that when I finished it, the sequel Red Seas Under Red Skies was already out, so no waiting, which is always nice to a committed fantophile.

After I’d read Red Seas Under Red Skies I saw a poster advertising it which said how did you top The Lies of Locke Lamora? The answer was easy, just add pirates! Put simply that’s an excellent review of Red Seas Under Red Skies, but it really doesn’t do it justice, nor is it entirely accurate.

My expectations were high, because I’m not at all ashamed to say that The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of my favourite books ever. I didn’t think Red Seas Under Red Skies could top it, and to be totally honest it doesn’t, well not for me, anyway. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s still a great book, it’s head and shoulders above many other things out there, and it’s a good deal better than a lot of sequels as well. It’s a Scott Lynch tale of the Gentleman Bastards, so there’s action, violence, profanity and tragedy. It is at times also uproariously funny.

The story picks up a couple of years after the end of The Lies of Locke Lamora. Locke and Jean have left Camorr and are in the midst of pulling another job in the not so far away kingdom of Tal Verrar. The con involves the owner of a decadent gambling establishment with the wonderfully alliterative name of the Sinspire. The owner; a dapper chap by the name of Requin was a little too like Capa Barsavi for my liking, but I did like his bodyguard/lover; a ruthless scarred lady with a mechanical hand (shades of steampunk there) called Selendri. The intervening time is filled in by means of the interludes, which return from the first book after a fashion, I always liked the tales of ‘little Locke’ that were in the first book, but many found them a little intrusive. That’s one thing Red Seas Under Red Skies has over it’s predecessor, the interludes aren’t quite as self indulgent or as unnecessary as they were in the opening book, that was never my opinion, but it’s something I have seen others say, maybe they were used to the style by the second book.

Things are bubbling along quite nicely until the secondary storyline; the one with the pirates, comes into play. I enjoyed it, it was a great swashbuckler, the superstition about never putting to sea without a cat onboard was at times very funny, but the whole thing just seemed to be an unnecessary complication. It gave Jean a girlfriend, there were lots of swordfights and nautical talk. It brought back memories of Pirates of the Caribbean (the films, not the ride), but most of the time I had this nagging thought of what about the Sinspire and the Requin job?

The book does return to that and like in The Lies of Locke Lamora, Jean and Locke, Locke especially, are revealed to be not half as clever as they think they are, and are pretty neatly outsmarted by their mark.

Frustratingly it does end on a cliffhanger, with Locke condemned to a seemingly certain slow death by poison. There is a 3^rd book; The Republic of Thieves, but your guess is as good as mine as to when it will be published, as the author has been beset by personal problems almost since the publication of Red Seas Under Red Skies.

As I said it’s a damn good book, but it could have been edited a little more tightly. I think of two particular sections which could have been cut and not caused undue suffering. They seem to exist because the author felt they were good idea at the time. The Salon Corbeau section would have made a good short story and could have even been expanded into a novella, but it felt a little out of place here, and to my way of thinking the exchange between Locke and Jean and a dim witted, but opportunistic thief served no useful purpose, and wasn’t even all that funny.  The other thing that the book lacked was Camorr. I’ve regularly said that Camorr was like this extra bonus character in The Lies of Locke Lamora, and whilst Tal Verrar is an interesting place it doesn’t have Camorr’s soul, nor does it make the same connection with the reader. With the Sinspire storyline, the occasional side excursion, the pursuit of the Bondsmages (oh yeah they’re not at all happy about what Locke and Jean did to the Falconer in The Lies of Locke Lamora) and the pirate storyline, it just seems like there’s a little too much going on.

Red Seas Under Red Skies is well worth reading, but it isn’t quite the experience The Lies of Locke Lamora was. Fingers and toes crossed that The Republic of Thieves isn’t too far away.

Red Seas Under Red Skies Read along week 5

All good things must come to an end, and so it is with the Little Red Reviewers read along of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series. There are seven books planned, but as yet only the first two have been published, so this will be the last set of questions. The final set of questions are from Lynn of Lynn's Book Blog. If you haven't finished the book I recommend doing so before reading as there will be spoilers.

1.    Oh my god, such a lot going on I thought the showdown between the Poison Orchid and the Sovereign was brilliantly written and they were holding their own until Utgar and his nasty device turned up.  Well a lot of you had kind of predicted it, and I suppose we’d been let off too easy so far in terms of deaths of well-liked characters  – but come on,  did you expect something like that?  And how on earth will Jean ever recover?


No, it blew me away. I didn't see that coming. I don't know what I thought would happen, after all it's a Lynch book so it can't possibly end happily, that's just crazy talk, that is, but I kind of hoped it would. Jean is tougher and harder than Locke in a lot of ways and I'm more confident that he'll recover and move on more than I would be if positions had been reversed.

2.       The deceit, the betrayal, first Rodanov and then Colvard.  Even now I’m not entirely sure I understand Colvard – Rodanov was never keen on the oath but Colvard seemed okay with it all and yet in this final deceit she was more devious than Rodanov – what do you think was her motive?

I don't know that they really need a strong motive. They're pirates. Killing and deceiving is a way of life. It would probably be more surprising if there hadn't been another double cross.

3.       Merrain – such a puzzle, no real answer, the mysterious tattoo, the determination to kill everyone to keep her identity and that of her master a secret.  Does anybody have any ideas where she’s from and what she’s up to exactly and who the hell is she working for??

Merrain is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. I have no more idea about her now than I did at the start of the book. I think (hope) she'll pop up again in another book and we'll find out more about her and what she is, who she's working for, if anyone. I said all along she's running her own game, it's just what it is that we don't know.

4.       Finally we get to the point of the GB’s latest scheme, all that elaborate planning for two years, fancy chairs, gambling, dust covered cards, abseiling lessons – all for one gigantic bluff. I loved the diversionary tactic here but having finally reached the end of the story and, more to the point, the end result – do you think the GB’s are as clever as they think they are?

I don't know that both the GB's really think they're the smartest guys in the room. Locke definitely does, but Jean is slightly more modest and level headed. To answer the question, no Locke is not as smart as he thinks he is, no one could be.

5.       I must admit that I liked Requin and Selendri – particularly at the end – I don’t think Requin will go after Locke and Jean, he was even sort of cool and composed about it all, in fact he came across as a bit pleased with himself because he had the last laugh.  Plenty of good characters this time which did you enjoy reading most about this time?

They're a bit of a double act. They read better together than solo. I liked and loathed each of them for different reasons and in about the same measure. If pushed I tended to prefer Selendri, she was original. Requin was too much like Barsavi for mine. If asked who I liked most in the entire book it's Zamira, her I really loved. If she had died instead of Ezri I would have been devastated. I really hope Locke and Jean run across her again in the cycle.

6.       Finally, a triple barrel question, I know I shouldn’t ask this BUT, on reflection do you have a favourite between LoLL or RSURS??  And why?  Are you going to pick up Republic of Thieves?  And, where do you think Lynch will take us to next??


For me it's always Lies. I love Lies, it's one of my favourite books ever. Why? It's just so totally cool. It's all so fresh and new, and it has that amazing setting of Camorr. Red Seas is a good book, head and shoulders above a lot of what comes out, but it's rather fragmented. There's just a bit too much going on. It's almost like it's two separate books or stories jammed into one and they don't quite hang together as well as they could.
Am I going to pick up Republic of Thieves? Is the sky blue, is grass green? Of course I'm going to pick up Republic of Thieves! I've been waiting for Republic of Thieves ever since I first finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. If you go to Scott Lynch's website, there's a couple of goodies there, at least I think they're still there. One is the prologue to Republic of Thieves, where you get to meet a certain young lady for the very first time. There was the opening chapter to the book floating around for a while. I read it at the old Gentleman Bastards fansite: camorr.com, but I'm not sure if the site is still active. A search may uncover the chapter. It's a beauty so if you get the opportunity to read it I recommend doing so. Fingers and toes crossed that we see Republic of Thieves sooner rather than later.

Red Seas Under Red Skies read along week 1

We liked Lies of Locke Lamora so much that we decided to do a read along of the sequel Red Seas Under Red Skies. Again, having read Red Seas Under Red Skies many times I have to approach this a little differently so as not to spoil the newbies.

This weeks questions come from Bryce at My Awful Reviews.

1. The Sinspire. It looks like our heroes (can they really be called that?) find themselves in search of a way into an unbeatable vault. Do you think they have what it takes to make it happen?

Maybe Locke and Jean can be called our protagonist, they are really anti-heroes I guess. This is a very common thing with modern fantasy, though. Despite the fact that they're thieves they do have many heroic qualities.

We're talking about Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen here, students of Father Chains. Gentleman Bastards. Of course they find their way into Requin's vault.

2.  Anyone want to guess how they're going to make it happen?

I KNOW how they're going to make it happen, so I'lll leave others to speculate.

3. It's a little different this time around, with us just being focused on Locke and Jean. Is anyone else missing the rest of the Bastards as much as I am?

Oh the Thirteenth yes! Especially Bug, but more than that I miss Camorr, this other uncredited character that was so much a part of the first book. Tal Verrar and surrounds are interesting and just as fascinating as any imagined place I've ever seen, but it's not Camorr, which felt almost like a second home to me.

4. I love the section where Jean starts to build a new guild of thieves. It really shows just how well trained and tough he is. Do you think the Bastards will end up training others along the way again like Bug?

I think Jean was carrying a bit of pent up anger, and he couldn't beat the crap out of Locke, so had to find someone to do it on. After the events of The Lies of Locke Lamora, I think it will be a while before either of the two remaining Gentleman Bastards want the responsibility of another group of thieves, especially Locke who still blames himself for what happened.

5. For those of you looking for Sabetha, we still haven't spotted her yet. Anyone else chomping at the bit to see the love of Locke's life?

YES!

6. It's early on, but the Bastards are already caught up in plots that they didn't expect. How do you think their new "employer" is going to make use of them (The Archon, that is)?

I know what he's going to do, but first time around I was asking myself and didn't expect the answer when it came. The Archon is a rather interesting character in his own right. 

That's my thoughts on the first part. Hope everyone can join me next week for the second part of Red Seas Under Red Skies.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - by Scott Lynch

I had to reread The Lies of Locke Lamora to participate in the Little Red Reviewer's read along.

LIAR!

I had to reread The Lies of Locke Lamora to refamiliarise myself with it before Republic of Thieves is released hopefully later this year.

LIAR!

I had to reread The Lies of Locke Lamora because I'd forgotten so much of it since the last time I read it.

LIAR!

I had to reread The Lies of Locke Lamora because it's so much fucking fun!

BASTARD!

If you've read Scott Lynch's stunning debut novel The Lies of Locke Lamora you will recognise that rather unconventional start to the review as the Gentleman Bastards little comedy sketch that they do a couple of times throughout the book. It's one of my favourite sequences in any book I've ever read and just had to do a little homage to it there.

I'm normally a fairly early adopter with epic fantasy series, but The Lies of Locke Lamora was out for a couple of years before I picked it up and read it. Why was this? It received mostly positive reviews and it was a caper novel, something I love. At the time I was in the middle of a couple of epic fantasies and getting pretty hacked off at the waits between novels to find out what the resolution to the most recent installment's cliffhanger was. I heard rumours that The Lies of Locke Lamora was the first of seven planned novels in the series. Yikes! Then the positive reviews kept coming and the second book (Red Seas Under Red Skies) came out pretty promptly, so I took the plunge.

From the opening page I was plunged into Scott Lynch's vision of Renaissance Venice crossed with Dickensian London in Camorr. I roamed it's streets with Locke Lamora and his fellow Gentleman Bastards. I watched as he pulled a huge con job on everyone, the residents of Camorr, it's criminal overlord Capa Barsavi and the unsuspecting Don Salvara and his gorgeous wife Dona Sofia.

I shouldn't have really liked Locke. He's a cocky little bastard. There's a quote from his mentor Father Chains that sums him up perfectly: 'Someday Locke Lamora, someday you're going to fuck up so magnificently, so ambitiously, so overwhelmingly that the sky will light up and the moons will spin and the gods themselves will shit comets with glee. And I just hope I'm around to see it.'
The young Locke's response is: 'Oh please. It'll never happen.'
However it does happen and The Lies of Locke Lamora is largely the story of it.

I was so totally drawn in by this novel. I laughed and cried, I raged at the Grey King and I cheered Jean Tannen when he cut the Berangias sisters up with his twin hatchets so delightfully named the Wicked Sisters.

I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora so much that I reread it IMMEDIATELY after reading it the first time, and I NEVER do that. I cannot recommend it highly enough and I can't think that anyone would read it and not get something out of it.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - the final read along

All good things must come to an end and so it is with Little Red Reviewers read along of Scott Lynch's stunning debut The Lies of Locke Lamora. The questions have been provided this week by Lynn of Lynn's Book Blog. For all the 'virgins' out there I hope this has inspired you to read the second Gentleman Bastards adventure Red Seas Under Red Skies and maybe even reread The Lies of Locke Lamora like the rest of us have.

1. The Thorn of Camorr is renowned - he can beat anyone in a fight and he steals from the rich to give to the poor. Except of course that clearly most of the myths surrounding him are based on fantasy and not fact. Now that the book is finished how do you feel the man himself compares to his legend. Did you feel that he changed as the story progressed and, if so, how did this make you feel about him by the time the conclusion was reached?

The man behind the myth is very different to the legend. He shares some things in common, but I think the Locke readers see at the start of the book has grown as a man and learned some hard lessons by the end of it. I'd like to know when and how he created the Thorn, I think the Thorn embodies a lot of things Locke wishes he was. In some ways he's an idealised version of Locke.

2. Scott Lynch certainly likes to give his leading ladies some entertaining and strong roles to play. We have the Berangia sisters – and I definitely wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of them or their blades plus Dona Vorchenza who is the Spider and played a very cool character – even play acting to catch the Thorn. How did you feel about the treatment the sisters and Dona received at the hands of Jean and Locke – were you surprised, did it seem out of character at all or justified?

What happened to the Berangias' sisters was totally justified, especially after what they did to Calo and Galdo and the obvious enjoyment they took in killing them and arranging them in a certain way. Every time I read that section of the book and Jean produces his wicked sisters and says "Wicked Sisters meet the Wicked Sisters." I get chills. Dona Vorchenza is a little different, she's probably even harder than the Berangias' girls in many ways. She got conned by a master conman, although I do confess to wincing when Locke punches her in the face. One female character I'd like to see more of is Dona Sofia, something very interesting about her.


3. Towards the end we saw a little more of the magic and the history of the Bondsmagi. The magic, particularly with the use of true names, reminds me a little of old fashioned witchcraft or even voodoo. But, more than that I was fascinated after reading the interlude headed ‘The Throne in Ashes’ about the Elderglass and the Elders and why their structures were able to survive even against the full might of the Bondsmagi – do you have any theories about this do you think it’s based on one of our ancient civilisations or maybe similar to a myth??

The Elders are interesting, they definitely had magic or technology that was extraordinarily resistent. They may have come from the old stories about alien civilisations being involved in certain happenings in our ancient history. I think I read somewhere that even Scott Lynch hasn't yet worked out a lot about the Elders and will hopefuilly work more of it out as he continues through the series.


4. We have previously discussed Scott Lynch’s use of description and whether it’s too much or just spot on. Having got into the last quarter of the book where the level of tension was seriously cranked up – did you still find, the breaks for interludes and the descriptions useful or, under the circumstances did it feel more like a distraction?

I've always loved the interludes. I thought the way they were used later in the book were excellent ways to give the readers more information about the city of Camorr was brilliant. The little fable about the game and how two men held a grudge throughout the years for one contentious umpiring decision was classic stuff. They gave the readers a chance to relax a little during the breakneck, high octane last section of the book.


5. Now that the book has finished how did you feel about the conclusion and the eventual reveal about the Grey King and more to the point the motivations he declared for such revenge – does it seem credible, were you expecting much worse or something completely different altogether?

It was understandable, and I never saw it coming. I did wonder about timing and ages and how the three of them survived and built their reputations, but they're minor quibbles and they may also be answered to an extent later on. The Grey King and his sisters may be dead, but I don't think it's the last time what they did will impact on Locke's life.


6. Were you surprised that Locke, being given two possible choices (one of which could possibly mean he would miss his chance for revenge on the Grey King) chose to go back to the Tower – especially given that (1) he would have difficulty in getting into the building (2) he would have difficulty in convincing them about the situation and (3) he would have difficulty in remaining free afterwards? Did anyone else nearly pee their pants when Locke and the rest were carrying the sculptures up to the roof garden?

It didn't really surprise me what Locke did. Locke is essentially a good bloke. He's as his title suggests a Gentleman Bastard. Honour is important to him, it was something instilled in him and his 'brothers' and 'sister' by Chains and something that he was trying to pass onto Bug as his protege. The scene with the sculptures is very tense, but I love the way that Dona Sofia breaks it up a little when one of the guards asks what happens if they drop one of them: "First we'd burn our hands, then we'd fall over senseless before we could take six steps, and then we'd be Gentled.And then we'd all feel very silly, wouldn't we?' Love the line and the character. Seriously I'd read a book about Sofia.



7. Finally, the other question I would chuck in here is that, following the end of the book I was intrigued to check out some of the reviews of LOLL and noticed that the negative reviews mentioned the use of profanity. How did you feel about this – was it excessive? Just enough? Not enough?

I read some of those and thought what? Most of the characters are essentially fantasy's version of the Goodfellas. They're a criminal underclass, of course they're going to swear and they're going to do it a lot. Swearing, even swearing a lot, is fine in a book if it fits the characters and the situation, it did in The Lies of Locke Lamora. I did feel it was out of place with the nobles, though. Fortunately with them it was kept to a minimum.



8. Okay one further, and probably most important but very quick question – having finished, will you pick up the sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies?

I picked up Red Seas Under Red Skies as soon as I'd reread The Lies of Locke Lamora the first time, and that was immediately after reading it the first time. I haven't reread it as much as The Lies of Locke Lamora, but only one less time. So the answer from me is a resounding YES.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - read along Part 1

Before I get into this I need to explain a couple of things. I've never done a read along before, so I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm not actually sure that I'm even really officially involved in this, I seem to be ignored by most other bloggers, so I could be talking to myself, but no matter. The questions are provided by Little Red Reviewer and she is hosting this first part of the read along. It covers from the beginning to the interlude Locke Stays for Dinner.

Here are the questions and my responses:

1. If this is your first time reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, what do you think of it so far? If this is a re-read for you, how does the book stand up to rereading?

It's a reread for me. I actually think this may be the seventh time I've read it. I can remember reading the opening on the way back to work on the tram, I bought the book on my lunch break and started reading it straight away. I was enraptured right from the beginning and until the last page. That first time I couldn't wait for work to finish so I could keep reading. It's been the same every time since, and even in the early stages I find things that are new to me or alter on a reread.

2. At last count, I found three time lines: Locke as as a 20-something adult, Locke meeting Father Chains for the first time, and Locke as a younger child in Shades Hill. How are you doing with the Flashback within a flashback style of introducing characters and the world?

I love the flashback idea. It doesn't alway work, but with The Lies of Locke Lamora it does. The opening is a flashback of sorts and then you cut to Locke and the rest of the Gentleman Bastards pulling off their latest game, the interludes are important as they link to current situations in the older Lock's life and in fact that of some of the other Gentleman Bastards as well.

3. Speaking of the world, what do you think of Camorr and Lynch’s world building?

I've said it before, so I'll repeat it here. Camorr is like this extra character in the book, the city and it's history are that well developed that it takes on a life and personality of it's own. I've seen some say that Scott Lynch doesn't build worlds that well, because he only deals with one city in The Lies of Locke Lamora. That's true, but it's such a wonderfully realised city, it feels real, it's got a history, so for me Scott Lynch gets a 10 out of 10 for world building with The Lies of Locke Lamora.

4. Father Chains and the death offering. . . quite the code of honor for thieves, isn’t it? What kind of person do you think Chains is going to mold Locke into?

I get the impression that Father Chains and Locke aren't that dissimilar. Locke is the one in a million kid Chains has spent most of his career looking for. Locke is the archetypal Gentleman Bastard and that's what Chains is going to turn Locke into.

5. It’s been a while since I read this, and I’d forgotten how much of the beginning of the book is pure set up, for the characters, the plot, and the world. Generally speaking, do you prefer set up and world building done this way, or do you prefer to be thrown into the deep end with what’s happening?

It kind of depends on the book really. I can't imagine The Lies of Locke Lamora be anything other than what it is. When you think about it, it kind of does both. The opening introduces readers to Locke, Chains, Camorr and the concept, but then readers get dropped right into the middle of the Don Salvara game in chapter one, entitled The Don Salvara Game, and have to connect that to the opening and have all these new ideas and characters thrown at them.

6. If you’ve already started attempting to pick the pockets of your family members (or even thought about it!) raise your hand.

I have to say no. I love stories about capers and thieves, but as I have absolutely no manual dexterity I could never entertain the thought of doing it to someone else.

Hopefully next week I'll have a less busy weekend and be able to get to this closer to the correct day.

TGIF

Been an interesting week around the blogs.

One of the holy trinity of epic fantasies has been handed in for a 2011 release. Author Patrick Rothfuss talks about the ARCs for his long awaited follow up to his monster hit The Name of the Wind, Wise Mans Fear, in this blog post. 1 down 2 to go (George RR Martins A Dance with Dragons and Scott Lynch's Republic of Thieves).

Speakng of big selling epic fantasists, Joe Abercrombie shares the UK cover for his 2011 release The Heroes here. I've seen both the UK cover and the US one and as usual I think the UK one stomps all over the US one.

Chris at SFFNews is keeping everyone updated with Towers of Midnight news and has some quick reviews for anyone who is interested.

Over at Tower of the Hand they're 'celebrating' the 5th anniversary of the release of A Feast for Crows (5 years plus! For God's sake George, finish the book!) with some favourite character profiles check them out

New Cover

I don't very often do this, but when I saw this (courtesy of James at Speculative Horizons http://speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/2010/05/exclusive-look-at-uk-artwork-for.html) I just had to share.

The UK cover for Scott Lynch's long awaited 3rd volume of his Gentleman Bastards series, Republic of Thieves.

It's a departure in style for the series, the covers for The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies focussed more on the surrounds than individuals. I have to admit that I love this cover. It makes me want the book that much more, it's scheduled for a northern hemisphere Spring 2011 release, which means anywhere from March to May. Most sources believe it will be March.

There's also discussion about the cover over at: http://www.camorr.com/content/republic-thieves-uk-coverart. Or you can make a comment here if you like.

Scott Lynch

I know this has nothing to do with Cerebus, but occasionally the space between my ears is occupied with things over than the avaricious aardvark, and this is one of them. I’m a long term fantophile (probably an obsession that began when I first picked up The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton when I was but a small child) and always on the look out for something new and interesting to excite my synapses. For fantophiles 2006 was a great year.

3 (count them! 3!) new authors burst onto the scene with stunning debuts (I've been advised by none other than Joe Abercrombie that Pat Rothfuss was actually 2007, so there were 2 stunning debuts in 2006, thanks for making me look stupid Joe. I can do that all on my own, thanks very much!), one was Joe Abercrombie with The Blade Itself (the man is a machine, 3 years later and he’s completed that trilogy, written one standalone set in the same world and already embarked on another standalone, which he believes will be published early in 2011. A machine I tell you! A machine!), Patrick Rothfuss put out The Name of the Wind (I personally wasn’t that excited by this, it was competent enough, he uses words well and I’d like to see how it all turns out, but I won’t be waiting on the doorstep of the bookstore when he finally produces the sequel: Wise Man’s Fear. The publishers don’t seem to be concerned about how long a new author is taking to do this, I guess they know what they’re doing, I hope for Rothfuss’ career they’ve read the market right) and the subject of this post; Scott Lynch published The Lies of Locke Lamora. Now we can argue long and loud, and believe me people have, about who was the best debut, but for mine it was Lies. I loved this book! It’s hard to express in words why and why it had the effect it did. Happily for everyone concerned Scott soon followed up with Red Seas Under Red Skies, it wasn’t quite as good as Lies, but then again his debut was a hard act to follow. Unfortunately that was the last we saw as personal issues affected the author and he took a break from public life, this has delayed the publication of the 3^rd of the adventures of his gentleman thief; Locke Lamora Republic of Thieves.

In about 2 years Scott updated his previously active LiveJournal twice and people began to wonder if he would ever return, then suddenly about a month ago he was back! Back with a vengeance as it turned out. Regular updates started appearing on his LiveJournal, he got a Twitter account, and then marvel of marvels the long dormant webpage was updated. There was a prologue to Republic of Thieves (in this humble blogger’s opinion Scott had lost nothing, the prologue was every bit as enchanting as anything in Lies or Red Seas) and some notes or author’s musings about writing the early chapters of Red Seas.

The 3^rd bit is what got me excited and why I’m doing this, and publishing the link here. Somewhere in his long sojourn Scott revisited an old idea he’d had about a pulp style novel or serial which he called Queen of the Iron Sands. It’s in the style of the old stories published in such esteemed journals as Amazing Stories, and in some ways it seems reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs Carter of Mars series, although the main protagonist is a woman. Scott intends to publish it all online chapter by chapter and for free. It’s good stuff, no really it is, and I am not at all biased *cough* *cough*

http://www.scottlynch.us/ironsands.html

Thanks for listening, normal transmission will soon resume.