From Amazon.co.uk (via pornokitsch):
After their adventures on the high seas, Locke and Jean are brought back to earth with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins the Bonds Magi. It is a fall-out that will pit both men against Locke’s own long lost love. Sabetha is Locke’s childhood sweetheart, the love of Locke’s life and now it is time for them to meet again. Employed on different sides of a vicious dispute between factions of the Bonds Sabetha has just one goal – to destroy Locke for ever. The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success.
Yeah, it’s just an Amazon blurb, but with rumours of Lynch being on the verge of handing in the final manuscript, it might be worth a second look. That all said, there have been a few incidences when Lynch was ‘supposed’ to be on the verge of handing the book in, so I’ll wait for an official announcement before getting too excited.
As for the synopsis itself, frankly, it seems choppy and thrown together, full of typos (‘for ever’?) and weird sentences. I’d be curious to see where amazon.co.uk acquired it. If anyone at Gollancz has some better copy, I’d be happy to post that. Still, it’s a nice peek at the story. The most obviously interesting aspect is the prospect that readers finally get to meet the mysterious Sabetha, who has been hinted at and referred to through the first two volumes.
After the disappointing follow-up to The Lies of Locke Lamora, I think this will be a pivotal piece of the puzzle in determining if Lynch is near the top of the genre (as The Lies of Locke Lamora would suggest) or hovering just above the middle of the pack (as Red Seas Under Red Skies would suggest). Hopefully The Republic of Thieves does a better job than Red Seas Under Red Skies (REVIEW) at capturing what made The Lies of Locke Lamora so wonderful.
