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.
I brought this up on twitter, but thought it worth repeating here.
Am I the only one that would rather see The Bastards and the Knives from Scott Lynch before The Republic of Thieves? I miss Calo and Galdo. Plus it would be great to get the chance to recapture some of the joy going on in Locke’s life before he had to leave Camorr instead of the sometimes depressive nature that was Red Seas Under Red Skys.
i’m with you Mad. i was so upset when Calo & Galdo were knocked out i threw my (audio)book across the room. that said, IMNSHO, no one does voice better than lynch. i’d be thrilled to see any new material from him. though, like aidan, i’m skeptical. this sounds like one of those “in house” synopsis that make authors cringe when they get out…
I may be in a minority but I really enjoyed Red Seas so I’m extremely excited about this. Not to mention my wife read them too so I’ll have someone to discuss them with…