Bookish Thoughts

Oh gods, I've gotten so far behind on these. I blame Hamilton . Just be glad that listening to that musical also slowed down my book consumption. Republic of Thieves is the third of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards books, and it might just be my favorite. Mostly because this is the book that finally introduces Sabetha, who has been lurking just off stage for the last two books. Like Lynch's other books, this one alternates between two different timelines. In the present, Locke and Jean are recruited to run one side of an election. They are pitted against Sabetha, and the contest is deliciously close, as both sides have all the same training and tricks. The second timeline takes place when all three are teenagers, spending a summer with an acting troupe. It was so much fun to see Locke and Sabetha dance around each other, both as awkward teenagers and accomplished adults. And I loved the way their courtship ended. It managed to ruin things in the present w...

The first I ever heard of Scott Lynch was him vehemently defending one of the characters in this book. The character in question is one Zamira Drakasha. She's a pirate captain. She's middle-aged. She's black. And she's a mom, who brings her toddlers on the high seas with her. Some fans were upset, claiming that this was unrealistic wish fulfillment. To which Lynch replied that he's writing speculative fiction, not history. Wish fulfillment is the name of the game. Seriously though, you should go read his whole response. It's pretty amazing. I filed that bit away until one friend and then another began gushing about Lynch's books, and I had no choice but to pick them up. Zamira wasn't in the first book, though it was still a very good novel. If a bit uneven. But I knew she featured in the second one, and I was excited to meet her. Imagine my disappointment when it took her over half of the 760 page book to show up. Actually it wasn'...

I had the hardest time getting into The Lies of Locke Lamora . It was frustrating because everyone around me was absolutely raving about it. And given the premise - a group of thieves pull cons on rich people - I was sure I'd like it, too, if I could just give it a chance. But giving it that chance proved difficult. This was partly due to timing. I started it on a beach weekend, then continued while we had a house guest. For the first week I was reading in dribs and drabs of 10 minutes at a time. When I finally had 3 hours to devote to reading, I wanted a book I could just finish in that time. This was compounded by the format of the book. Scott Lynch plays fast and loose with linear time. He jumps between two main timelines - Locke's childhood and the present-day heist. Within those timelines, he continues to jump around, or abandon plot altogether for 3-4 pages of exposition. More than usual I was re-reading earlier passages trying to figure out if I'd mis...