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I left this unread on my Kindle for about 2 years. I had started it but lost interest after the first few pages and read other stuff. Nothing significant in my abandon, it was cheap and am not that into fantasy in general. Too much re-Tolkien and not enough innovation.
I recently decided to give it another go, read it all through and bought the 2nd in the series right away.
First of all, it is very well written, plenty of subtle wit. The characters are quite well developed and you can see that the author has a lot of backstory about them. Locke is a bit perfect for my taste, but he is entertaining enough that I let it pass. And... he is a massive fail at combat, which is a nice twist and keeps him from being another cardboard hero.
The second bit is how atmospheric and well-described the world is. Camorr is a Venice-built-on-alien-ruins and Lynch totally runs with it. Its descriptions tease you and intrigue you, but do not overwhelm the story*. The somewhat Italian Renaissance names and society fit in perfectly and things are easy to visualize.
Set in a modern day crime novel, the plot would have enough twists and turns to keep you riveted. The Gentleman Bastards are confidence tricksters, grifters and con-men. Schemes meet counter-scams and you're almost expecting a Nigerian prince 419 phishing email to come along. Every so often, I would come to a point where I would think "but what about X? it makes no sense that...". You know, typical big gaping plot holes in silly books. And, every time, it turned out that what I thought was an oversight was actually built into it and made sense.
Finally, unlike many writers who believe that a good plot needs to be confusing, Lynch has kept it very simple and focused. At least after each twist.
In a low-magic medieval setting, with bloody, luscious, combat scenes**? This story rocks.
Last, how can one resist a novel with 'contrarequialla', scantily-clad women gladiators who fight in arenas against sharks? Where this makes sense, rather than being just "jumping the shark"? That's only 2 or 3, glorious, pages' worth, but it shows how well-thought out even minor bits of the story can be because you have two setup scenes before the main combat one with the requalias.
(two warnings)
* I liked the descriptions myself, but they could be a bit much if you're not into descriptive novels. I'm on the fence - descriptions annoy me sometimes. These worked for me, but they're a biiiiiig part of the book.
** And... it's a very grim book at times, quite amoral and graphic in its violence.
- Series: Gentleman Bastards (Book 1)
- Mass Market Paperback: 736 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey; Reprint edition (June 26, 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9780553588941
- ASIN: 055358894X
- Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 1,906 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#12,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #62 in Humorous Fantasy (Books)
- #552 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
- #45 in Lawyers & Criminals Humor
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