Could not get enough

After the second book in the series I took a break as I felt it was not the strongest and was worries the series was going to go downhill. I was very much wrong, this book grabbed my attention and I found it hard to stop listening. Just a shame there is no word of book 4 yet

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What an exhilarating listen

I have really enjoyed listening to this series, such highs, such lows...and the end!
Although some parts maybe a little slow there is a sense that each little detail has a larger part to play later on, so many beautiful landscapes & feasts painted by skilfully wrought words.

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A good third Lamora novel

Good book but the 'love' stuff between Locke and Sabetha is tedious and a little irritating

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I thoroughly enjoyed this

Would you consider the audio edition of The Republic of Thieves to be better than the print version?

The narrator is fantastic, I did read the print version as well (alongside) but I preferred the audio simply because the narrator is magnificent.

What did you like best about this story?

The world building and the mysterious backdrop of The Eldren.

What about Michael Page’s performance did you like?

EVERY WORD HE SPOKE

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes...although it took me considerably more sittings than that.

Any additional comments?

This book took me twenty-three days to read. That's longer than I'd normally take to get through a novel of this size but something called "Brexit" happened just as I was approaching the half-way point of the book. If you haven't heard of Brexit then you are indeed fortunate and I will spare you the details. The political farce leading up to, during and immediately after this event was unparalleled in my lifetime and required me to divert my time and energy to man the front-lines of Twitter. It was brutal out there, shoulder to shoulder with fellow Twitter denizens repelling wave after wave of opinions of mass stupidity.

Anyway, that happened. I retreated from the front-line for a few days and finished the book. I was then struck by some of the parallels between UK and Karthain politics. Mostly one parallel actually, everything had gone to Hell in a handcart. This is unsurprising when you consider that the political campaign for one side was being orchestrated by Locke Lamora, ably assisted by Jean Tannen.

No spoilers here, no detailed review, just my usual summary of whether I enjoyed it and whether I think anyone else, especially any one having read the previous books, would enjoy it.

If you enjoyed book one and survived reading the interminable second book then this will definitely delight you. Honestly, this book kind of makes it worth finishing the second book because what you realise as you read this is that a world, deep and complex has been spun around you and that's just the world of right now. As usual in the background of the novel is the ever present backdrop of mystery of the structures and technology that the long-departed race known as The Eldren left behind.

There is more backstory of the early years of Locke and the rest of Chains' gang which is always a delight and a reveal in equal measure. This time though we finally get to meet the mysterious Sabetha. I'll say no more.

What really marks this book out is that upon finishing it you emerge realising that you didn't read the book but you experienced it. The world, its history, the cities, the people, the politics and the magic. It's epic worldbuilding, perhaps the urban fantasy equivalent of Raymond Feist's Riftwar (I know that might be an unfair or unequal comparison to some literary experts, this is simply my humble opinion as a reader). Part of the backstory involves our gang of thieves becoming actors which leads up to them taking part in a play (The Republic of Thieves from which the title of the book is taken). The way that this play is enacted inside of the story had me more completely immersed in a fictional world than I can remember being for quite some time. To be fair I spend most of time living in fictional worlds and I'd choose most of them over the current reality!

I feel that I can now go back and give two a much more favourable review.

I deliberately didn't mention the Bonsdsmage. Those testicle-withering bastards are everywhere. I hardly dare speak their name.

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Most incredible narrator.

Would you listen to The Republic of Thieves again? Why?

Yes. I love the Gentleman Bastard Series. Great story writing, brilliant characters and a wonderful, wonderful narrator.

What does Michael Page bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His voices. Incredible. I would happily listen to any of his narrations, regardless of the book content (though these books are awesome anyway!)

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Different and worth staying the course

What made the experience of listening to The Republic of Thieves the most enjoyable?

I found this book a little difficult to follow initially, but once into the characters it is a well written and entertaining book. Totally unexpected finale.

What about Michael Page’s performance did you like?

Fantastic...captured the personalities really well and the variety of vocies made it a lot easier to follow each character

Any additional comments?

Stay with it, an excelent book

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Terrified and heartbroken

The ending left me heartbroken and the epilogue terrified. Loved it. Can't wait for the next installment.

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another chapter

the gentleman bastards strike again... excellent trilogy with more to come by the sound of it... if you liked the first 2 then you will enjoy this...

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Best one yet.

Great book, and as usual Michael Page is fantastic (I noticed just how great when I wondered why a character suddenly sounded so off, like he was injured. Turned out he had a broken nose).

I'll avoid spoilers and just say that I enjoyed both storylines (current and past), but felt a liitle bit annoyed at losing the thread of either whenever the book shifted. Also, the part story didn't actually feel important to the current situation apart from the romance.

Not a fan of the conclusion, but that could be because I expected some kind of proper ending thinking this was a trilogy. Instead the 4th installment has been almost ready for several years...what is it with Fantasy Authors and getting stuck.

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A fine third entry in the series.

Things seem to be developing in a very interesting direction for one of the most engaging and unconventional protagonists in contemporary fantasy fiction. I eagerly await the next installment.

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