Locke | All I am - a redhead

Scott Lynch: The Republic of Thieves read along (part 2)

This week’s question were brought to us by Lisa from Over the Effing Rainbow and here they are:

Blood And Breath And Water: Patience tells Locke that the ritual to save him is serious business. She wasn’t kidding… What did you make of this scene, and do you think any of it might (perhaps literally) come back to haunt Locke?

Hmm, now you mentioned it, possibly. The end of the process sounded very scary, I admit. A bit exorcistic so I imagine there is something there that might come back to haunt Locke.

Orphan’s Moon: Back to the childhood of the Gentlemen Bastards, and here we get another ritual, this one in service to the Nameless Thirteenth. It looks as though it might be Locke vs. Sabetha, round two – but this time Locke seems to be a little slow on that uptake… Who do you think deserves to be given the final oath? Locke or Sabetha?

Honestly, Sabetha. She is the one who actually strives towards her goals. It’s just very unlucky that Locke is obviously more attuned to the minds of others and can somehow make them believe what he wants them to believe. Not that he doesn’t strive, he does, but only when he learns he might actually lose something.

Across The Amathel: This chapter takes a breather for quite a bit of Eldren history, while Locke starts recovering. What do you think of the history lesson, and Patience’s ominous speculation regarding the Eldren? Is this something you’d like to know more about?

Hell yeah! Since the beginning of the series! I don’t think we got enough information here to assuage my curiosity, I should add.

I still hope we’ll learn all there is to learn about Eldren (from the perspective of the world of Locke and Jean).

Striking Sparks: The gang’s off to Espara, after a bad summer and a pretty thorough dressing-down from Chains, and we finally get to the source of the book’s title – they’re bound for the stage! What are your thoughts on this latest ‘challenge’ and the reasons for it?

I think Chains wants to see if they can work as a team when he isn’t there to oversee and get them out of trouble. I’m sure they’ll get into trouble and out of it again, I just wonder how much of it will be caused by their teenage brains. 😉

The Five-Year Game: Starting Position: The election gets underway with a party (as you do) and before it’s even over, the Deep Roots party has problems – and not just thanks to Sabetha. What do you make of Nikoros and his unfortunate habit?

He’s a liability. What it might lead to, I have no idea. It might not come to anything. Then again, it might. I’m thinking they should be paying more attention to what Sabetha has planned because I’m sure she’ll have a lot planned.

Bastards Abroad: The gang arrives in Espara, and already they’ve got problems (nicely mirroring the Five Year Game!)… This aside, we’ve also seen some more of what seems to be eating at Sabetha. Do you sympathize with her, or is Locke right to be frustrated with her?

I sympathize with her. Then again, she is so very stubborn. Possibly why Locke is frustrated with her, she reminds him of himself. 😉 But I’m still more on her side in this, for a change…

Check what my fellow readers thought about the questions:

The Little Red Reviewer

Over the Effing Rainbow

Scott Lynch: The Republic of Thieves Read Along, Part I

It’s time for another round of fun with Locke and Jean! 🙂

As with the previous two, I’m again participating in the read along of Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series.

This week’s questions were provided by Dab of Darkness and without further ado, here they are with my answers.

1) We get to reminisce with several old friends in this section – Carlo, Galdo, Chains. How did you like this? Bitter sweet or happy dance?

It did start a bit bittersweet for me but that was soon replaced by happiness of getting to enjoy those “carefree” days again. Actually, I wasn’t even aware hoe much I missed them until those parts appeared in this book. I guess Mr. Lynch considered our shock and sadness at seeing them gone. And that it also proved as a good background for the whole Locke-Sabetha situation.

2) Finally, the infamous Sabetha makes a physical appearance, albeit in Locke’s reminisces. What are your impressions? How do you think the romance, if there is to be one, will play out?

Well, I actually got further along than designated for this week. My impressions in the beginning were that it seemed a bit too young to develop a burning love to last until Locke’s dying day (at least that’s what I gather from him it feels like). I don’t know how it will play out (I’d rather not guess and then be proven wrong) but I certainly hope Locke gets some happiness in his love life.

3) After trying absolutely everything to save Locke, Jean still won’t give up. What did you think of that little pep talk he gave Locke concerning Patience’s offer of healing?

Well, I know the story is centered about Locke more but Jean is to him what Hermione is to Harry Potter (I manage to put HP into everything). Jean is who has my vote of confidence to make it all happen for what Locke imagined. Because lets face it – Locke would be long dead without Jean while I don’t think the same is true for Jean.

Can I just say my thoughts at that part were – Hit him as well for being such a pain in the ass! (the book is making me swear, I swear!)

4) Locke has a few caveats to working for the Bondsmage. Wise or just Locke grasping for some control over his life? What would you ask Patience?

Wise. Definitely wise. There is no way there is not an underlying current to all this we’re not seeing. I mean, it was expected it would be the Bondsmagi who would save Locke but now they did, I hope they get put down to earth a bit.

I actually think Patience is one of the “good” guys – it seems someone is working to kill her as well (her son’s faction I’m guessing).

What would I ask her? Actually nothing comes to mind instantly – I just cannot grasp the magnitude of their capabilities.

5) At the end of this section, we see that all is not as Patience laid it out. How much do you think Patience knows of the plot to off Locke and Jean? Do you see it interfering in the rigged election?

I see it as part of the rigged election. Experience so far has shown that Mr. Lynch manages to make it all somehow come together and there might be signs along the way but until you reach the end, they are generally undecipherable. 🙂 That said, I think the two (elections and getting killed) go together. I don’t think Patience knows anything about the particular plot (as I believe it concerns her life as well). But I do think she might believe that could be a real scenario.

We’ll see what happens next…

Please check the following blogs for their take on the part I: