A review by timmason
The Gentleman Bastard Series by Scott Lynch
2.0
The series revolves around two characters who are echoes of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. The Mouser character, here a nameless chap with a a telephone directory of false identities, is a trickster whose tricks tend to go disasterously wrong; befriending him is very dangerous for your health.
The first volume was pretty exciting, so, as is my way when there's too much tension, I skip read it, then went back again. The two follow-up volumes I also skip read, but this was mainly because there are large chunks of exposition, moral meandering and dramatic gestures that go nowhere. "No, I will not accept succour from someone so evil, even if it means I will die!" Ten pages of faffing about, and he decides not to die. The reader could be blown down with a feather.
There's also some love interest other than the homoerotic thing between the two main characters. Nobody seems to believe in these, including the characters themselves. In fact, by the third volume I felt as if the author also had no further belief in any of his actors.
The third volume ends with the resurrection of the couple's most dangerous enemy. A follow-up is promised, but readers are still waiting for it 6 years later. It's a long time to leave your fans hanging off a cliff.
The first volume was pretty exciting, so, as is my way when there's too much tension, I skip read it, then went back again. The two follow-up volumes I also skip read, but this was mainly because there are large chunks of exposition, moral meandering and dramatic gestures that go nowhere. "No, I will not accept succour from someone so evil, even if it means I will die!" Ten pages of faffing about, and he decides not to die. The reader could be blown down with a feather.
There's also some love interest other than the homoerotic thing between the two main characters. Nobody seems to believe in these, including the characters themselves. In fact, by the third volume I felt as if the author also had no further belief in any of his actors.
The third volume ends with the resurrection of the couple's most dangerous enemy. A follow-up is promised, but readers are still waiting for it 6 years later. It's a long time to leave your fans hanging off a cliff.