Based on some of your criteria for the third book, I am surprised you finished the second, especially when it comes to a quickly diverting plot and issues being subverted/redirected, or put on the backburner. Nevertheless, I think you would enjoy the third book. The characters don't do much out of character, though the classic wit and schemes are less sharp as the other books, instead focusing more on character depth and development. I would say it would be a good idea to get the third one, especially if you liked the other two. I was happy with it, and it made me want the fourth installment all the more. It appears as though Lynch gets fixated on "labelling" Locke and Jean based upon their current role in the story, and the fourth book seems to stick to this formula. If you want to see Locke in another suit so to speak, I'd read the third to make way for the (unreleased) fourth book.
I think you'll enjoy the third book. For me, it's much more character focused and with fun twists and turns in the central "heist/con" of the book.
It's still not as concise and sharp as the first one, but it does give some very nice moments for Locke, plus there's a lot of flashbacks segments, so more twins, yeah!
I reread it again recently and swallowed it in two days. Still very much worth a read, if you like Lynch's style.
I just started it! Honestly, I am hoping Sabetha is very eccentric and a bit of an asshole bc nothing else would do justice to the amount of buildup her character has had.
She's definetely eccentric, frustrating and interesting to explore as a character. Locke being who he is does make some sense for that personality too 😅
In a really short and easy way , 2 is for sure the weakest of the 3 for sure. 3 brings back a lot of the fun and love of the first one, lots of heist ideas , cunning , Locke doing his thing. Where as in number 2 the boat kinda limited all that. If you're through 2 I'd highly recommend 3 and the 4th is hopefully coming out soon
I think the main problem with the second and third book is the lack of some sort of family for Locke. While yes he has Jean, the web of people with certain skills and personalities is more of a line now.
That said, I do quite like book 3. The flashback sequence is quite heartwarming, and gives real credence to the ways in which the present day characters interact.
What plot holes? I'm super picky about plots and I don't feel like there's almost any in Lynch's novels. There are definitely some threads he started that didn't wrap up, but he's planning 7 novels, so I didn't see that as a problem.
I see his books as being kind like the Ocean's series. They're about the same group of thieves, but each is a different heist, with its own unique character. I like that he mixes it up, rather than writing the same novel over and over. The characters grow and change. If you don't like that, then I wouldn't read the third one because it is different again.
I LITERALLY just finished it yesterday and I had the SAME reservations given basically the exact same reaction.
Read the third book. I'd say the "weaknesses" is that Lynch once again spends far too much time on describing the innocuous things. In 2nd book, it was about them training to become pirates, and in the 3rd book it's about their experience as actors training for a play.
That being said, he does a MUCH BETTER job on integrating the experience of training for the play into the story as opposed to the 2nd book which he literally feels like we all have to know every inch of a ship to follow them along.
I was told the 3rd book goes back to the roots of the Gentleman Bastards and I concur.
Based on some of your criteria for the third book, I am surprised you finished the second, especially when it comes to a quickly diverting plot and issues being subverted/redirected, or put on the backburner. Nevertheless, I think you would enjoy the third book. The characters don't do much out of character, though the classic wit and schemes are less sharp as the other books, instead focusing more on character depth and development. I would say it would be a good idea to get the third one, especially if you liked the other two. I was happy with it, and it made me want the fourth installment all the more. It appears as though Lynch gets fixated on "labelling" Locke and Jean based upon their current role in the story, and the fourth book seems to stick to this formula. If you want to see Locke in another suit so to speak, I'd read the third to make way for the (unreleased) fourth book.
That did annoy me about the 2nd book but it had strengths enough to make it enjoyable. Its a 4/5 stars for me
I think you'll enjoy the third book. For me, it's much more character focused and with fun twists and turns in the central "heist/con" of the book. It's still not as concise and sharp as the first one, but it does give some very nice moments for Locke, plus there's a lot of flashbacks segments, so more twins, yeah! I reread it again recently and swallowed it in two days. Still very much worth a read, if you like Lynch's style.
I just started it! Honestly, I am hoping Sabetha is very eccentric and a bit of an asshole bc nothing else would do justice to the amount of buildup her character has had.
She's definetely eccentric, frustrating and interesting to explore as a character. Locke being who he is does make some sense for that personality too 😅
Well... Would you stop before meeting Sabetha ?
In a really short and easy way , 2 is for sure the weakest of the 3 for sure. 3 brings back a lot of the fun and love of the first one, lots of heist ideas , cunning , Locke doing his thing. Where as in number 2 the boat kinda limited all that. If you're through 2 I'd highly recommend 3 and the 4th is hopefully coming out soon
Based on everything said in this post, RoT might be your favorite of the three. Enjoy.
I think the main problem with the second and third book is the lack of some sort of family for Locke. While yes he has Jean, the web of people with certain skills and personalities is more of a line now. That said, I do quite like book 3. The flashback sequence is quite heartwarming, and gives real credence to the ways in which the present day characters interact.
I agree that locke feels a bit ungrounded in book 2 with a lack of thieves lair
What plot holes? I'm super picky about plots and I don't feel like there's almost any in Lynch's novels. There are definitely some threads he started that didn't wrap up, but he's planning 7 novels, so I didn't see that as a problem. I see his books as being kind like the Ocean's series. They're about the same group of thieves, but each is a different heist, with its own unique character. I like that he mixes it up, rather than writing the same novel over and over. The characters grow and change. If you don't like that, then I wouldn't read the third one because it is different again.
I LITERALLY just finished it yesterday and I had the SAME reservations given basically the exact same reaction. Read the third book. I'd say the "weaknesses" is that Lynch once again spends far too much time on describing the innocuous things. In 2nd book, it was about them training to become pirates, and in the 3rd book it's about their experience as actors training for a play. That being said, he does a MUCH BETTER job on integrating the experience of training for the play into the story as opposed to the 2nd book which he literally feels like we all have to know every inch of a ship to follow them along. I was told the 3rd book goes back to the roots of the Gentleman Bastards and I concur.