Lies, Seas or Republic? (some spoilers)

[Pedro Del Mar]

I've just read all three of these back to back and thoroughly enjoyed them.

I thought Lies was amazing in terms of the world and character building. It had me gripped until then end which I thought was over the top and spoiled the story for me a little.

Seas - upon reflection I think is my favourite of the three although I really wish more had been made of the pirate base (can't recall it's name). Thought the ending was excellent.

Republic - possibly my least favourite - I thought Sabetha's behaviour was a little extraordinary and perhaps unlikely. Not enough of the Bondsmagi until the end. I was hoping for more revelations of the Eldren. I honestly thought that Sabetha would turn out to be plotting against the Bondsmagi in revenge for the death of Calo and Galdo - which I think could have been a better story than the way it turned out with her just disappearing. She didn't seem to care very much which surprised me somewhat.

Any thoughts?

 

[Brian G Turner]

The first story was somewhat over the top at the end, but I actually liked that - not least that Lamora would rather sacrifice all of their stolen wealth to honour his dead companions. I thought that was a nice touch, and underlined that the Gentlemen Bastards were above being just greedy thieves. It's also worth noting that they were raised by Father Chains under religious pretences, and I wondered if that contributed to a sense of moral purpose.

Seas I did enjoy - but it was annoying that the teaser chapter didn't live up to the tensions imagined, read out of context. I also seem to recall a curious scene with mountain climbing, and left wondering why that was included - was it just to show them training, and continued adherence to a degree of moral 'authority'? Or was that character someone who might turn up later? Simply wondered, because Lynch didn't need to spend so much time with that scene.

Republic was interesting, but the flashbacks seemed to drag a little - more to justify Sabetha's character, than to push on the story. However, I loved the different tricks Locke and Sabetha played on each other for the contest.

Though I've enjoyed the series to far, I always get twitchy at the larger introduction of magic, as that traditionally means peril resolved through tiring deus ex machina, than character ingenuity.

 

[Juliana]

I enjoyed all three, but Lies is definitely my favourite, I think in part because it was so much fun 'meeting' Locke and the Bastards and I had absolutely no expectations for the series at that point. It felt very fresh and fun, and I remember literally laughing out loud in deleight at some of Lynch's expressions.

 

[ratsy]

I really enjoyed Lies and Seas, but the newest one fell quite flat for me. It never hooked me in and it felt like two books thrown together more than anything. I hope he brings it around for the next installment because the series started with so much potential

 

[Nechtan]

I read Lies and Seas back to back and really enjoyed them. I liked Republic although was a bit disappointed by it. I was thrown by the flashback scenes and though I eventually began to enjoy them, they detracted from the main story. I was expecting a bit more from Republic.