Gentleman Bastards discussion

I've just finished Book 3 (Republic of Thieves), and I'm a big ball of emotions and confusion. Lynch is a master of twists and cliffhangers, I must say. So, anyone have any thoughts on the coming book -- Sabetha, Patience's prediction, the falconer?

Melanie wrote: "I've just finished Book 3 (Republic of Thieves), and I'm a big ball of emotions and confusion. Lynch is a master of twists and cliffhangers, I must say. So, anyone have any thoughts on the coming b..."

I was the same on the frst time i finished book 3...and again when i re read it. Lynch is a genius with language. The falconer scares the hell out of me! We know he's going to make a move to kill Locke and everyone he loves, sooner or later! I'm not 100% sure about Patience prediction. She, like her son, is a master of manipulation. Why tell Locke he was once a mage and then destroy all of the other mages? She has sewn enough seeds of doubt to make Sabetha doubt Lockes true identity and the reason why he is attracted to her. Sabetha has a big enough chip on her shoulder and reason to run from what she wants. My prediction is that I think we'll next find she's pregnant with Locke's child!..and Lock and Jean will find a way of profiting from the war! What I'm intrigued about is the underlying feeling of dread the Mage had about the past alien inhabitants of their world. I'm thinking a bit of sci-fi might occur!..I can't wait! ;-D

Yeah I have so many thoughts! Not enough facts have been laid out for me to believe that locke is lamor reincarnated, I think Patience is just trying to fuck with him. I'm also confused by Sabetha, because she had already come to terms with the fact that he may indeed be the old Mage and she already kind of knew that the Mage had been in love with someone who had red hair, so I can't help but feel like she wouldn't have been so shocked to see a painting of lamor and his wife who had red hair... and I really feel like it's a stretch that it scared her away since she had all but accepted that. I also think it's out of character for her to not leave a note. I'm wondering if she was somehow persuaded by some magic in the same way that Nikoros and all the party members were magic'd into trusting Locke and Jean without question. I also think he may "lose" a child in the sense that we may not see Sabetha for a few years and THEN find out she had a child, so he sort of lost raising his kid through childhood? It just seems too obvious, though.
I am also scared shitless of the Falconer, he's completely insane and bent on revenge (I imagine). Just look at the way he killed his mother - BRUTAL. Unless Jean and Locke find a powerful ally, I don't know what hope they have. Being tricky and clever will not be enough this time.

I think Sabetha is a tough cookie, especially when it comes to her own heart. It took her ages to open to Locke, and the whole red hair thing is something that has, rightly so, terrified her since childhood. ( as a red head myself i would be dying my hair black like a shot, after reading the fate of red headed girls!) She spent so long trying to hide her real self in so many ways and when at last she is reunited with Locke, she discovers that deep down he 'may' have only been attracted subconsiously to the red hair, because a 'lost love' had red hair. That's gotta sting! Patience was masterful with her ruse, her timing at interupting locke's seduction and fucking with their heads, then later the painting...maybe it was just the 'evidence' and fear that made her run? I can't recall how many mage actually survived the cull, so if Sabetha was taken or magically altered i would have thought there would have been someone to oversee the outcome. I agree that wit and dodgy dealings won't be enough to save them from the wrath of the falconer...God, I want the next book to be out so bad!

But is Patience really death? From what I've seen the woman not only is she very powerful, she can also teleport and why does she stay in Karthain after she explicitly say that she won't see him again?

I really don't get sabetha. She is a mistress of deceit, yet someone spins a fantastic story for her and shows her a picture of a random guy with a redhead and voila she is convinced ? She should be smarter than that !

I really don't get sabetha. She is a mistress of deceit, yet someone spins a fantastic story for her and shows her a picture of a random guy with a redhead and voila she is convinced ? She should be smarter than that !

Gabriella wrote: "I really don't get sabetha. She is a mistress of deceit, yet someone spins a fantastic story for her and shows her a picture of a random guy with a redhead and voila she is convinced ? She should b..."

Well, the way I see it, Sabetha is unstable, kind of like she's constantly on her period. She revels in the fact the thinks that she can see right through Locke and she uses Locke's love for her as a weapon to manipulate and control him. Perhaps she felt her grip on him slipping when she realised the possibility that she doesn't even know anything about "Locke's true self" so she freaked out and left, AGAIN. Regardless, even assuming that what Patience said is true and that Locke was originally attracted to her by her red hair, does Locke not deserve even a chance to explain his own situation after all the things they went through?

TLDR: Sabetha should rename herself to PMS and Locke's true love is Jean.

I'm surprised no one here has thrown this out there yet. You're assuming all Patience did was show Sabetha the painting. But Patience also says she talked to her for a while. There's no telling what predictions she gave, and what else she told her. It's bound to be more than just the painting.
I don't fully believe what she's said about Locke being inhabited by the spirit. There's some truth to it for sure, but there's a key piece she's left out.
Based on the description for Thorn of Emberlain, I have no idea how it's going to fit with the falconer's plans, or locke discovering the truth, or where Sabetha will come in. There's supposed to be four more books in the series I think, so there's plenty of time for it to come together.

Did anyone else notice that on the cover of Thorn of Emberlain "Gentleman Bastard" is singular, rather than plural? Whereas all other book cover mentions talk about them in the plural?
Has anyone considered that maybe Patience did, in fact, show Sabetha the painting, and she recognized the red haired lady as her mother?

Ooh! Good theory!

I'm SO glad Justin brought up the fact that we have no idea what Patience told Sabetha – because we know she'd more or less accepted that this Acanthus stuff might be true. (I suspect every single thing Patience says and I refuse to believe anything without further proof.) I'm all for the theory that the people in the picture are Sabetha's parents though! Note how Patience claimed that Acanthus looked like Locke, when yet Locke sees the portrait it's nothing like him? And there's clearly some mystery about Sabetha's past, what with her saying that at one time she was safe and then she wasn't anymore.

As for Thorn of Emberlain, I think it's going to be more of a political piece to give a background to the situation for the rest of the books. Scott said in an interview somewhere (I can probably dig the link up if someone's curious) that ToE is actually where the series was supposed to start but then he came to the conclusion that there was a need to give more of a background. So in that light, I think we're going to get some Business started in ToE and then in book five all hell will break loose.

Regarding the blurb, it's not entirely surprising that it's in singular since the series is, after all, called The Gentleman Bastard Sequence – in the singular. Nonetheless, it always makes me worry a bit.

Hey also is Patience really death? The lady seems to be made of sterner stuffs to be killed by some ambush out of the blue like that.