Saw Scott Lynch's sitelinkreply to a reader who complained that a black, middleaged badass pirate mom was "unrealistic" and now I love this series more than ever Underlined parts are the criticism:
Third your characters are unrealistic stereotpyes of political correctness.
Is it really necessary for the sake of popular sensibilities to have in a fantasy what we have in the real world I read fantasy to get away from politically correct cliches.
God, yes! If there's one thing fantasy is just crawling with these days it's widowed black middleaged pirate moms.
Real sea pirates could not be controlled by women, they were vicous rapits and murderers and I am sorry to say it was a man's world.
It is unrealistic wish fulfilment for you and your readers to have so many female pirates, especially if you want to be politically correct about it!
First, I will pretend that your last sentence makes sense because it will save us all time.
Second, now you're pissing me off,
You know what Yeah, Zamira Drakasha, middleaged pirate mother of two, is a wishfulfillment fantasy, I realized this as she was evolving on the page, and you know what I fucking embrace it,
Why shouldn't middleaged mothers get a wishfulfillment character, you sad little bigot Everyone else does, H. L. Mencken once wrote that "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
" I can't think of anyone to whom that applies more than my own mom, and the mothers on my friends list, with the incredible demands on time and spirit they face in their efforts to raise their kids, preserve their families, and save their own identity/sanity into the bargain.
Shit yes, Zamira Drakasha, leaping across the gap between burning ships with twin sabers in hand to kick in some fucking heads and sail off into the sunset with her toddlers in her arms and a hold full of plundered goods, is a wishfulfillment fantasy from hell.
I offer her up on a silver platter with a fucking bow on top I hope she amuses and delights.
In my fictional world, opportunities for buttkicking do not cease merely because one isn't a beautiful teenager or a musclewrapped font of testosterone.
In my fictional universe, the main characters are a fat ugly guy and a skinny forgettable guy, with a supporting cast that includes "SBF,, nonsmoker,children, buccaneer of no fixed abode, seeks unescorted merchant for light boarding, heavy plunder.
"
You don't like it Don't buy my books, Get your own fictional universe, Your cabbagewater vision of worldbuilding bores me to tears,
As for the "man's world" thing, religious sentiments and gender prejudices flow differently in this fictional world.
Women are regarded as luckier, better sailors than men, It's regarded as folly for a ship to put to sea without at least one female officer there are several allfemale naval military traditions dating back centuries, and Drakasha comes from one of them.
As for claims to "realism," your complaint is of a kind with those from bigoted handwringers who whine that women can't possibly fly combat aircraft, command naval vessels, serve in infantry actions, work as firefighters, police officers, etc.
despite the fact that they do all of those things and are, for a certainty, doing them all somewhere at this very minute.
Tell me that a fit fortyish woman withyears of experience at sea and several decades of live bladefighting practice under her belt isn't a threat when she runs across the deck toward you, and I'll tell you something in return you're gonna die of stab wounds.
What you're really complaining about isn't the fact that my fiction violates some objective "reality," but rather that it impinges upon your sad, dull little conception of how the world works.
I'm not beholden to the confirmation of your prejudices to be perfectly frank, the prospect of confining the female characters in my story to placid, helpless secondary places in the narrative is so goddamn boring that I would rather not write at all.
I'm not writing history, I'm writing speculative fiction, Nobody's going to force you to buy it, Conversely, you're cracked if you think you can persuade me not to write about what amuses and excites me in deference to your vision, because your vision fucking sucks.
I do not expect to change your mind but i hope that you will at least consider that I and others will not be buying your work because of these issues.
I have been reading science fiction and fantasy for years and i know that I speak for a great many people.
I hope you might stop to think about the sales you will lose because you want to bring your political corectness and foul language into fantasy.
if we wanted those things we could go to the movies, Think about this!
Thank you for your sentiments, I offer you in exchange this engraved invitation to go piss up a hill, suitable for framing,
Original review:
"You are thieves, I am offering you a chance to help steal history itself, "
How to write a badass fantasy sequel, a list:
An actual plot
Fantasy Las Vegas
Plenty of skullduggery
Witty dialogue
Stealing, catfishing, and grand heists
Bromance
More bromance
Pirates
WOMEN Pirates
A kickass new love interest
A kickass new PIRATE love interest
Silk parasols
Doublecrossing
Schemes layered like cakes
Locke being awesome
Jean being awesome
Humbling Locke the way BBC Sherlock's creators never humble Sherlock
Cats very important
"I'm not resigned, Jean.
I'm angry. We need to cease being powerless as soon as possible, "
"Right. So where do we start"
"Well, I'm going to go back to the inn, I'm going to pour a gallon of cold water down my throat, I'm going to get into bed, put a pillow over my head, and stay there until sunset, "
"I approve. "
sitelinkMy review of The Lies of Locke Lamora
sitelinkMy review of The Republic of Thieves ive said it once, and i will say it again locke and jean could rob me of all im worth and i would literally get down on my knees and thank them for the honour.
they are the most deceptively clever, enticingly cunning, and gentlemanly bastards i have ever read and i cant get enough of them.
you guys, this story does not suffer from a sophomore slump, its a brand new adventure thats luring, nautical, and full of scoundrels,
its masterfully chaotic so many subplots, so many characters yay for more women!, so much worldbuilding, theres never a dull moment,
its
intricately woven no movement, no scene, no word is insignificant, everything is so interconnected on so many levels,
its darkly humorous oh my gosh, the banter! the jokes! the quips! the characters are so wellwritten and their interactions are always memorable,
im not going to lie, im a little worried about how things are going to go in the next book, i guess i just have to pick it up and see what happens next!
,stars for sitelinkThe Lies of Locke Lamora
So before starting this review I decided to go back and look at what I wrote for the first installment of the series.
The three major reasons I enjoyed the first book were World Building, Character Work, and Story.
And honestly I can just chalk up these three areas to why the sequel succeeds as well,
The story opens in a new city with a new con that Locke and Jean are trying to pull off because that is what they do and what they are good at.
Lynch does a wonderful job creating a new and equally interesting city for them exploit, Much like the first book we get flashbacks that fill out the details of the years that have passed since the first book concluded.
Naturally their plan does not go as expected, shenanigans ensue, and they must rely on their wits and each other to get out of a mess with their hides intact.
You know, standard fantasy heist story stuff,
But it is the new characters we encounter along the way that makes this typical plot arc engaging, from the Military ruler of Tal Verrar, to the owner of a very high end Gambling tower, to freedom loving pirates the story is littered with fascinating and well developed characters for Locke and Jean to play off of.
My only nitpick is that there is a chunk of text in the middle of the book where Locke and Jean and the reader learn about operating a ship and it just drags on for much too long and probably wasn't terribly essential to the story.
But other than that this book was right on par with the first, a fun adventure and heist romp with two lovable rogues.
.