The Gentleman Bastards
#604.27 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Ongoing 2006–present Reading commitment Medium Scott Lynch Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards follows the con-artist Locke Lamora and his crew across the Republic of Thieves' city-states. A confirmed 7-book plan is in progress; book 4, The Thorn of Emberlain, remains undated even in the author's most recent (2026) public statement.
Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Gentleman Bastards Scott Lynch
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Lies of Locke Lamora | 2006 | 1 | core | 4.30 (354,686 ratings) |
 | Red Seas Under Red Skies | 2007 | 2 | core | 4.25 (164,899 ratings) |
 | The Republic of Thieves | 2013 | 3 | core | 4.21 (124,811 ratings) |
Author-confirmed 7-book plan (Locus Online interview, 2013: 'there will be seven books and I can't break that rule'). Book 4, The Thorn of Emberlain, remains unpublished/undated as of the author's own July 2026 interview, displayed as in-progress per Constitution Article 8, not registered as a book (no confirmed title-page facts to record) and not penalized in any future ranking.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
- Locke Lamora and the Bottled Serpent (2024) ; Published in two parts, Grimdark Magazine, Oct 2024 and Jan 2025; set during Locke's teenage years, before The Lies of Locke Lamora.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Gentleman Bastards? The Gentleman Bastards's Core Canon is 3 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Gentleman Bastards? Publication order, starting with The Lies of Locke Lamora. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Gentleman Bastards finished? Ongoing (2006–present).
- How much reading does The Gentleman Bastards take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,980 pages).
- How is The Gentleman Bastards ranked? #60 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 644,396 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #60?
Ranked #60 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.27 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 644k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.09 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #59, The Drenai Saga (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 3 books · Ongoing · 644k ratings · Ranks #60 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length sword-and-sorcery universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006)
- Red Seas Under Red Skies (2007)
- The Republic of Thieves (2013)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- British Fantasy Award: Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer, 2008: won (author-level): Author-level award.
- John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, 2007: nominated (author-level): Author-level award.
- John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, 2008: nominated (author-level): Author-level award.
- World Fantasy Award (Novel), 2007: nominated: The Lies of Locke Lamora
- British Fantasy Award (August Derleth Award (Best Novel)), 2007: nominated: The Lies of Locke Lamora; Correction: an automated Wikipedia extraction wrongly reported this as a win. sfbook.com confirms the actual 2007 winner was Tim Lebbon's Dusk; Lynch's book was a nominee only.
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2007: finalist: The Lies of Locke Lamora; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 2nd.
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2014: finalist: The Republic of Thieves; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 3rd.
- David Gemmell Legend Award, 2014: nominated: The Republic of Thieves
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- Kencyrath Epic fantasy / Sword & sorcery · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.28
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.27 across 644,396 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Gentleman Bastards admitted; Core Canon accepted 2026-08-05
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: New universe.