The Gentlemen Bastards sequence is, in my humble opinion, a phenomenal body of work. As far as fantasy fiction goes, Scott Lynch has written a series that has both grit and heart in equal measure — and with no expense spared on both world-building or action, either! If you’re looking for books that are similar in both style and wit, then look no further. Here are my recommendations for books to read if you enjoy The Gentlemen Bastards!
The First Law series
The chances are that—if you’ve started your journey with The Lies of Locke Lamora—you’ve probably already read Joe Abercrombie’s First Law books. If that’s the case, scroll down to the next recommendation. If you haven’t read any of the First Law books, then let me convince you with this next paragraph.
The First Law books (which currently stand at nine full-length novels and a collection of short stories) are among my favourite reads of all time. They are brutal and they are dark but—just like The Gentlemen Bastards—there is also plenty of dry wit and sharp humour, too. The characters are all nuanced and deeply flawed/human. So much so that you’ll find yourself actually rooting for torturers and killers…and will then wonder what kind of magic spell was cast to make you think that way. Well, let me tell you, there was no magic — the books are just simply that good.
Want to know how good? I ranked the First Law series in order of preference over here.
The Blacktongue Thief
The Blacktongue Thief is the start of a fantasy series by Christopher Buehlman, who writes in the borderlands between horror and fantasy (his medieval horror book, Between Two Fires, is testament to his skills in the former).
The book is set in the aftermath of a cataclysmic war between goblins and…well, just about everyone else. Our narrator is Kinch Na Shannack, a low-ranking—but very cunning—member of the Taker’s Guild. The guild itself is a coordinated pyramid scheme of thieves. (I hope you’re already starting to see the parallels with The Gentlemen Bastards.)
The book is dark, gritty and witty in all the right places. It does taper off a little towards the end, but it’s also the beginning of a series (and there’s already a prequel novel to get stuck into) so I’d highly recommend giving it a go, if you need something to scratch that Locke Lamora itch!
The Sins of Steel and Shadow
I’ve been very open about my literary influences on my own writing. Joe Abercrombie, David Gemmell and Scott Lynch all get regular mentions in that regard. So, with The Sins of Steel and Shadow, I hope to have captured some of the atmosphere, the mood and a similar approach to character work.
This story follows a group of Turned. Turned are former humans who were “turned” into vampyrs, but are never really regarded in the same way as pureborn vampyrs are. This leaves them caught somewhere in between the species. They’re shunned and vilified by both, riddled with self-loathing and generally having a rough time of it.
But our protagonists are offered a way out — when a mysterious magicker offers them a chance at more than just surviving. In exchange for completing a series of dangerous tasks for him, this magicker will offer our Turned a cure for their affliction.
The book has strong world-building, a consistent pace and a cast of nuanced, interesting characters. It’s a gritty fantasy written for fans of Joe Abercrombie, David Gemmell and—of course—Scott Lynch.
Morningstar
As I just mentioned above, the late, great David Gemmell is one of my literary heroes. His entire back catalogue is well worth a read (and you can always start here).
However, this list is all about books that are similar to The Gentlemen Bastards. So let me explain why I’m recommending Morningstar.
Morningstar is an unusual book. Firstly, it is—so far as I’m aware—the only book that David Gemmell ever wrote from a first person perspective. Now, usually this actually puts me off (I prefer third person limited) but in this case, an exception deserves to be made.
And the reason for that is simple. The perspective we follow is that of Jarek Mace. He is a rogue and a bandit. I firmly believe you can draw a line between this 1992 novel and The Lies of Locke Lamora. Jarek Mace has so many of the characteristics that you see imbued in Locke. That is why I think you’ll enjoy reading this book.
Like all Gemmell books, Morningstar is violent without becoming gratuitous (although one particular sequence in the story isn’t for the squeamish). It’s incredibly fast-paced (Gemmell’s work has been affectionately referred to as popcorn fantasy for a reason), but it’s not shallow. The character arc of Jarek Mace is well-realised, just as it is for several side-characters. It can also be considered a standalone, despite being written as part of the same universe as many other Gemmell novels.
Basically, if you like the character of Locke Lamora, give Jarek Mace a chance.
Kings of the Wyld
This is my wildcard (wyldcard) entry into this list. The reason being that it is probably the biggest departure from the general vibe of The Gentlemen Bastards sequence. All of the other books on this list match them for atmosphere and feeling. Kings of the Wyld errs a little more to the fun/D&D side of things.
The book follows a retired band of monster hunters/mercs. The group are forced to reunite in order to save one member’s imperilled daughter from a horde of monsters. The book moves incredibly quickly, and there are a fair few fantasy tropes thrown in, too. The humour can also feel a little forced at times, so it doesn’t quite hit the highs that The Gentlemen Bastards does. However, the main characters are all a bunch of grumpy, out-of-practice old bastards — and that goes a long way.
If you found The Gentlemen Bastards to be a delightful, almost surgical read, you shouldn’t expect to find the same thing here. Kings of the Wyld is more meat cleaver than scalpel, but it’s still good fun to read.
In conclusion
The Gentlemen Bastards sequence (of which we should be seeing more instalments soon!) are a brilliant set of books. And, if you like spending time with Locke, Jean and the rest of the crew, there are plenty of other titles out there to get stuck into. These are my recommendations, but I’d love to hear yours! Drop me a comment or ping me on social media, as I need my fix of this gritty, witty, fantasy fiction, too!
📚✌🏻SP
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Book One of the TURNED
The Sins of Steel and Shadow
Hated and reviled by humans and vampyrs alike, every day for a Turned is a deadly struggle. But when Bail is offered the chance of a lifetime, there’s much more at stake than just his survival.
The Turned series is a fast-paced, character-led, gritty fantasy saga for fans of Joe Abercrombie or Scott Lynch.
Steve Pannett is an author and designer based in Yorkshire, UK.
He writes primarily in the fantasy genre, combining character-led storytelling with epic, gritty world-building to create dark tales with plenty of action and lots of twists along the way.
He has self-published multiple books and is active online.
