Gentleman Bastard Book Four Update: There is a Road to Emberlain

It has been a long time since the theiving duo left Karthain, having rigged a election or more accurately hanged the election. There has been enough time since the last book for us to get a couple of re-reads in. Also enough time to start having doubts of whether this franchise was going the way of The KingKiller Chronicle and A Song of Ice and Fire. But Scott Lynch is a bit more regular with his updates, even though hjinks in America seems to have caused a bit of a pause. Hence while we have no updates on the release date of Thorn of Emberlain, we are going to get something else.

There is some good news and some uncertainity for the fans of the Gentleman Bastard series.The series's last book The Republic of Thieves was released on 2013, making a significant gap between the books. There is a new update from Lynch but it's not about The Thorn of Emberlain. It's about a sequence of novellas that would be releasing soon and whole sequence is named The Road to Emberlain.

While we all would like to read about the exploits of the Thorn in Emberlain but before that, we can read about the Thorn of Camorr came to be the Thorn of Emberlain. The sequence of novellas would bridge this gap. For Locke and readers, The path to the Thorn of Emberlain is marked out in three novellas that form the "The Road to Emberlain" sequence.

What is the Road to Emberlain about?

As the third book ended with Locke and Jean successfully rigging the election but not entirely in the favor of their employers, they escape Karthain. Now the title of the next book clearly indicates that the adventures of our favorite con-men will be in Emberlain. Since the Thorn of Emberlain is based in Emberlain, The Road to Emberlain describes the adventures and schemes of the duo that will land them at Emberlain.

What are the books in The Road to Emberlain?

Lynch has shared the titles of the novellas in The Road to Emberlain sequence. The titles are :

• More Than Fools Fill Graves
• The Mad Baron's Mechanical Attic
• The Choir of Knives

How long is the Road to Emberlain?

Lynch has mentioned in his post on his personal website that each novella has the length of 40,000 words making it a meaty meal for any ravenous fans(which is most of us!). The novellas combined can be treated as a major book between the The Republic of Thieves and The Thorn of Emberlain, though with adventures that don't carry forward into or be referred to any way whatsoever in the The Thorn of Emberlain.

Are the events of the Road to Emberlain central to the overall series?

Lynch has clarified that the "that nothing in these books be required to understand any of the events of The Thorn of Emberlain. However, if you're eager to spend just a bit more enriching, mystifying, blood-soaked quality time with Locke and Jean, look no further". Hence this sequence of books is an appetizer before the main course, to use a food analogy. Since the adventures are of Locke and Jean and not a side character, fans can read up on the further antics of the Gentleman Bastards while they wait for the main book.

When will the Road to Emberlain be available?

Lynch has shared that The Road to Emberlain will be soon available. The books seem to be having an 2025 release date as this update by Scott was last shared on August and no further updates have been shared since. At the time of updating this article, the books have not yet been available.

As of June 2025, the Road to Emberlain sequence have not been listed on the publisher Subterranean Press website. Lynch also has not shared an update over his social media X-Twitter/Bluesky profiles or on his personal website. However Lynch has mentioned that the books updates will be coming from the publishers, meaning the finished manuscripts have been delivered and ready for printing. Going by this, the books are likely to released in the late 2025.

Who is the publisher for The Road to Emberlain?

The publisher for The Road to Emberlain is Subterranean Press. The series publishers in US are Gollancz and Bantam.

When is the Thorn of Emberlain releasing?

The update by Lynch does not alleviate the uncertainity regarding the release date for The Thorn of Emberlain. The book does not have any release date shared by Lynch or the publishers Gollancz and Bantam. But the fans can be sure that the books are in the pipeline. The status of the next book in the Gentleman Bastard series are more definitive than the those of their peers in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin and The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss.

This article has been periodically refreshed with latest updates since a year ago and we can probably expect a more definitive update about The Thorn of Emberlain's release date once the Road to Emberlain sequence is released. Readers can also follow Scott at his website or his Substack or his social media.