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

There is some good news and some uncertainity for the fans of the Gentleman Bastard series. Scott Lynch had last shared an update on his personal website regarding the popular series about the thieving band of con-men and their adventures. 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.

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 next fourth book 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.

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.