The Republic of Thieves

In the beginning of The Republic of Thieves, the third book in the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, Locke Lamora lies near death from the poison administered to him in the previous book. The chance for a cure comes in the form of the bondsmage, Patience, who wants to hire Locke and his trusty friend Jean to fix an ordinary human election in Karthain, the city where the bondsmagi live. For that is willing to remove the poison from Locke's body as well as give a sizeble monetary reward if Locke succeeds in his task.

To complicate the matters, the opposing faction of bondsmagi has hired Sabetha, Locke's former partner in crime and enduring true love who is Locke's equal in Xanatos Speed Chess. A truly dirty election season follows in which both of the two parties in Karthain engaging in horrendously corrupt and entertaining tactics under the criminal guidance of Locke and Sabetha, all to win the rulership of a city that, unknown to the ordinary residents, is in truth ruled from shadows by the mind-controlling bondsmagi themselves. When the end comes, the results surprise almost everyone.


 * All Elections Are Serious Business: The Konseil elections in Karthain are extremely serious business, in large part because the people getting elected think that they will have actual power.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Locke and Sabetha.
 * Black Comedy
 * Blood on the Debate Floor: The Konseil members get into fisticuffs with each other and the police.
 * Corrupt Politician
 * Election Night
 * Fictional Political Party: Kartain has the Deep Roots Party and the Black Iris Party. They have no known policy differences even on a rhetorical level, and after the election the bondsmagi always quietly mind-control the successfully elected politicians anyway.
 * Flashback
 * Gambit Pileup: The natural result of Locke and Sabetha playing against each other for an extended period of time.
 * Heroes Want Redheads
 * I Know Your True Name: The bondsmagi can mind-control anyone whose true name they know. They don't know Locke's.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: Routinely applied by the bondsmagi.
 * The Magocracy: The true political situation in Karthain.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: Locke and Sabetha bribe various bureaucrats to cause trouble to the opposing party.
 * Ravens and Crows:
 * Sleazy Politician: What Locke and Sabetha strive to expose and/or frame every opposing side politician as.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: Aurin, the son of the emperor, and Amadine, the queen of thieves, in the titular play.
 * Tsundere: Sabetha.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: Locke and Sabetha play it against each other in their election schemes.
 * Your Favorite: On one of their dates, Locke temporarily adapts the role of a Cordon Bleugh Chef and makes Sabetha a soup with all her favorite ingredients.