The Lies of Locke Lamora

I wasn't sure about this book at first, but it grew on me very quickly and leaped into that five star slot. I've been hearing wonderful things about this series for ages, but I thought I've just read too many similar titles to really love it. Lynch takes the idea of he Thief King and runs with it in directions I didn't even know existed. The whole thing has a very Medieval Catch Me If You Can vibe that I found downright charming.

Let me start with the worldbuilding. Lynch's world is almost science-fictional with the populace living amongst the wreckage of a unknown elder civilization. It's a world where alchemy, magic, and questionable medical practice all function according to a strict set of rules. Camorr, the main setting, is almost a canal city with the ocean (and its denizens) playing a huge part in the story telling. While the setting is similar to a medieval Earth, it's different enough that this doesn't feel like Fantasy Stock Setting #6.

Then there's the characters. Locke Lamora is a brilliant anti-hero with a perfect team. He's the thief who just likes thieving, and has since he was old enough to grab. He's balanced out by a string of flaws which are clearly flaws but don't make him any less likable. Locke's team is just as engaging, and Lynch really knows how to twist a person's heart in a way George R.R. Martin never really has for me.

The antagonists are just as engaging, and no one in this story is particularly in the right. We side with Locke because it's told from his viewpoint, but this could just as easily be told from the Gray King's perspective, and I would side with him almost the whole time (up to that murdering business...). The Salvara's were a prize. They could so easily have been stock nobility without any depth or will, but Lynch makes them understandable, forward-thinking, and capable. Sophia is a great addition as a background female scientist/alchemist. There aren't many ladies in the foreground, but I think having them in the background is almost more important in this kind of setting. Lynch makes a point of mentioning female guards, female soldiers, and female townsfolk in every scene. I assume Sabetha has a large part to play later in the series, but even with a boy's club of heroes, women are still movers in this story, and that's always been of great importance to em.

The writing is solid, and while the beginning dragged on a bit, once the Gray King storyline started moving, I couldn't put it down. The dialogue snaps, the action pulses, and I'm very surprised this hasn't been brutally murdered as a feature film by now. It seems so perfect, I just know it would be screwed up royally.

I have a few books with deadlines to read before I can pick up the rest of the trilogy, but I will definitely be doing so. Recommended to anyone who likes a clever action fantasy.