The Lies of Locke Lamora

Executive Summary: While it didn't completely suck me in from the beginning, it was pretty close. This one is hard to put down and whole lot of fun.

Full Review
This book has a whole lot of influences mixed together in a way that is impressive: Part Ocean's Eleven, Part Godfather and Part Fantasy.

The back cover totes Part Robin Hood, but since I didn't see the Gentleman Bastards giving any of their stolen loot to the poor, I don't really agree with that one. They DO have a Robin Hood reputation in the book, even if it's untrue.

Mr. Lynch paints a gorgeous world that could be a whole separate series of it's own. They city is full of amazing buildings from some long dead society and the current people are just living in it now.

We meet young Locke Lamora at the age of 5, and already he's trouble. Stealing from guards and breaking all the rules of the “Silent Peace” that has been established between Capa Barvosi (the Godfather) and the Nobility.

I really love the structure of this book. That's not something I usually comment on in my reviews, but it's really worth bringing up here. There is a fairly beefy prologue set in the past where we get a little background on our protagonist. Then in chapter 1 we are in present day with an adult version of Locke and his Gentleman Bastard friends.

It then alternates with Interludes flashing back to the past and filling in details about Locke and his friends lives. The interludes get short and eventually skipped in some places as the present day story really gets going.

It was well executed. I didn't find myself grumbling when an interlude came up interrupting the main story. It always added something important, and I liked how they got shorter as the book went on.

The characters are really great. Locke and Jean are probably the most developed, but the supporting characters are all interesting and feel to have depth. I'd really love to get more details on his master and founder of the Gentleman Bastards, Chains. He seems to have lived an interesting life, and what we did of his past left me wanting more.

It is once again another series where it seems like the Mages are assholes. That's probably more realistic. If you could do magic and were more powerful than most people, would you really be as benevolent as Gandalf? I think most people would end up like Saruman instead, and in this series we have a whole guild full of them.

The rules of the magic seem non-existent. It's hard to know just what a Mage is capable of, but it's pretty damn impressive, and scary. These are not people you want to mess with.

I've marked this as grimdark, but while there are some truly awful things in it, it's not as dark as some of the other stuff I've been reading. It's more of an adventure/caper story than anything else.

I finished the book a day earlier than I had planned, and if I hadn't been so busy last weekend, I might have finished it even sooner. This book grabbed me early on and never let go. I can't wait to see what Locke gets up to in the next book.