The Lies of Locke Lamora

Full review here: http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2007/05/lies-of-locke-lamora.html

I finally got around to reading The Lies of Locke Lamora after hearing a lot of good things about this debut novel by Scott Lynch. At first, I was afraid it wasn't going to live up to all the good things I had heard about it since I found it a little hard to get into in the beginning, but I ended up absolutely loving this book.

This is definitely not a book to read if you are looking to read something thought-provoking and insightful. However, it is something to read if you are looking for something entertaining. It's a very dialogue heavy book, and a lot of the dialogue is clever and witty. Toward the beginning of the book, I thought it seemed like the dialogue was a bit forced and the author was trying too hard to make it seem clever, but it got better as the book went on.

One thing that some may find annoying is that the entire book switches back and forth between the past and the present. It isn't confusing since the past parts are referred to as interludes (with the exception of the prologue, which goes between the past and further past without as much warning as to when it's changed times). After the prologue, it smoothed out and I ended up enjoying the brief looks into the past.

The characters are wonderful. If you're tired of goody-two-shoes characters who can do no wrong, this might be the book for you. The main character Locke Lamora is a priest of the Benefactor, a god of thievery, and a master of disguise. He and his friends in the priesthood are con men who make schemes to take some money of the hands of the rich noblemen in the city of Camorr, which seems to be modeled after an Italian city. Locke isn't really an evil character, but he's certainly not good either. If you're familiar with D&D alignments, I'd call him some sort of neutral (but definitely not lawful neutral). Also, he's actually a fantasy book main character who is not good at fighting at all - he's much better at using his brain. (And, just to be clear, he's not a mage of any sort either - just a clever rogue.)

I could not put this book down, and I thought it was a fairly unique fantasy book. It did have it's flaws early on and it's not what I'd call a masterpiece of literature, but I had so much fun with it and found it different enough from normal fantasy literature that I have to give it a pretty good score. It was the most entertaining book I'd read in quite a while.

One of the books that I consider to be top-tier is the recent sensation, The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. This book, The Lies of Locke Lamora, was published a year before The Name of the Wind and the two are, in my opinion, equals.

Both are typical, in that they weave the story of a charismatic (flawed genius) hero. What sets both apart from a sea of similar books is the quality of the writing, and how engaging the story is. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a much grittier tale than The Name of the Wind, but it also had me laughing out loud a lot more often than when I read the latter.

What attracted me to The Lies of Locke Lamora, at first, was a review which mentioned it as being “Ocean's Eleven in the middle ages”, and I think that that's about as good a single-phrase description can get. So if you liked Ocean's Eleven, and you liked The Name of the Wind (how can you not?!), then pick this one up, A.S.A.P.

There is this orphan that is good at stealing, and this guy who trains thieves. For some reason the “thief maker” needs to buy children in order to train them, there is no indication to why. Then he finds the boy to cause him too much trouble, so he sells him to a priest of the god of Trickery. I felt no immersion, no connection with the characters, no sympathy for the world or interest in the story. It could as well pass on present day. There is no fantasy here, nothing for me to care about.

Read 1:30 of 21:59 / 7%

I wrote a full review at SFF Book Review.

I am currently reading book 2 in the series (and hoping very much for book 3 to come out next year) which reminded me that this is one of my favorite fantasy books ever and I haven't officially squeed about it.

The characters drew me in immediately and I cound't get enough of the dialogue. It was sooo good. There's swearing, there are allusions to sex, there are moments when people vomit for an entire night and Scott Lynch makes it hilarious and thrilling at the same time. Do you really need to hear more than fantasy con men?

Personally, I can not get enough of Scott Lynch's writing and if the next book doesn't come out in 2013, I'll be more than happy to re-read the first two. This is what makes fantasy great. Authors coming up with new things, mixing tropes and original ideas.
If you like fantasy and you haven't read this book, pick it up now.

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.

I had seen descriptions of this novel as being Oceans 11 meets A Game of Thrones, and that fits very well to the first half or so. It almost becomes an organized crime story in the later parts.

This book has tons of action. Almost non-stop, the slower parts are few and far between. It also jumps back and forth in time a bit, telling back story at breaks in the action. I enjoyed those parts, the back story bits typically filled in info on what was about to happen in the main story line. A non-chronological timeline isn't an easy thing to pull off in a novel, and I felt Scott Lynch did a fantastic job.

I tend to enjoy novels in general, so my ratings skew high, but this book was a ton of fun, and well deserving of my 5 star rating. I look forward to reading future books in this series.

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.

The young little liar was really quite interesting. Sadly, the book isn't about him. Instead, it stars the vaguely clever adult Locke being neither smart nor capable, instead relying on a suicidal stubborn streak. Which would have still been fine if the story hadn't persisted in telling what was coming before it came. And at that point, I think I still would have been happy if some of the world's mysteries had been addressed. But they weren't.