Paperback, 544 pages
English language
Published Feb. 1, 2007 by Gollancz.
An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.
I waited to have time to appreciate this one after starting it once before. I am so impressed with Lynch's craft. This book is fun, but it's also artistic, filled with brilliant witty dialogue and descriptions that are storytelling themselves, like how goats are gentled, which turns out to be REALLY important. Simply put, I loved it.
These days, very few books keep me up until 2 at night. This one did it for me.
In a fantasy city inspired by Venice in the Renaissance, Locke Lamora is a thief. Not any common thief though, he's been brought up to be the BEST thief, along with his crew. He made me think of Arsène Lupin or Fantômas (minus the sadistic approach—which is taken by Lamora's enemies).
The action is fast-paced, the world is well made, but I regret that almost all major characters are men.
So, let me get one thing clear, many people will absolutely love this book. The characters are interesting, the dialogue was fun, and the world-building had so many details it seemed real.
So, what's the problem? A personal preference, really. I rarely like flashbacks, and on average every other chapter of this book was a flashback. I sometimes like brief glances into the past, but it is always the main plot that keeps me going. A few times the flashbacks broke the feel of the story for me. Someone's life was at risk, and it was like someone stopped to think "remember when...." and killed the anticipation for me.
I think it was a great book for someone out there, but not for me.
PROS:
-World building
-Interesting characters
-Fun dialogue
-Good story
-Great story of friendship bonds
-No random romance plots
CONS
-Flashbacks. So many flashbacks.
-The author really …
So, let me get one thing clear, many people will absolutely love this book. The characters are interesting, the dialogue was fun, and the world-building had so many details it seemed real.
So, what's the problem? A personal preference, really. I rarely like flashbacks, and on average every other chapter of this book was a flashback. I sometimes like brief glances into the past, but it is always the main plot that keeps me going. A few times the flashbacks broke the feel of the story for me. Someone's life was at risk, and it was like someone stopped to think "remember when...." and killed the anticipation for me.
I think it was a great book for someone out there, but not for me.
PROS:
-World building
-Interesting characters
-Fun dialogue
-Good story
-Great story of friendship bonds
-No random romance plots
CONS
-Flashbacks. So many flashbacks.
-The author really seems to dislike sharks..?
This was an excellent book and a great counterpoint to the last book I read (a detective novel). The characters and plot are top-notch and the setting is quite interesting too. While this is part of a series, this book feels very complete. I'm not sure how the story will progress beyond the first book, but there is at least one element left open that I think may be addressed. I will certainly be reading the other books in this series.
My full review is on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-review-lies-of-locke-lamora-by.html
Going from Deadhouse Gates to The Lies of Locke Lamora was like going from a harsh, arctic country to a balmy beach on the Mediterranean. The writing of the one book is so harsh, and the writing of Scott Lynch's debut is so lovely, full of colorful descriptions of its world. I loved this book, probably more than I should have. In fact, I haven't enjoyed a fantasy book this much since Name of the Wind, even though fantasy as an element is used very sparingly.
Locke Lamora is an orphan in the city of Camorr, this world's equivalent of Renaissance Venice, with pseudo-Italian names, canals, crime bosses and nobility. As a young boy he is sold off to the Temple of Perelando when he turned out to be just a touch too clever to be a normal young thief. At the temple, he is trained to join the Gentlemen …
Going from Deadhouse Gates to The Lies of Locke Lamora was like going from a harsh, arctic country to a balmy beach on the Mediterranean. The writing of the one book is so harsh, and the writing of Scott Lynch's debut is so lovely, full of colorful descriptions of its world. I loved this book, probably more than I should have. In fact, I haven't enjoyed a fantasy book this much since Name of the Wind, even though fantasy as an element is used very sparingly.
Locke Lamora is an orphan in the city of Camorr, this world's equivalent of Renaissance Venice, with pseudo-Italian names, canals, crime bosses and nobility. As a young boy he is sold off to the Temple of Perelando when he turned out to be just a touch too clever to be a normal young thief. At the temple, he is trained to join the Gentlemen Bastards, a group of extremely skilled scam artists, who rob the nobility, mostly just because they can.
My mental association immediately went to a crazy mix of Ocean's Eleven, The Godfather and Assassin's Creed. Everytime an elderglass tower was described, I thought 'Ezio Auditore would climb those towers!'. Needless to say, I love Assassin's Creed's setting very much, and I loved it here in the book as well. It just worked for me. There are no Borgias as enemy, no Templars, but Capa Raza makes for an interesting nemesis.
As I mentioned, fantasy is only used in the form of two elements: the Camorri citizens work the art of alchemy, creating such wondrous fruit as the orange that grows filled with brandy, light globes and similar. There's multiple mentions of a race called Eldren that left wondrous buildings of elderglass behind a thousand years ago. And there are the bondmages of Karthain, powerful mages that go out of their way to punish any transgressions against them. I have a feeling they will be important in the next book.
The Lies of Locke Lamora is full of twists and turns, foul language and foul events (like being drowned alive in horse piss), and people die. But it also made me laugh and be moved by Locke, especially at the end of the book. I am looking forward to the next book, which promises more of the same plus PIRATES. This should be good.
