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rainyfellaa's review against another edition
3.0
What to say about this book it's really good considering the purpose of it that is setting this new world, in my opinion that is it's very same problem it has to introduce us to this new complex world it has to explain the past of the protagonist and keep the reader interested at the same time that it's pretty hard but when it gets all done and start running(pretty late for my liking)all starts making sense and it's almost impossible to put the book down
I think what bothered me the most and was really tiring for me to read was all that scheme to rob Lorenzo I think if that would have worked more to be more risky and to blow us up then it would have been perfect.
The characters were totally likeable bug was one of the characters I liked the most his personality was just amazing and Locke was really cool too and understanding his beginning was a pretty good way to make us like him more I liked jean too but my problem was with the brothers sanza I didn't felt a thing for them they just weren't as likeable in my opinion although they have some wholesome moments too but in general I feel that with a good starting mission a risky one,one that could've exploit their skills,of all the team would've worked great to make the beginning way better
I think what bothered me the most and was really tiring for me to read was all that scheme to rob Lorenzo I think if that would have worked more to be more risky and to blow us up then it would have been perfect.
The characters were totally likeable bug was one of the characters I liked the most his personality was just amazing and Locke was really cool too and understanding his beginning was a pretty good way to make us like him more I liked jean too but my problem was with the brothers sanza I didn't felt a thing for them they just weren't as likeable in my opinion although they have some wholesome moments too but in general I feel that with a good starting mission a risky one,one that could've exploit their skills,of all the team would've worked great to make the beginning way better
samueldhall's review against another edition
5.0
The Lies Of Locke Lamora Review
If you can’t be bothered reading - watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzAaMjEFqt0
Wrap-up
The Lies of Locke Lamora follows a small team of incredibly likeable misfits known as 'The Gentleman Bastards’ on their journey of thievery and general desire to con people. Everything seems to be going smoothly up until the moment a person called the Grey King arrives and then things hit the fan.
This is a grim-dark novel with a tone of dark humour and enjoyment to keep you turning the pages, and honestly, I think it’s my favourite book of this year so far and will even sit in my top fantasy novels of all time. Let’s get to a few pros and a few cons.
Pros
Characters
I found the characters so incredibly likeable, there are competent, witty and the banter between our main characters is enough to keep you chuckling throughout the book, even when stupidly dark things are happening around or to them. I really enjoyed the gritty nature of their character development, and the different shades of each that we see throughout the book and this book has a fairly even drive of character development and plot development which I found incredibly fascinating, and should make both character driven readers and plot driven readers happy.
World-building
Scott Lynch has an incredible ability to make the city of Camoor very real inside your mind while you’re reading this novel. From the religious aspects, to the crime syndicates and how they’re balanced by the authority, the social structures, economy, it’s all there. It’s not world building on an epic fantasy level, but the city is incredibly fleshed out and detailed and that’s something that is certainly helped by the prose.
I thought the prose in this novel was beautiful. There are some in depth and illuminating descriptions about buildings, light and the water that you can just fall into early on. I did find times where that over description started to drag me back, especially towards the end of the book where the story starts to really take off.
Cons
Flashback interludes can get a little difficult and confusing at times. If you’re someone who finds flashbacks quite jarring, this could be an issue. For example, there is one flashback where one of the main characters is told he’s getting sent to a farm to learn lots of different things to help him with impersonation skills, and I thought oh fantastic this’ll open up the world outside of the city and we’ll get to learn some things and see some character growth in a different direction, and he starts travelling out there and then suddenly it flicks back to present day and he’s back in the city. I think there’s a few moments like this throughout the novel that could’ve been summed up with a moment of introspection from the character, or a quip from one of his friends about his time there and what he learnt.
On the same side of that, there is another character who is sent to a death goddesses temple, and what he learns there does play into the overall plot further down the line, so that is maybe the smallest little negative for me.
This wasn’t a negative for me obviously because I put it in the things I loved section, but if you don’t like very detailed descriptions about a world, you might find yourself bogged down. I’ll also say that if you’re not a fan of explicit language you might want to avoid this book, I really enjoyed the way characters used explicit languages and new ways of taunting other people, but if you’re sensitive to that type of thing this book will grate against you.
Summary -
This book is incredible and easily fits into my top fantasy books of all-time. The Lies of Locke Lamora could be a fantastic standalone novel but learning that it’s intended to be a 7 book series makes me very excited to jump straight back into the world of the gentleman bastards. I’m going to give this book a 4.75 out of 5, I honestly enjoyed it so much. I can understand that there are parts of this novel which may rub certain readers the wrong way, but on personal enjoyment I couldn’t really have asked for anything more. I highly recommend getting it if you haven’t read it, and re-reading it if you have.
If you can’t be bothered reading - watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzAaMjEFqt0
Wrap-up
The Lies of Locke Lamora follows a small team of incredibly likeable misfits known as 'The Gentleman Bastards’ on their journey of thievery and general desire to con people. Everything seems to be going smoothly up until the moment a person called the Grey King arrives and then things hit the fan.
This is a grim-dark novel with a tone of dark humour and enjoyment to keep you turning the pages, and honestly, I think it’s my favourite book of this year so far and will even sit in my top fantasy novels of all time. Let’s get to a few pros and a few cons.
Pros
Characters
I found the characters so incredibly likeable, there are competent, witty and the banter between our main characters is enough to keep you chuckling throughout the book, even when stupidly dark things are happening around or to them. I really enjoyed the gritty nature of their character development, and the different shades of each that we see throughout the book and this book has a fairly even drive of character development and plot development which I found incredibly fascinating, and should make both character driven readers and plot driven readers happy.
World-building
Scott Lynch has an incredible ability to make the city of Camoor very real inside your mind while you’re reading this novel. From the religious aspects, to the crime syndicates and how they’re balanced by the authority, the social structures, economy, it’s all there. It’s not world building on an epic fantasy level, but the city is incredibly fleshed out and detailed and that’s something that is certainly helped by the prose.
I thought the prose in this novel was beautiful. There are some in depth and illuminating descriptions about buildings, light and the water that you can just fall into early on. I did find times where that over description started to drag me back, especially towards the end of the book where the story starts to really take off.
Cons
Flashback interludes can get a little difficult and confusing at times. If you’re someone who finds flashbacks quite jarring, this could be an issue. For example, there is one flashback where one of the main characters is told he’s getting sent to a farm to learn lots of different things to help him with impersonation skills, and I thought oh fantastic this’ll open up the world outside of the city and we’ll get to learn some things and see some character growth in a different direction, and he starts travelling out there and then suddenly it flicks back to present day and he’s back in the city. I think there’s a few moments like this throughout the novel that could’ve been summed up with a moment of introspection from the character, or a quip from one of his friends about his time there and what he learnt.
On the same side of that, there is another character who is sent to a death goddesses temple, and what he learns there does play into the overall plot further down the line, so that is maybe the smallest little negative for me.
This wasn’t a negative for me obviously because I put it in the things I loved section, but if you don’t like very detailed descriptions about a world, you might find yourself bogged down. I’ll also say that if you’re not a fan of explicit language you might want to avoid this book, I really enjoyed the way characters used explicit languages and new ways of taunting other people, but if you’re sensitive to that type of thing this book will grate against you.
Summary -
This book is incredible and easily fits into my top fantasy books of all-time. The Lies of Locke Lamora could be a fantastic standalone novel but learning that it’s intended to be a 7 book series makes me very excited to jump straight back into the world of the gentleman bastards. I’m going to give this book a 4.75 out of 5, I honestly enjoyed it so much. I can understand that there are parts of this novel which may rub certain readers the wrong way, but on personal enjoyment I couldn’t really have asked for anything more. I highly recommend getting it if you haven’t read it, and re-reading it if you have.
nickelwing_td's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Something like a noir heist story mixed with an D&D campaign? After a slightly slow beginning, this book totally captured my imagination and attention. Terrific fantasy world-building.
callahanb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rainmisoa's review against another edition
This is too much of a "boys' book" for me to enjoy this. Lynch keeps referring to women as whores and overly sexualizes them. He's constantly using swear words as if he's a child that just learned how to say the word "fuck", and the humor is so crude it just comes off as juvenile. I have better books to read that I know I'm going to enjoy. How this is considered one of the best fantasy books ever written is beyond me.
eferisman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
paulreads's review against another edition
5.0
This is dense (in the best way) and immersive. I had so much fun reading this and can't wait to start the next installment!
beckeal's review against another edition
5.0
Finally! That’s the book I’ve been waiting for!! It feels like a while since I had one I couldn’t wait to pick up. That I ignored life’s responsibilities for. One with characters I love and friendships I love. One that surprised me. And then surprised me again. And then again. Oh man. Good.
Fair warning, if you’re the kind of reader who wants high octane right off the jump ... the first couple hundred pages are much slower than the rest, but still fun to read and I think necessary to hook you and get you sufficiently invested and in love enough to properly wallop you with the last half.
Now I can’t decide whether to dive right into the second in the series, or draw it out so I don’t have to say goodbye to this world and these people so soon.
So. Very. Satisfying.
Fair warning, if you’re the kind of reader who wants high octane right off the jump ... the first couple hundred pages are much slower than the rest, but still fun to read and I think necessary to hook you and get you sufficiently invested and in love enough to properly wallop you with the last half.
Now I can’t decide whether to dive right into the second in the series, or draw it out so I don’t have to say goodbye to this world and these people so soon.
So. Very. Satisfying.
rynflynn12's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75