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fungivibes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
snowhite197's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
strangerthanfiction's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
myrymayranen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yes. Yes. Yes!
This is a pretty hyped book and I was afraid to read it sooner. Which I now greatly regret.
It's a fantasy book about a thief. And I should have known this for 20 years by now but this is like one of my favourite things ever. There are roughy two timelines, one where the protagonist, Locke Lamora, is a child and learns everythig there is to know about thievery. And the recent timeline, where Locke is grown up and plotting an intricate scheme to relieve some rich merchant couple of their fortune. But then other thieves are being killed in mysterious ways in the city and Locke gets caught up in a much bigger plot.
First of all: How amazing is that world building?! It's probably one of the most fascinating worlds I've ever read about. It seems like a simple fantasy version of Venice at first but oh boy, I gaped at the pages once more details were revealed. The mysterious history of the world and the glass structures and how cool is falselight! The way you get to know this world is just done so cleverly with the specific structre of the book. You have one regular chapter with recent events and then an Interlude chapter with the past plotline, then a regular chapter and an Interlude chapter again and so on. In the Interlude chapters you don't only get to know the characters better as you follow them as children, but also the world they are living in. And the information you learn in these Interlude chapters is then important for the regular chapter that follows. This structure actually helped me through some slower parts of the plot at the beginning.
Second: The plot. Asdfghjk!!! It's SO good, so clever, so twisty, so funny and even emotional. It's perfectly constructed from the very first to the very last page. I'm in awe. A warning though: you jump a lot in this story, not only between past and present plots but there are also jumps within the timelines. And I loved how these are used to make you laugh or worry, sometimes both at once. The ending actually made me cry, not because it was so emotional (which it was to some degree), but mostly because all puzzle pieces fit perfectly.
And last but not least: The characters. I love them. All of them. Every single one. (Except the obvious ones). Love the kids, love the grown ups. Love the found family trope in the story, that one special friendship. Love how every single character has not only a back story, but also a unique personality. Even characters I thoght were just plot devices have a special place in my heart now. And although it's written by a man and most protagonists are male, there are some of the coolest female characters ever in the book. Actually, every single female character is exceptionally well written in my opinion. They are cool, they are intelligent, they are badass.
Bonus: There is no romance plot. There is only one hinted at a few times (and I could totally live without it in the future although I won't be that lucky I fear).
The only critique I have is how white and heteronormative this world is (so far?). And that gay (well, a more colourful expression of it) is used as a very popular slur/swearword.
This is a pretty hyped book and I was afraid to read it sooner. Which I now greatly regret.
It's a fantasy book about a thief. And I should have known this for 20 years by now but this is like one of my favourite things ever. There are roughy two timelines, one where the protagonist, Locke Lamora, is a child and learns everythig there is to know about thievery. And the recent timeline, where Locke is grown up and plotting an intricate scheme to relieve some rich merchant couple of their fortune. But then other thieves are being killed in mysterious ways in the city and Locke gets caught up in a much bigger plot.
First of all: How amazing is that world building?! It's probably one of the most fascinating worlds I've ever read about. It seems like a simple fantasy version of Venice at first but oh boy, I gaped at the pages once more details were revealed. The mysterious history of the world and the glass structures and how cool is falselight! The way you get to know this world is just done so cleverly with the specific structre of the book. You have one regular chapter with recent events and then an Interlude chapter with the past plotline, then a regular chapter and an Interlude chapter again and so on. In the Interlude chapters you don't only get to know the characters better as you follow them as children, but also the world they are living in. And the information you learn in these Interlude chapters is then important for the regular chapter that follows. This structure actually helped me through some slower parts of the plot at the beginning.
Second: The plot. Asdfghjk!!! It's SO good, so clever, so twisty, so funny and even emotional. It's perfectly constructed from the very first to the very last page. I'm in awe. A warning though: you jump a lot in this story, not only between past and present plots but there are also jumps within the timelines. And I loved how these are used to make you laugh or worry, sometimes both at once. The ending actually made me cry, not because it was so emotional (which it was to some degree), but mostly because all puzzle pieces fit perfectly.
And last but not least: The characters. I love them. All of them. Every single one. (Except the obvious ones). Love the kids, love the grown ups. Love the found family trope in the story, that one special friendship. Love how every single character has not only a back story, but also a unique personality. Even characters I thoght were just plot devices have a special place in my heart now. And although it's written by a man and most protagonists are male, there are some of the coolest female characters ever in the book. Actually, every single female character is exceptionally well written in my opinion. They are cool, they are intelligent, they are badass.
Bonus: There is no romance plot. There is only one hinted at a few times (and I could totally live without it in the future although I won't be that lucky I fear).
The only critique I have is how white and heteronormative this world is (so far?). And that gay (well, a more colourful expression of it) is used as a very popular slur/swearword.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Murder
lalu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
read in 2020
I had heard a lot about this book beforehand and I had high expectations - which were surpassed. This book is amazing, it's witty, gripping and I don't think I've ever had this much fun while reading!
I had heard a lot about this book beforehand and I had high expectations - which were surpassed. This book is amazing, it's witty, gripping and I don't think I've ever had this much fun while reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Excrement
Minor: Bullying and Sexual content
viorvix's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing
rachwalker's review against another edition
I got a fair way into this before finding the torture scenes too dark and overwhelming. The book is bleak and brutal - well-written, and if it's your cup of tea, fair play to you, but it was affecting me too much to continue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Blood
linkamarisa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This has definitely become one of my bew favorite books. I absolutely love our main characters and the Scott Lynchs amazing writing style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, and Excrement
Minor: Animal cruelty
felofhe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
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