Reviews

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

jumpingskyline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

socialamoebaemily's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

I loved this book!! It's a like a heist novel set in a fantasy world that's similar to a very brutal medieval Vienna with bits of magic. It's also self contained which is nice and I loved the ending. Looking back you can see all the pieces and how they'll fit together but I really did not see most of what happened coming. 

 The tone of the story is so light and funny but the words are so harsh and brutal so much of the time but it worked well. I think if the tone was more serious and dark the novel would have an entirely different feel and be quite depressing. I don't think I would have liked Locke as much either. The audiobook was also great. The tone is expressed to clearly in the words but the narrator did a great job as well which enhanced everything.

I'm definitely going to read the rest of the series. Highly recommended!!

spacejerky's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

caitblg's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-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

4.0

emy_k's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

el_dorado's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

alexiasp's review against another edition

I can see the appeal, but I'm so bored.  The plot moves slower than I expected, and I was hoping for an exhilarating experience. The crew is pleasant but lacks distinct voices, sometimes making it hard to tell them apart. They all curse just as much, in the same way, even the nobility, which doesn't seem appropriate. It also focuses a lot on the city's lore, but I don't care for it since I'm not that invested. The Interludes are the only parts I enjoy because they provide the most character development and focus on Locke. 
I prefer fantasy that focuses more on interesting magic systems.

scarletsnake's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

I liked this but definitely did not love it. I love the setting and worldbuilding but found the plot and characters mediocre.

So, despite how it starts, this is not a heist story or a story about confidence games. The main cast might be con men, but this is a gang/mafia revenge story. The villain is not defeated by the protagonist's clever plan but by a brutal sword fight between the two. That is not to say that the fact that Locke, the protagonist, is a con man is not important to both his character and the plot. Not being a heist story is not bad either. I found the early chapters that focused on that to be some of the most boring and poorly paced. I brought this up because I saw a lot of other reviews comparing it to heist movies. That and how the story starts gave me the wrong impression and left me a little disappointed with how action-heavy it all was.

I am not sure I can explain why I find the characters and plot lacking. Not much good, I can say; not much bad. Thankfully the worldbuilding picks up the slack. The city of Camorr and its glass was fascinating. A setting that heavily integrates alchemy into everything and has more magics, but they are rare and mysterious. With such a great reason for that rarity. A lot of wizards formed an evil mage guild and eliminated all competition.

Reading the summaries of the next two books in this series leads me to believe that I will not enjoy continuing. It sounds like the action keeps up or increases, and Sabetha, the only female member of Locke's gang, does not make an appearance until book 3. She is away in another city or lost in both the stories present and all flashback scenes. This was my biggest disappointment, as I felt the main cast really needed some diversity. 

christiano's review against another edition

5.0

I'll admit, it took me a bit to really get into this. But after a while it really had its hooks in me. It is the kind of book that lets me set aside other spare time activities in favor of "one more chapter". 

I will definitely read the next book sometime soon. 

This is my first series after finally becoming a subscriber to The Broken Binding and let me tell you - those editions are absolutely gorgeous. The third one should be here soon, too.

chopp2111's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0