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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.
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.
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.
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
mckenziemreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
shellesspace's review against another edition
5.0
The Lies of Locke Lamora was everything I hoped it would be.
whammajamma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-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? No
3.5
Read this first as a teen. It's much more violent than I remembered, but thoroughly worth the re-read.
manjala's review against another edition
2.0
At this point I'm just kind of done with this book. But, I admire myself for actually finishing it. I got into a serious reading slump because of this one.
To be fair, it wasn't objectively "bad". I was just bored most of the time while reading it, and it didn't leave me feeling satisfied once I finished it.
One of my main points of critique is how unnecessarily long and (in my opinion) pretentious it was. Most of the writing could've been left out, and we would be left with a kind of interesting story. A story which, not like the summary suggests, isn't much about the "heist" or "thieving" theme at all. I was expecting a Heist book or a character-focused story, but instead I got neither. I have to admit there were some fun chapters and scenes, but compared to how much unnecessary info the book included I'm not convinced. There were whole chapters about stuff like... Baseball. and so many sentences about the weather and how the sky looked. But I didn't feel connected to the world at all.
The story didn't really get going until like... 55 percent into the book? And that is kind of sad. The pacing was MUCH faster in the last 1/4 of the book, which was one of the only parts I kind of enjoyed reading. Compared to the slow buildup of the first 3/4 it was all kind of resolved way too easily and quickly. I have no intentions of reading the next book (even though Scott literally ended with a new mystery, which I'm probably just gonna look up )
To be fair, it wasn't objectively "bad". I was just bored most of the time while reading it, and it didn't leave me feeling satisfied once I finished it.
One of my main points of critique is how unnecessarily long and (in my opinion) pretentious it was. Most of the writing could've been left out, and we would be left with a kind of interesting story. A story which, not like the summary suggests, isn't much about the "heist" or "thieving" theme at all. I was expecting a Heist book or a character-focused story, but instead I got neither. I have to admit there were some fun chapters and scenes, but compared to how much unnecessary info the book included I'm not convinced. There were whole chapters about stuff like... Baseball. and so many sentences about the weather and how the sky looked. But I didn't feel connected to the world at all.
The story didn't really get going until like... 55 percent into the book? And that is kind of sad. The pacing was MUCH faster in the last 1/4 of the book, which was one of the only parts I kind of enjoyed reading. Compared to the slow buildup of the first 3/4 it was all kind of resolved way too easily and quickly. I have no intentions of reading the next book (even though Scott literally ended with a new mystery, which I'm probably just gonna look up )
ewarnerburton's review against another edition
It’s basically a pretentious white guy circle jerk. We’re smarter than everyone. Were awesomer than everyone. No one can touch us. We’re morally grey because it’s fun. And literally nothing has happened except outlining some massive long cons that don’t seem like they needed to be that complicated. All to steal a bunch of money that they then put in their underground lair. They might as well play beer pong. The most interesting part so far was the shark fighting. And knowing that there is a bunch of violence towards women coming up… I’m out.