Scan barcode
kassabitte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The premise of this book is really splendid-Memorable concept: pirate-y - mafia - Venice, Italy vibes. I really enjoyed the dry humor and wit of the dialogue. Towards the end it really felt like a comedy action movie with lots of blood. Sadly it lagged a bit for me in the middle but it's very long so maybe that's to be expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
lybarron's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
5.0
Fun as hell. An excellent grimdark heist fantasy. The world felt immersive and despite it's crassness and dark themes it was funny and I enjoyed following along with the antics of all the characters.
I do think the book could have had better representation of women, but my hopes are that this first book will set the foundation for better stories to come.
I do think the book could have had better representation of women, but my hopes are that this first book will set the foundation for better stories to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, Excrement, Blood, and Gore
cassie7e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Dark and violent but consistently funny and compelling as well. An intriguing world, subtle grounded magic, and lovable thieves. Scenes from different timelines woven together at just the right times to reveal information and character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Classism, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Alcohol
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
It took a moment for me to get used to the structure of the book: chapters written in parts with an interlude at the end of each chapter which is like a flashback. Once I got used to this stule of stroytelling, it became easier to engage with, however, there were times when the story was engaging and I couldn't put it down for like 100-150 pages, and other times where I struggled to get to the next part. It also felt like some of the paragraphs had been very heavily attacked by a thesaurus which meant I had to reread sections just to understand what was going on.
Criticisms aside, the story was full of twists and turns and more deaths that a season of Grey's Anatomy. The worldbuilding was full of description and even had its own calendar system. The characters were fantastically written, both good and bad characters. They brought me joy, anger, and heartbreak at times. Locke is an interesting character to me because as someone who is supposed to be the brains of the operation, he sure does make a whole bunch of mistakes and then continues acting like he is the cleverest being known to man.
I am unsure if I will continue the trilogy as this one felt like it could be a standalone, but we shall see.
Criticisms aside, the story was full of twists and turns and more deaths that a season of Grey's Anatomy. The worldbuilding was full of description and even had its own calendar system. The characters were fantastically written, both good and bad characters. They brought me joy, anger, and heartbreak at times. Locke is an interesting character to me because as someone who is supposed to be the brains of the operation, he sure does make a whole bunch of mistakes and then continues acting like he is the cleverest being known to man.
I am unsure if I will continue the trilogy as this one felt like it could be a standalone, but we shall see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Vomit
Minor: Classism and Animal death
maidofbees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was actually my third attempt at reading this book, and I finally did it! The content is a lot darker than my usual fantasy reads, which I think is why I struggled. That said, it was also funny and had a lot of heart. It's a shame there weren't many female characters- those that were in this book were minor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content
Minor: Terminal illness
mermaidreef's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was just.......a good time. Really funny, good banter between characters, like I had to put the book down and laugh.
Definitely VERY long for what it is....Lynch does not skimp on the detail, and portions of the book really drag, especially with the way the book is structured, with short interludes between nearly every chapter, all of which mark a shift in timeline or POV. The first 300 pages felt like a bit of an uphill slog, as they were mostly establishing characters and worldbuilding. The flipside of this is that the worldbuilding is EXQUISITE. He also does this without really obvious heavy info-dump paragraphs, cleverly couching bits of information into dialogue between characters and through the POV characters' observations. Because of this, there's very little feeling of breaking the fourth wall throughout the book which makes for a much more immersive experience.
Shit really hits the fan about halfway through and even I (literally never surprised or shook at plot developments) was clutching my pearls and gasping in disbelief. Maybe because the first half lulls you into such a false sense of safety.
This did suffer from Boy Book Syndrome however mainly bc the misogyny was jumping out......tell me why every character who's a woman is either swiftly murdered or is simply mentioned repeatedly without appearing in the story ever. Or made into a joke immediately!!! There is one moment in particular near the end that really fell into this category
Need to read something written by a woman next bc I can only read so much about a funny little con man who has no other personality traits or inner life I need CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Solid book though overall despite my complaints
Definitely VERY long for what it is....Lynch does not skimp on the detail, and portions of the book really drag, especially with the way the book is structured, with short interludes between nearly every chapter, all of which mark a shift in timeline or POV. The first 300 pages felt like a bit of an uphill slog, as they were mostly establishing characters and worldbuilding. The flipside of this is that the worldbuilding is EXQUISITE. He also does this without really obvious heavy info-dump paragraphs, cleverly couching bits of information into dialogue between characters and through the POV characters' observations. Because of this, there's very little feeling of breaking the fourth wall throughout the book which makes for a much more immersive experience.
Shit really hits the fan about halfway through and even I (literally never surprised or shook at plot developments) was clutching my pearls and gasping in disbelief. Maybe because the first half lulls you into such a false sense of safety.
This did suffer from Boy Book Syndrome however mainly bc the misogyny was jumping out......tell me why every character who's a woman is either swiftly murdered or is simply mentioned repeatedly without appearing in the story ever. Or made into a joke immediately!!! There is one moment in particular near the end that really fell into this category
Need to read something written by a woman next bc I can only read so much about a funny little con man who has no other personality traits or inner life I need CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Solid book though overall despite my complaints
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
emeraldrina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I’m honestly really baffled by all the rave reviews of this book… it was a fun heist story in a unique and quirky fantasy world, but nothing particularly special or great. There were quite a lot of major flaws that unfortunately really took away from the book’s highlights.
I’ll start with the good - the world building is incredible. It’s intricate, original, and holds so many mysteries yet to be answered. The descriptions are beautiful and detailed, making it easy to picture this strange world.
But therein also lies one of the major downfalls of the book - there’s far too much world building detail and description throughout the book. Between every chapter there’s an “interlude” - initially these are all flashbacks to the characters’ past to give insight into how or why they’re doing certain things now. But about halfway through the book the interludes just turn into unnecessary world building info dumps that jar the reader out of the story. Many of these are superfluous - the information was already conveyed in a more interesting manner via the main story, as it should be. The rest are just pointless to the main story, and feel more like the author is insisting on showing off exactly how much work he put into his world building.
Likewise with the descriptions - they’re written not as part of the story, but in the author’s voice, butting in between the action to tell us as much detail as he can because he wrote it all and doesn’t want it to go to waste. They’re beautifully written, but they’re not in the POV character’s voice, so they don’t feel like part of the story. They feel like unnecessary interruptions.
As for the characters, they mostly have clear voices and personalities and flaws. However, the main character is utterly lacking in internal conflict. Up until the villain shows up (which is waaaay too late in the book), Locke had no real goal or motivation in life. He has a major flaw, but no related overarching misbelief about the world or fear that’s driving him to act in ways counter to his goal. He’s just … a thief stealing money for the sake of it. He never learns anything, never transforms, never really changes at all. And this is why the first couple hundred pages of the book are such a drag - we don’t care about Locke because he has no internal conflict. We start caring a bit when the inciting attack fiiiinally happens near the halfway point, but this is still just external conflict. So even after that initial attack, there weren’t really any different stakes for Locke than for anyone else in that situation. So we still didn’t care all that much.
The final problem is the schemes. They’re supposed to be genius level clever… but they’re not. They’re quite frankly idiotic. They seem to have been purposely designed to fail easily - which of course they have. But only the author should know that, not the readers! The gaping holes in the schemes in turn make the plot transparently predictable. Which is even less fun than usual in a heist story.
I really didn’t hate the book as much as this makes it sound. The dialogue was amusing, the world was fascinating, and the prose was lovely. It just fell a lot flatter than I was expecting after reading so many great reviews.
I’ll start with the good - the world building is incredible. It’s intricate, original, and holds so many mysteries yet to be answered. The descriptions are beautiful and detailed, making it easy to picture this strange world.
But therein also lies one of the major downfalls of the book - there’s far too much world building detail and description throughout the book. Between every chapter there’s an “interlude” - initially these are all flashbacks to the characters’ past to give insight into how or why they’re doing certain things now. But about halfway through the book the interludes just turn into unnecessary world building info dumps that jar the reader out of the story. Many of these are superfluous - the information was already conveyed in a more interesting manner via the main story, as it should be. The rest are just pointless to the main story, and feel more like the author is insisting on showing off exactly how much work he put into his world building.
Likewise with the descriptions - they’re written not as part of the story, but in the author’s voice, butting in between the action to tell us as much detail as he can because he wrote it all and doesn’t want it to go to waste. They’re beautifully written, but they’re not in the POV character’s voice, so they don’t feel like part of the story. They feel like unnecessary interruptions.
As for the characters, they mostly have clear voices and personalities and flaws. However, the main character is utterly lacking in internal conflict. Up until the villain shows up (which is waaaay too late in the book), Locke had no real goal or motivation in life. He has a major flaw, but no related overarching misbelief about the world or fear that’s driving him to act in ways counter to his goal. He’s just … a thief stealing money for the sake of it. He never learns anything, never transforms, never really changes at all. And this is why the first couple hundred pages of the book are such a drag - we don’t care about Locke because he has no internal conflict. We start caring a bit when the inciting attack fiiiinally happens near the halfway point, but this is still just external conflict. So even after that initial attack, there weren’t really any different stakes for Locke than for anyone else in that situation. So we still didn’t care all that much.
The final problem is the schemes. They’re supposed to be genius level clever… but they’re not. They’re quite frankly idiotic. They seem to have been purposely designed to fail easily - which of course they have. But only the author should know that, not the readers! The gaping holes in the schemes in turn make the plot transparently predictable. Which is even less fun than usual in a heist story.
I really didn’t hate the book as much as this makes it sound. The dialogue was amusing, the world was fascinating, and the prose was lovely. It just fell a lot flatter than I was expecting after reading so many great reviews.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Child death, Gore, Violence, Trafficking, Vomit, and Cursing
kazzerdam's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
lanid's review
adventurous
dark
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, and Police brutality
Minor: Slavery, Trafficking, and Xenophobia
dragonaion's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
This book is brilliant, a wild ride, and I was delightfully surprised. I thought this would be a story of a petty thief who would get caught and end up escaping in a new Robin Hood retelling. What I got was something completely in a world of its own that has almost made me cry repeatedly. What can only be described as "grunge fantasy" (high fantasy 1,000 years post societal collapse in the slums of New York) this has more heart, love, and sheer brilliance than almost any other book I've read to date. Every moment, every interlude, weaves together in such a way that turns this from a story into art, following a batch of characters that are relatable, lovable, and wears no plot armor. I cannot gush more about how amazing and unique this book is- if you have fond memories of the concept of the brotherhood in Theives, this is just the story for you.
"Liar... Liar... Liar... Bastard!"
Edit: I've found another book that is a sibling-story to this. If you enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora, you will absolutely feel right at home with Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.
"Liar... Liar... Liar... Bastard!"
Edit: I've found another book that is a sibling-story to this. If you enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora, you will absolutely feel right at home with Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Torture, Violence, Sexual content, and Gore
Minor: Gore, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Medical content, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
This is intended for adult readers, starting at the end of an epidemic sparing only children, contains sexual content, violence, gore, animal cruelty, graphic animal death (only at one point), and mentions slavery all in a realistic lense.