Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The Lies of Locke Lamora

The Lies of Locke Lamora excels in every aspect that most modern fantasy novels strive to perfect. The setting is intricate and lived-in; there are details and systems in the setting that take time to fully understand, and the author doesn't inundate you with all the exposition you're going to need at the start of the book. Magic exists, but enough questions are answered that we don't have to ask: if so-and-so is possible, why haven't these societal problems been fixed by now? Lynch's plot is also one that is completely original. Our protagonist is one of the classic fantasy archetypes: the scoundrel, but beyond that the narrative is always shifting organically. There are no points where I'm aware of the plot structure; where the story is simply going through the motions. This is a fantastic entry in modern fantasy, and I can understand why it's so well renowned. 9.5/10.

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kaziaroo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

This book was okay. I didn't love it, didn't hate it.

Things I liked:
- the characters and their relationships were likeable and interesting, and the side characters were fun
- it was entertaining to read and the ending was satisfying. It would be fine as a stand-alone read – I haven't yet decided whether to read the sequel
- the setting was very rich and felt like a real place – I loved the Falselight and the Elderglass structures. The religious and social settings were also interesting.

What I didn't like:
- Unfortunately my Kindle edition didn't come with a map but I think paper editions do. A map would have made the characters' movements easier to follow.
- There's a lot of swearing – obviously this is personal preference and I did get used to it after a while.
- a lot of the dialogue felt very modern (and American) and at odds with the historical, Italian-inspired setting. Hearing members of the nobility coming out with phrases like "surely you must be kidding" was jarring and took me right out of the story. Characters of different social backgrounds also all seemed to talk in the same way.
- the pacing was all over the place. One moment there's a flurry of action and the next there's thirty pages of trying to swindle some stuffy bankers out of their clothes. I found the first half pretty boring and the second half only just made up for it. The narrative style is very episodic, almost more suited to a magazine or TV show than a novel.
- the main villain is very mysterious, but actually so much so that I found it harder to take him seriously. When we do find out more about him, it's in an info-dump right near the end of the book.
- although I praised the setting, I did find the book a bit too descriptive. I didn't really care what specific food the characters were eating or what it looked like, or the precise sectors of the city the characters walked through from A to B. Maybe if I'd had a map... The narrator also name-drops a lot, and my edition didn't have a glossary either. There are a lot of names of gods, locations, months/days, etc and I ended up skimming over whole sentences that were just a string of unfamiliar names that had no bearing on the rest of the book.

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veronika_kasardova's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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grayscale08's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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corvicore's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

I'm mad i read this book so early in the year cause i honestly don't think anything i read for next 10 months will top it.

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randanopterix's review

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adventurous dark funny tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I have so much to say about this book it’s honesty impossible to say it all. As far as I’m concerned, it’s perfect. No book has made me laugh as often and few books have made me cry as hard. I have BIG FEELINGS about this book.

It’s heists are genius in their construction, the characters are insanely loveable, the dialogue is realistic and hilarious, and the relationships built between the cast are surprisingly heartwarming. Now, if you think the stakes are high 100 pages in, friend, I hope you’re ready to be stressed as FUCK because the stakes only get higher and higher.

I’m obsessed with this book, not much more to say past that.

Tagging the rest of this review as spoilers as it’s pretty much going to include notes from my annotations:

• Jean Tannen is a murderous, sensitive, smart, fat king and I hope he lives to be 200 and the rest of his life full of happiness and joy.

• Locke is a terrible little rat of a man who I desperately want to be happy. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, king.

• Calo and Galdo, real ones. Y’all didn’t deserve any of that.

• Bug absolutely fucking broke me. Heartbroken. The worst part was that I read up to Calo and Galdo’s death when I had to clock out from work. I had the whole ride home to be shattered about them and scheme about how Bug, Jean, and Locke were gonna take revenge before I finally got home to read the rest of the chapter….

• WHERE. IS. SABETHA.

• Bondsmagi OP, plz nerf /s

• Doña Vorchenza keeps taking those L’s.

• Let me preface this by saying that I LOVED the way women were written and portrayed in this book. Absolutely none of it was patronizing or unrealistic and they were all distinct characters capable of the same level of cunning and brutality as any of their male counterparts. THAT BEING SAID: Was a little disappointed that the two women characters who had potential to be a part of the main crew as it were (Nazca and Sabetha) were neatly folded up and put away for the majority of the novel. Hoping I get to know what the deal is w Sabetha in the next book because she didn’t even show up in the flashback portions of this one and it made her feel like she wasn’t even a part of the Bastards…

• The bank scene is genuinely one of the most insane, most clever, and most hilarious things I’ve ever read. POOR BENJAVIER.

• I was on the toilet during the scene where Locke speaks Bug’s true name and let me tell you, crying heartily about that while pooping was not my most dignified moment.

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