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feedmefiction's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Vomit
lilifane's review
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: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
jaedia's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, and Violence
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 death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug use, Grief, Bullying, and Vomit
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