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A review by jadejoro
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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
Absolute masterpiece of a book.
Three things to note:
1) This book is for adults. Every character, especially the lead, is a morally gray bundle of trauma and issues. If you need a relatively good guy to cheer for in order to enjoy a book, you will not find one here. Also, pretty much every adult content warning applies. (see below)
2) It's long. And I don't just mean word count (although yes, that's high). Part of Locke's survival skills is his ability to notice *everything*, so you as the reader will also be noticing everything. I personally found this abundance of details delightful, mainly because of Lynch's wonderful use of language. If you allow yourself to sink into the story, the slow pacing and highly descriptive language will leave you as familiar with Camorr as Locke himself by the end of the book.
3) As said above, it's slow. Lynch let's his characters tell the story, and a lot of them are no hurry whatsoever. You'll jump from the present to the childhoods of more than one character, learning about religion, politics, and history alongside our thieves in training. Slow though they be, not a single one of these side stories is a waste; in fact, several of them directly inform the present day story in the chapter immediately preceding or following it.
As for the actual plot of the book, I think the back cover blurb does the complex story few favors. Generally speaking, we have a group of thieves who steal mostly for the joy of it. They solely target the uber rich, breaking the "Secret Peace" maintained by Camorr's organized crime system. This makes Locke and his gang targets on all fronts -- the duke's Spider wants him caught, and the lower city's Capa would happily skin them alive if he knew what the Gentleman Bastards were up to. Despite the danger, Locke and his gang love their lifestyle. So, when a masked usurper puts both their lives and their livelihoods in danger, the Gentleman Bastards find themselves in a convoluted plot that mixes politics, revenge, pride, and greed.
I highly recommend this suave, riveting low fantasy adventure to anyone with the time and energy needed to appreciate it.
Three things to note:
1) This book is for adults. Every character, especially the lead, is a morally gray bundle of trauma and issues. If you need a relatively good guy to cheer for in order to enjoy a book, you will not find one here. Also, pretty much every adult content warning applies. (see below)
2) It's long. And I don't just mean word count (although yes, that's high). Part of Locke's survival skills is his ability to notice *everything*, so you as the reader will also be noticing everything. I personally found this abundance of details delightful, mainly because of Lynch's wonderful use of language. If you allow yourself to sink into the story, the slow pacing and highly descriptive language will leave you as familiar with Camorr as Locke himself by the end of the book.
3) As said above, it's slow. Lynch let's his characters tell the story, and a lot of them are no hurry whatsoever. You'll jump from the present to the childhoods of more than one character, learning about religion, politics, and history alongside our thieves in training. Slow though they be, not a single one of these side stories is a waste; in fact, several of them directly inform the present day story in the chapter immediately preceding or following it.
As for the actual plot of the book, I think the back cover blurb does the complex story few favors. Generally speaking, we have a group of thieves who steal mostly for the joy of it. They solely target the uber rich, breaking the "Secret Peace" maintained by Camorr's organized crime system. This makes Locke and his gang targets on all fronts -- the duke's Spider wants him caught, and the lower city's Capa would happily skin them alive if he knew what the Gentleman Bastards were up to. Despite the danger, Locke and his gang love their lifestyle. So, when a masked usurper puts both their lives and their livelihoods in danger, the Gentleman Bastards find themselves in a convoluted plot that mixes politics, revenge, pride, and greed.
I highly recommend this suave, riveting low fantasy adventure to anyone with the time and energy needed to appreciate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia and Sexual content