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A review by eesh25
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
5.0
Having heard great but non-specific things about this book (I was avoiding spoilers), I was both excited and a tad wary. I didn't know what to expect, though I knew there were a lot of flashbacks. Yet, for the first time ever, the flashbacks didn't bother me at all! Like, not even for a second. It was surprising for sure.
The story follows a group of thieves, with Locke Lamora as the focal point. Locke is the leader of a gang of men who call themselves the Gentlemen Bastards. In the long-ass prologue (which is so much fun), we see how he came to be in the gang at age six. And throughout the novel, we see various stages of his training via flashbacks.
In the present time, with Locke in his twenties, he and the other Gentleman Bastards are running their cons and having fun. And the book does the triple job of introducing the Gentlemen Bastards and how they function, letting us get familiar with the city of Camorr because it's very important to the plot, and later immerses us in the main conflict of the novel. It involves the crime boss of Camorr, Capa Barsavi, and a mysterious figure called the Gray King, who seems set on taking Barsavi down.
Now, there a lot else I could say in terms of plot because there's a lot to know, whether it's about the Gentlemen Bastards or about Camorr. I can't talk about the Gray King, of course, because that whole thing is a giant fucking spoiler. Instead, I'm gonna move on and tell you everything I love about the book.
First of all, it's hilarious. The characters are all sarcastic little shits. Kinda crude, but they're criminals so what'd you expect? Besides, their blunt way of saying things is half the fun. They're also very smart. I adored the camaraderie between the Gentlemen Bastards (can you tell how much I fucking love that they call themselves Gentlemen Bastards?), and each individual character was fantastic. My personal favourites were Locke and Father Chains. In fact, Father Chains is responsible for a line that I felt was so brilliant, I wrote it down.
Another thing I loved was the atmosphere. This book is set entirely in a single, and not very large, city. And Lynch makes the city come to life. Whether it's the descriptions of places or of the lives of the people in the city, the reader gets a feel for what Camorr is at its core, and it elevates the whole experience of the story.
Everything that happened with the Gray King was also very well done, but again, I can't talk about it.
And finally, before I get to the narrator, I wanna talk about the swearing. Because it's something special. And I think the best way to tell you how special, is by telling you how someone on the book's Goodreads asked how bad the swearing was, and a person answered, "This book elevates profanity and vulgarity to an art form." I couldn't have said it in a better way. Scott Lynch wins at profanity.
And now, at last, the narrator. Michael Page has done a phenomenal job with this audiobook. I think this might be my favourite audio performance so far. The voices he uses for each character and the way he chooses which words to emphasize. It's just so good.
I honestly believe I would have loved the book less had I not listened to the audio, though it likely would still have been a five-star read. The audio almost made me restart the book right after I finished it. So I will definitely be listening to the next however many books I read in the series, as long as Michael Page is the one narrating them.
...And I think I've said all I wanted to say. I loved this book. It was interesting, it had heart, it was entertaining as hell, and I highly recommend it.
The story follows a group of thieves, with Locke Lamora as the focal point. Locke is the leader of a gang of men who call themselves the Gentlemen Bastards. In the long-ass prologue (which is so much fun), we see how he came to be in the gang at age six. And throughout the novel, we see various stages of his training via flashbacks.
In the present time, with Locke in his twenties, he and the other Gentleman Bastards are running their cons and having fun. And the book does the triple job of introducing the Gentlemen Bastards and how they function, letting us get familiar with the city of Camorr because it's very important to the plot, and later immerses us in the main conflict of the novel. It involves the crime boss of Camorr, Capa Barsavi, and a mysterious figure called the Gray King, who seems set on taking Barsavi down.
Now, there a lot else I could say in terms of plot because there's a lot to know, whether it's about the Gentlemen Bastards or about Camorr. I can't talk about the Gray King, of course, because that whole thing is a giant fucking spoiler. Instead, I'm gonna move on and tell you everything I love about the book.
First of all, it's hilarious. The characters are all sarcastic little shits. Kinda crude, but they're criminals so what'd you expect? Besides, their blunt way of saying things is half the fun. They're also very smart. I adored the camaraderie between the Gentlemen Bastards (can you tell how much I fucking love that they call themselves Gentlemen Bastards?), and each individual character was fantastic. My personal favourites were Locke and Father Chains. In fact, Father Chains is responsible for a line that I felt was so brilliant, I wrote it down.
...men piled into the room with crossbows, and shot those poor idiots so full of bolts that a porcupine in heat would have taken any one of them home and fucked him.To be fair, part of the credit goes to the narrator for his flawless delivery, but more on that later.
Another thing I loved was the atmosphere. This book is set entirely in a single, and not very large, city. And Lynch makes the city come to life. Whether it's the descriptions of places or of the lives of the people in the city, the reader gets a feel for what Camorr is at its core, and it elevates the whole experience of the story.
Everything that happened with the Gray King was also very well done, but again, I can't talk about it.
And finally, before I get to the narrator, I wanna talk about the swearing. Because it's something special. And I think the best way to tell you how special, is by telling you how someone on the book's Goodreads asked how bad the swearing was, and a person answered, "This book elevates profanity and vulgarity to an art form." I couldn't have said it in a better way. Scott Lynch wins at profanity.
And now, at last, the narrator. Michael Page has done a phenomenal job with this audiobook. I think this might be my favourite audio performance so far. The voices he uses for each character and the way he chooses which words to emphasize. It's just so good.
I honestly believe I would have loved the book less had I not listened to the audio, though it likely would still have been a five-star read. The audio almost made me restart the book right after I finished it. So I will definitely be listening to the next however many books I read in the series, as long as Michael Page is the one narrating them.
...And I think I've said all I wanted to say. I loved this book. It was interesting, it had heart, it was entertaining as hell, and I highly recommend it.