Book Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

My first book review in a while! I’ve been itching to finish a book so I can finally write one of the reasons I started a book blog. Hope you enjoy it.

The Lies of Locke Lamora

By: Scott Lynch

722 pages

Published: June 26, 2013 by Del Rey

ISBN: 9780553588941 (Mass Market) (first pub June 27, 2006)

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a ghost that walks through walls. Half the city believes him to be a legendary champion of the poor. The other half believe him to be a foolish myth. Nobody has it quite right.

Slightly built, unlucky in love, and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. He certainly didn’t invite the rumors that swirl around his exploits, which are actually confidence games of the most intricate sort. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else, pray tell, would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny of it. All of Locke’s gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves, the Gentlemen Bastards.

Locke and company are con artists in an age where con artistry, as we understand it, is a new and unknown style of crime. The less attention anyone pays to them, the better! But a deadly mystery has begun to haunt the ancient city of Camorr, and a clandestine war is threatening to tear the city’s underworld, the only home the Gentlemen Bastards have ever known, to bloody shreds. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends will find both their loyalty and their ingenuity tested to the breaking point as they struggle to stay alive.

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“If reassurances could dull pain, nobody would ever go to the trouble of pressing grapes.”

Review:

This book took me by surprise. I guess I say that about all the fantasy books I have read. I love fantasy for that reason. You never know what you’re getting even if you read the synopsis. The humor, the action scenes, and the dialogue in this book kept me turning the pages. It did take me over a month to read but life happens and other things got in the way of me reading (AKA laziness).

Characters:

There were some characters that you never really witness much development from. I guess with a lot of characters it’s hard to fully develop each and every one. With that being said I did have a few favorites.

Bug: He was part of the Gentlemen Bastards and always tried his hardest to distract whoever he needed to while the rest of the group did what they needed to do. He was always getting picked on by the other guys, but they loved him to pieces. I think everyone that reads this book has to sympathize with poor little Bug. He always had good intentions. I consider that a strong character. The more flawed the better in my opinion.

Dona Vorchenza: She is called something else later on in the story but I won’t give that away. She is a noble, and I just loved her to death. She’s very witty and intelligent. She didn’t outwit Locke Lamora in the end, but she definitely tried her best. I can’t really explain why I liked her.

Locke: He is a very strong male protagonist. I am usually not a fan of the main characters but Locke was not bad. I found that he was always took the lead when he needed to. He could bullshit his way through any situation (hence why he became a thief).

An honorable mention would probably be Chains.

One issue I had with the book was that it was a little confusing to me for some reason. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not used to reading fantasy or what, but when he describes scenes I just couldn’t grasp what he was describing. If you asked me what I just read I probably couldn’t tell you a single thing (description wise). I guess I just need to slow down and focus rather than just trying to get through the book. That’s probably a flaw in my system.

Scott Lynch can definitely write a solid book, but I wish I could have understood more. I needed more background about the world and more background about more of the characters other than Locke. I think I would have been able to review this book a little better if that were the case. It has taken me so long to write this because I just couldn’t think of what to say. I enjoyed the ending of this book and that is one of the main reasons I even picked up the second one. Needless to say, it was a decent book. I wouldn’t throw out recommendations everywhere, but if you are interested then by all means go ahead and pick it up.

Have you read The Lies of Locke Lamora? If so let me know what you thought about it down in the comments.

Thank you all for being patient with me. I have had a weird few months. If you enjoyed this then give it a like and follow me for future book reviews. Be respectful and happy reading!

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