The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a solid fantasy, kind of an Oceans Eleven meets Robin Hobb. The character development is deep for the protagonist, and the supporting characters and their relationships are well defined.
The amount of vulgarity and crude language was distracting to me, however. I don’t mind it when it adds to the story or when it makes an impact. In my opinion, profanity was so overused that it completely lost its meaning. Lynch had to liberally italicize his cuss words to give them added force. I understand that he was trying to accurately depict the world of thieves and thugs, but it was too much for me.
I also think the book could have been 100 to 150 pages shorter. What is it with fantasy writers describing food in painstaking detail? It also seemed to drag a tiny bit about a third of the way through, with the characters developing too slowly to give me that “page turner” feel.
Those faults are minor, however, when compared with the solid foundation of the plot, and the way in which Lynch deftly moves back and forth between past and present. He also ties in stories and legends from the world he’s created which adds a lot of context to the main thrust of the tale.
He also finds a great balance in the way he generates suspense, and twists the story as it unfolds. Sometimes I get frustrated as a reader when I feel like I’m in the dark about what’s going to happen next. Other times I’m annoyed because the end of a book is foreshadowed so obviously that reading through to the end is just a formality. “The Lies of Locke Lamora” finds that perfect balance between the two. There are twists and turns that catch you by surprise, but at the same time make total sense as you look back over the characters and the story up to that point.
I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. If you can get past the vulgarity, then I highly recommend this book.