The Lies of Locke Lamora

 

 

Book Title: The Lies of Locke Lamora; Gentleman Bastard #1

Author: Scott Lynch

Rating: The Dark Themes Make This Book Feel Very Adult

Genre: Fantasy

P R E M I S E

    Scrappy, clever trickster Locke Lamora is raised in a religion and a house of thieves. His gang, the Gentleman Bastards, regularly break the only rule in a city of thieves- they break "the Sacred Peace" and scam the established rich of the city. As with many fantasy books, they become entwined with a larger conflict- in this case, between two 'capas' - the original leader of the city's web of gangs, and his new challenger. 

M Y   R E V I E W (SPOILER FREE)

    I liked it, but it felt very angry and vengeful[1]. When judging a book, I practice two ways of looking at it. Firstly, what do you like or dislike about the book. Secondly, what is good about the book- what did the author try to do, and how was it executed? I think Lynch succeeded in executing the emotional journey he wanted to send his characters on[2], but it wasn't what I enjoy reading in a book. I, personally, read fantasy books for the escapism, and enjoy triumphant, wholesome endings. At the end of this book, which is part one of a series (which you might guess I did not complete), I felt sad and corrupted. There's nothing wrong with ending a book feeling that way, it's just not what I want.

    There was a lot of (I’m sure) detailed, beautiful world building, but since the book was overdue at my library I didn’t read it that thoroughly, to be honest. I just wanted to know what happened. Although I didn't love the ending, I would say this is an urgent book. I wanted to know what happened, and I thought about the plot and the characters when I wasn't reading.

    All the main characters are male. To clarify, Locke is the protagonist, but because Locke is part of a gang, there are multiple secondary characters. Jean, the Sanza twins, and Bug are all male. Chains is more of a mentor, a guide to Locke. The only female supporting character[3]- supporting in this sense meaning helping the protagonist, not just the story- is Nazca. She is the least developed[4].

    It was also interesting how it switched back and forth in time. I thought the shifts between perspectives and story lines was done pretty smoothly. The little chapters weren’t immediately clear in their relevance to the story, but they became relevant, I promise. A lot of things that were worked into the world building in the beginning were brought back up at the end. One thing that the author added in the little stories seemed kind of out of place[5] and a little lazy, but I can only think of the one. 

    It was also so long. I think this is one of those "author that knows a lot of words, but not the word concise" situations (quote by “verylostpenguin”). Like I said above, it was overdue at the library, so I probably would have appreciated this 700 page book more if I had more time. That's my bad.

R E T R A C T E D  (SPOILERS AND FOOTNOTES)

I did like how the Gray King was his own story. The book was about Locke and his gang stumbling onto a Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows) type situation. They were not involved really in the rift between Capa Raza and Capa Barasavi, just caught up in the middle. Like Locke says, the Gentleman Bastards aren’t used to being the ones with no way out, they’re not used to being the pawns. While they are the main characters in this book, the antagonists do not revolve around Locke. They have clear, well developed motivations. I loved that the conflict between the two Capas could have been a book itself.

1. I was very surprised when Nazca died, and then even more so when the Sanza brothers and Bug died about halfway into the book. I suppose that my surprise meant that what the author was trying to do worked, but then it got so angry and brutal and it was like a totally different book in terms of tone. 

2. An emotional journey from a fun, scrappy band of friends taking on a corrupt world to two friends being almost completely crushed by a corrupt world and barely scraping revenge from it (thanks to their admirable skills).

3. Of course, if you have finished the book, another important female character on the side of the antagonist is the Spider, Dona Vorchezna. She is great.

4. and the first to die.

5. The prostitution chapter about the guilds and not messing with women. #girlpower

R E L A T E D (IMO)

       For more found family read Six of Crows, a well regarded staple in the YA fantasy/ book social media world. Six of Crows also features a gang of skilled con artists and fighters, but there is more diversity and thus representation in gender, personality, motivations, and race.

    If you didn't mind or liked the seemingly careless (but well thought out and necessary nevertheless) deaths of the main characters, than check out Game of Thrones. It is a well regarded staple in the fantasy genre, so I don't think anyone who knows about The Lies of Locke Lamora wouldn't know about Game of Thrones, but I definitely recommend it if you have heard of it, but haven't tried it yet. Similar to Lies in the setting- corrupt, fantastical, vaguely historical feeling, etc., political intrigue, and wealth of material to enjoy.