Item: The Lies of Locke Lamora
Rating: 4.00
Author: metaphorosisreviews

by Scott Lynch

'One of my top ten books ever. Maybe top five. If you haven't read it, you should' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind

'Fresh, original and engrossing' George R.R. Martin, the phenomenon behind A Game of Thrones

They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he's part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count.

Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they're the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards.

Together their domain is the city of Camorr. Built of Elderglass by a race no-one remembers, it's a city of shifting revels, filthy canals, baroque palaces and crowded cemeteries. Home to Dons, merchants, soldiers, beggars, cripples, and feral children. And to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city.

But there are whispers of a challenge to the Capa's power. A challenge from a man no one has ever seen, a man no blade can touch. The Grey King is coming.

A man would be well advised not to be caught between Capa Barsavi and The Grey King. Even such a master of the sword as the Thorn of Camorr. As for Locke Lamora ...

Readers can't get enough of Locke Lamora:

'Original, engrossing, emotional, and devastatingly impactful; this extremely well-written tale of avarice and brotherhood is a treasure of gold, and you will want your share of it' Novel Notions

'A rewarding read, well written, and entertaining. I'd recommend any fantasy fan to give it a try' Mark Lawrence, Sunday Times bestselling author

'It is witty, profane, violent, over the top, and frequently hilarious. I can't believe this is Scott Lynch's first novel, and I can't wait to read more. This is an incredibly fun adventure novel. Find yourself a copy and read it' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'You guys, this story is unreal. It's so morally wrong that you don't even want it to be right. It's that luring, that gritty, that bold . . . its masterfully chaotic - so many subplots, so many characters, so much world-building. theres never a dull moment . . . its intricately woven - no movement, no scene, no word is insignificant. Everything is so interconnected on so many levels. I straight up got chills in some parts' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'A love child of Ocean's Eleven and The Godfather. With blood, deaths, betrayals, money, and drowning in horse urine . . . and it's SO. GOOD' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'It stole hours of sleep. It wrapped me in cozy myth. It gave me the blessing of feeling like a kid again, snuggled up with a book, wondering how the hell 10pm became 4am. Find. Buy. Consume' Pierce Brown, bestselling author of the Red Rising series

'I mean seriously, I loved all those characters and their cunning and deceiving ways. XD Throughout the entire book I never knew what to expect and there were about a ton of "Oh, sh*t!" moments that were shortly followed by "Jeez! NO!" and "What happened now?" exclamations' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Locke Lamora is a professional thief, raised from childhood to be so. But he and his crew don't follow the rules of the Secret Peace that governs the city's underworld. And they'll pay a price for that.

Review
I’ve been hearing about this book for a very long time, but somehow nothing specific enough to trigger a purchase. When I saw it on sale, I decided to finally go ahead and pick it up.

The blurb on the cover says, “fresh, original”. I have to say that it isn’t really either of those. Pretty much all the foreground elements are things we’ve seen many times before. And much of the storytelling seems more driven by heist movies than by fantasy tropes; I began to feel worn out by the sheer number of ‘but he wasn’t really dead’-type twists. It’s exacerbated by the slow introduction and the endless time-hopping. There are any number of fairly sizable plot holes that are papered over or simply ignored. One of the big reveals – the identity of the villain – is very disappointing, while another that is often hinted at never comes up at all, and will presumably provide a climax for the series.

Oddly, it’s the background worldbuilding that’s most interesting about the book. Lynch has clearly spent some time on this – to the extent that he’s constantly introducing more scenery, giving the feeling that, most of the way through a fairly large book, he’s still introducing the city it takes place in. While I liked the world, I got the feeling that he’d done so much work on it that he insisted on cramming it all in, even when it slows or complicates the plot. Maybe it’s all essential to the later books, but I have my doubts.

All that said, and to give Lynch credit, the characters are engaging (if somewhat stock), the plot itself moves along quickly (ignoring the constant flashbacks), and the whole setup is intriguing enough to make the book a fun, reasonably quick read (despite the frustrating plot holes). I could see picking up and enjoying later books in the series (but don’t really feel driven to buy them).

So, fresh and original this is not, but it is a reasonably fun and solid fantasy read, with caveats.

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)

by Scott Lynch

Reviewed by Metaphorosis Reviews on Nov 18, 2023

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