I'm fit and I'm angry and I'm obviously crazy. Anything could happen.
The Lies of Locke Lamora
by Scott Lynch
Genre: YA Fantasy
About: Locke Lamora is too damn clever for his own good. A master thief, known in whispered circles as the Thorn of Camorr. But while he and his gang set a trap for another of Camorr's nobility, they unwittingly walk right into a game of revenge, and this time Locke might just have met his match.
The Good
The narration dips between current events to past ones and although this can read strange at times, I personally loved the back and forth. Often the past events read more interesting - giving us context on Locke, introducing a great character in his mentor, Chains, as well as showing how the friendships of the gang formed and the very inventive way their skills were learned.
And once you get to know the main gang, it's hard not to love 'em. Their banter is funny and their escapades are exciting. Ultimately you want to crawl all over the city with them and don one of their many disguises.
The Bad
It takes 200 pages before the plot begins. And despite the fact that those 200 pages are spent introducing the legend that is Locke Lamora, you don't actually feel you know him until you're halfway through the book. Part of the problem is that so much time is spent on world-building and set up. Although this is undeniably well done (and Lynch clearly wrote this with a much larger series in mind) for the purpose of introduction, those pages would have been much better spent giving the reader an emotional connection to Locke and taking off with the main plot earlier on. Instead the antagonist comes in halfway, hitting hard and fast, taking not only Locke unawares, but the reader too.
The Somewhat Iffy
Locke's 'love' is mentioned several times throughout the novel but we don't get a single scene with her, either in the current or past timelines. Just mentions. Presumably she's to be important in the rest of the series, but given how much she's mentioned, I think it would have been worth showing her in at least one of the past scenes.
Also, considering Locke is set up as being so legendary a thief in the beginning, it feels a little disappointing that he's outwitted quite a few times in the novel. Realistic, maybe, but this is a fantasy and I wanted a few more winks and twists to Locke's schemes than what I saw.
Overall
I liked this story and I didn't like it. The characters are great, the setting is interesting and who doesn't enjoy a bit of thievery? But it takes too long to get going and, for my tastes, there are too many lows and not enough highs. Saying that, I am keen to read the next book because, damn it, once you're in the story, you're in it for the long game.
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