The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

[GOLLUM]

I'll get the book within the next few weeeks. *SIGH*

In the meantime I'm consoling myself with several lesser known works.

 

[JBI]

I'm on page two hundred, and am in love with it. The ploting of the city, the brilliance of the theft, the genius ploting and mistaken identities, brilliant.

 

[GOLLUM]

I'm on page two hundred, and am in love with it. The ploting of the city, the brilliance of the theft, the genius ploting and mistaken identities, brilliant.

On the way back from the doctor and spied this book just arrived, so I now have a copy. Look forward to tackling it in the near future.

 

[Finnien]

I had more fun reading Lies of Locke Lamora than I've had reading anything in awhile. It was just a terrific book. Fast plot, good characters, great setting, some hysterical quoteable lines, and some damn tricky cons. It was just extremely entertaining. My absolute favorite kind of book. =)

 

[nixie]

Have to say this has to be amongs't my top three reads this year.Love the way life for the gentleman is bubbling along nicely, then wham in a matter of hours their world is turned upside down

 

[Justin Thorne]

I'll add my voice to those heralding a fantastic debut, in Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora.

A page-turning, laugh out loud romp, which is part Guy Ritchie movie (the good ones!) and part Matt Stover novel.

It's a gritty, original, entertaining read that will leave you wanting more from this world and its characters.

I really enjoyed it and was surprised how quickly I whipped through it.

 

[nixie]

One very important question, whens the next one due out?

 

[williamjm]

One very important question, whens the next one due out?

I think it is meant to be June next year.

 

[GOLLUM]

One very important question, whens the next one due out?

Looks like we're in for 2 sets of 7 books. Hope I don't die of old age first LOL!

The Gentleman ******* Series

1. Lies Of Locke Lamora (June 2006)
2. Red Seas Under Red Skies (June 2007)
3. The Republic of Thieves (forthcoming)
4. The Thorn of Emberlain (forthcoming)
5. The Ministry of Necessity (forthcoming)
6. untitled (forthcoming)
7. untitled (forthcoming)

This is a sequence of seven planned novels set in the world of the shattered Therin Throne Empire and its descendant states. It follows the life of the young professional thief and con artist Locke Lamora, over a period of some 15-20 years.

Lynch has stated that there will be a sequel series set some twenty years on with new characters, which will also be seven books long.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Aiming big, isn't he!

Having finished the first book, I would certinaly say I'm looking forward to the next one, as long as they aren't all too similar. Locke stealing vast amounts of money and eventually outwitting everyone is fine, but I hope thats not the main storyline in every book.

 

[ericf]

I'm adding to this old thread because I wanted to ask something.
This book has just been translated into Swedish and the library "association" has catalogued it as a Young Adult novel.

Anyone here agree?

I don't think so.

Just because it has parts that tell about Locke as a kid doesn't make it a YA novel. And there are some pretty gruesome scenes in the book.

The publisher is one who has a history of publishing books for YA so that is one reason. Another reason is that the target readers are in their late teens.
Still, would any of you call this a YA novel?
Thanks.
Ericf

 

[ras'matroi]

What was written here certainly sounds interesting.
I just got the book from a friend a few days ago but havn't come around to read it yet.
I guess i've got to start reading soon.

 

[GOLLUM]

I wouldn't have immediately thought of it as a YA novel.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I'm adding to this old thread because I wanted to ask something.
This book has just been translated into Swedish and the library "association" has catalogued it as a Young Adult novel.

Anyone here agree?

Absolutely not. I've just finished reading it, and wouldn't consider it a YA novel. There's a decidedly nasty torture scene (the ironically named Sage Kindness), and more F-words than the rest of my SF&F collection put together! That's not to say that teenagers won't read it and enjoy it, but shelving it alongside Harry Potter will give parents a big shock if they flick through it

Overall I really enjoyed it - a fun page-turner with lots of larger-than-life characters. The mix of traditional fantasy elements (pre-gunpowder weapons, mages) with vaguely SF/clockpunk elements like the advanced architectural technology of the long-departed Elders, the intricate Heath-Robinsonian human devices such as lock boxes and cage lifts, and the pseudo-science of alchemy combined in a heady mix of otherworldliness. If the description was occasionally a little heavy-handed (please, Scott, can it sometimes be just the wind, not the Hangman's Wind?), it was still pretty damned impressive for a debut novel, especially from someone who is still under 30.

The main thing that annoyed me, though, was the dialogue. I'm not at all averse to swearing, but at times it was overdone and inappropriate. It's one thing for the Gentleman Bastards to be effing and blinding amongst themselves, but the Bondsmage? Don Salvara? Considering that the city is sharply divided into the haves and have-nots, the frankly rather unimaginative swearing sometimes gave the dialogue a homogeneous, classless (or rather lower-class) flavour that spoilt the overall effect. It made the characters' voices almost indistinguishable from one another in places, and felt anachronistic to boot, like Lynch had been watching a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies to get in the mood.

Judging by things he says in interviews, Lynch is a fan of "Serenity" and presumably "Firefly" (the tone of the book - mostly funny but with moments of savage violence - reminded me very much of the show). IMHO he should take a leaf out of Jos Whedon's book, learn how to write really cracking dialogue and most importantly, be a bit more creative with his cursing

 

[kcs_hiker]

Absolutely not. I've just finished reading it, and wouldn't consider it a YA novel. There's a decidedly nasty torture scene (the ironically named Sage Kindness), and more F-words than the rest of my SF&F collection put together! That's not to say that teenagers won't read it and enjoy it, but shelving it alongside Harry Potter will give parents a big shock if they flick through it

Overall I really enjoyed it - a fun page-turner with lots of larger-than-life characters. The mix of traditional fantasy elements (pre-gunpowder weapons, mages) with vaguely SF/clockpunk elements like the advanced architectural technology of the long-departed Elders, the intricate Heath-Robinsonian human devices such as lock boxes and cage lifts, and the pseudo-science of alchemy combined in a heady mix of otherworldliness. If the description was occasionally a little heavy-handed (please, Scott, can it sometimes be just the wind, not the Hangman's Wind?), it was still pretty damned impressive for a debut novel, especially from someone who is still under 30.

The main thing that annoyed me, though, was the dialogue. I'm not at all averse to swearing, but at times it was overdone and inappropriate. It's one thing for the Gentleman Bastards to be effing and blinding amongst themselves, but the Bondsmage? Don Salvara? Considering that the city is sharply divided into the haves and have-nots, the frankly rather unimaginative swearing sometimes gave the dialogue a homogeneous, classless (or rather lower-class) flavour that spoilt the overall effect. It made the characters' voices almost indistinguishable from one another in places, and felt anachronistic to boot, like Lynch had been watching a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies to get in the mood.

Judging by things he says in interviews, Lynch is a fan of "Serenity" and presumably "Firefly" (the tone of the book - mostly funny but with moments of savage violence - reminded me very much of the show). IMHO he should take a leaf out of Jos Whedon's book, learn how to write really cracking dialogue and most importantly, be a bit more creative with his cursing

I couldn't agree more about the swearing. I'm no prude. But good dialogue gets the point across without having to sound like a high school lunchroom.

The torture didn't bother me quite as much as say... Terry Goodkind's first Wizard book... but still...

Can I let my 9 year old son read this book?

 

[Lirineth]

I loved book one and books two (Red Seas under Red Skies) and I am really looking forward to the third (The Republic of Thieves). But I can't help noticing that some are not quite taken by this author's literary style that includes a good amount of f's and s' s and some other somewhat creative epithets but on the other hand are A OK with all the torturing and related businesses and some wonder if this book should be allowed to be read by children, considering the language style but quite A OK with the torturing and so on.

So, far from trying to start a debate on this subject, I have to admit that I am a bit surprised by the way things go. Whilst its A OK to let a 9 years old person 'enjoy' a Britney Spear's video, watch super violent movies and be exposed on a daily day to the OJ's of this world, on the other hand we worrie that they may read f's and s's whilst lets admit it, we all say at the slightes opportunity.

Who knows, maybe if they read the book this will keep them away from the computer games where everything is kill, kill and kill. But then again, what do I know, I don't have kids, too much of a huge monumental responsibility. I admit it I passed.

 

[kcs_hiker]

I loved book one and books two (Red Seas under Red Skies) and I am really looking forward to the third (The Republic of Thieves). But I can't help noticing that some are not quite taken by this author's literary style that includes a good amount of f's and s' s and some other somewhat creative epithets but on the other hand are A OK with all the torturing and related businesses and some wonder if this book should be allowed to be read by children, considering the language style but quite A OK with the torturing and so on.

So, far from trying to start a debate on this subject, I have to admit that I am a bit surprised by the way things go. Whilst its A OK to let a 9 years old person 'enjoy' a Britney Spear's video, watch super violent movies and be exposed on a daily day to the OJ's of this world, on the other hand we worrie that they may read f's and s's whilst lets admit it, we all say at the slightes opportunity.

Who knows, maybe if they read the book this will keep them away from the computer games where everything is kill, kill and kill. But then again, what do I know, I don't have kids, too much of a huge monumental responsibility. I admit it I passed.

well thanks but...

my 9-yo doesn't watch britney spears, watch super violent movies, or even know who OJ is.

let me be clear: I loved Locke Lamora. I will read Red Skies and whatever comes after.

If Scott Lynch uses the f-word once in a while to get a scene set, I have zero problem with that. I thought he used it a bit more than necessary was all.

Torture scenes seem to be all the thing now. I'm impressed with all the creative and innovative methods we've invented. I don't particularly like it. And I hope my children won't either.

 

[Anne Lyle]

If Scott Lynch uses the f-word once in a while to get a scene set, I have zero problem with that. I thought he used it a bit more than necessary was all.

Torture scenes seem to be all the thing now. I'm impressed with all the creative and innovative methods we've invented. I don't particularly like it. And I hope my children won't either.

I agree on all those counts. You won't find any torture scenes in my writing because it's not something I enjoy reading. And if I don't use the f-word much, it's mainly because the Elizabethans were a lot more creative in their swearing

ScienceDaily: Language More Foul In Elizabethan Street Theatre Than 21st Century TV, Reveals Historian

(Since I work only a stone's throw from Whittlesford, I find the article particularly intriguing...)

It's a continual amazement to me that it only takes a bit of "bad language" or nudity to give a movie a '15' certificate, and yet it takes some pretty serious violence to do the same. It says a lot (and not very favourable, either) about our society's values...

 

[Grimbear]

Just a review I knocked together of the best debut fantasy novel I've read in some years:
The story is told skillfully and economically. Lynch knows how to show, not tell. The story moves with a rattling, page-turning pace where exposition is kept to a minimum. As the 'current' storyline moves forward, Lynch gives us frequent flashbacks to the formative years of the titular Locke Lamora, showing his rise from an overconfident scoundrel to a skilled conman and demonstrating how the bonds of true friendship are forged between Lamora and his band of knaves, the Gentlemen Bastards. Amongst this he also brings to life his prized creation, the city of Camorr itself, a traditional fantasyscape of guards, merchants and peasents eking a life in hovels under the watchful eye of the aristocracy, but with an element of the strange introduced as all are dwelling in a city forged thousands of years ago by an inscrutable alien race whose disappearance remains troubling. With its many islands and districts, temples and guilds shadowed by towering glass monoliths, Camorr is as much a character as Locke Lamora himself, a city that immediately joins Ankh-Morpork, Lankhamar and Viriconium as a perfect setting for stories of the fantastical.

I have to agree with everything you say. On the one hand I can't wait for him to write more but on the other I don't want him to rush it and abandon the hideously complex plotting and planning he must do for each book.

It's my ambition to create a world as detailed and rich as this and it makes me depressed that I will never manage it.

Red Seas Under Red Skies was even better in my opinion. Echoes of the Liveships trilogy by Robin Hobb.

More!