The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch follows the Gentlemen Bastards, a group of trained thieves, as they plan their biggest scheme yet. Rather than steal from the poor, why not take a some thousand gold crowns from the highest echelons of Camorr? It’s not like they’d miss it. Yet despite fooling even the highest crime boss in their land, things suddenly start to go awry. A coup in the crime world and sudden suspicion from those in power complicate their plans. Will Locke and his gang be able to keep their game up while surviving the bloodshed?
This book takes you on a fast-paced ride of twists and turns, where you never know which new situation Locke will be in next. It satisfyingly unravels its plot bit by bit, showing you how much planning had been there right under your nose from the start. My biggest compliment for The Lies of Locke Lamora is its ability to stay interesting despite the intense amount of world-building and description. There was always a healthy dose of tension that made you want to see what happens next. Even the fight scenes were juicy, and I usually am not a big fan of war/combat. Lynch also does a great job at adding genuinely witty dialogue and cussing in just the right places. Nothing said by the characters ever felt forced or out of place, and I was genuinely laughing at some of the quips.
The world-building was satisfying and left me with questions (in a good way!). I loved hearing about the different alchemical inventions and items in the world, as well as the Elderglass structures. Where did these come from? Who were the Eldren? With magic and monsters around, what else don’t we know? It feels like there is so much to still uncover, similar to how I felt reading The Name of the Wind.
The morality in the book was delicious, as well. Everyone is evil in some way, and at the same time they’re human, or even possibly good. You want to root for the Gentlemen Bastards, but also are reminded that they’re doing the same things the other groups of antagonists are doing. When they fall, you feel bad because those are the characters you follow, but you also appreciate that they get their just deserves. I dislike when books have criminal characters who are supposed to be seen as good, and thankfully this book doesn’t do that. The different gods in the book with varying beliefs really did a good job of setting up Lynch’s creativity in the moral system for the book. In the way that one god may celebrate death, one can celebrate begging, one can celebrate thievery, and different characters will have different alignments, but none are particularly supposed to be seen as morally wrong. I found toying with “what are morals? no wrong answers” to be a refreshing take for a fiction book.
That being said, this book did have some flaws that kept me from being able to give it that shiny 5-star rating. I have a true issue with fantasy novels treating its women poorly. Honestly? This book really didn’t need a single woman character outside Doña Vorchenza, and maybe the Berangias twins and Doña Sofia Salvara. I was disappointed to see what felt like another case of fridging for a character I won’t spoil (read here if you’re interested in learning about the trope) and the main love interest never appearing (just so we know Locke isn’t gay). I think having a sexually ambiguous Locke, or even potentially asexual Locke, would have been more fun than teasing a love interest. For instance, the scene at Guilded Lilies was entirely unnecessary to the book and weakened Locke’s character. But overall, why have women characters if they’ll just be prostitutes, ghost characters, brutally murdered, or have absolutely no character description other than them being women.
My strife is not only about women– I’m also disappointed that the all the twins in the book had almost no character to them. I’ve noticed a repeat pattern of twins in media basically being two identical entities who only function to make twin metaphors. Locke, Jean, and Bug have relatively three-dimensional personalities, but Calo and Galdo really got nothing. Same with the Berangias twins– why write in what should be exciting, tough female fighter characters and yet somehow that’s really all we know about them– that they should be exciting, tough female fighter characters!
Aside from my issues with character writing, the book was actually incredibly well-written. I truly loathe that there were these minor pitfalls, because I really enjoyed reading. I was completely immersed by about 1/3 through and would highly recommend. Now, I need to decide if I’ll read another book with Locke and the gang, because this was definitely able to be taken as a stand-alone novel, but I am curious where the characters will go next.
Happy reading,
-Beppa