The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Jul 03, 2022 Carrie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mgr, own, fantasy, debut

When I first started LLL I had to put it down because I was still kinda slumping. I wasn't sure it was me or the book. It was me, this book is fantastic. The Locke is such an interesting character, a bloody hilarious great character.

Sooo many good quotes from this book. I have tabbed so much humor and sass. One minute I'm laughing then gasping with my hand covering my mouth because like a switch Scott Lynch can change the mood.

Can not wait to read the next book.

...more

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Mar 07, 2010 Jamie Collins rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is the story of the littlest, boldest orphan thief who grows up to be a sophisticated con man, the leader of a gang who call themselves the Gentlemen Bastards. They steal from the rich for the sheer joy of their own cleverness, and they're a happy, witty bunch - until they get caught up in a vicious battle between a ruthless crime boss and a murderous interloper.

The narrative is interrupted frequently by vignettes from Locke Lamora's adventurous childhood, and I found the pacing and the alt ...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Andy Karlson rated it it was amazing

I'm just about halfway through Lynch's thrilling fantasy debut, and am utterly hooked. The plot is all twists and turns, organized crime, long-cons, and class warfare; and it unfolds in parallel, the main thrust spooling out in the book's present day and interludes that give well-timed and very engaging backstory. It is, frankly, a five star tour-de-force. Except for one major, glaring, unresolvable flaw:

It is a major-league sausage party.

Major female characters? They are few and far between, a I'm just about halfway through Lynch's thrilling fantasy debut, and am utterly hooked. The plot is all twists and turns, organized crime, long-cons, and class warfare; and it unfolds in parallel, the main thrust spooling out in the book's present day and interludes that give well-timed and very engaging backstory. It is, frankly, a five star tour-de-force. Except for one major, glaring, unresolvable flaw:

It is a major-league sausage party.

Major female characters? They are few and far between, and problematic in their assigned roles. (view spoiler)

This is a major issue, and one that makes me want to knock another star off my rating as I type this all out. I'm holding off, though, for two reasons:

One, I haven't finished the book yet.

Two, the main characters in this book do something that is so narratively uncommon that it makes me want to jump up and cheer: They talk to each other about the events of the plot. Seriously, few things more infuriate me than a work of fiction in which the entirety of the drama hangs on characters clamming up about crazy s*** that's happening to them that they would, a reasonable person things, be screaming about from the treetops! This was my #1 beef with the Harry Potter books, btw; if Harry isn't so absurdly close-mouthed, the series becomes drastically shorter.

So it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, sausage party. On the other, I love reading about people who know how to talk to each other. On the whole, it's a barn-burner and I've been challenged to put it down. ...more

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Jun 29, 2011 John rated it liked it

With his debut novel, Lynch offered up a fairly slick caper-fantasy. Our setting is the gritty city of Camorr, a fantasy version of Venice, ruled by its Duke on the one hand and its crime boss, "Capa" Barsavi on the other. Barsavi has brought a certain equilibrium to the city through his "secret peace" that ensures that the nobility allow a certain amount of crime to go unpunished while the criminals avoid getting too greedy. Locke Lamora is a natural-born liar and thief, molded by his mentor, t With his debut novel, Lynch offered up a fairly slick caper-fantasy. Our setting is the gritty city of Camorr, a fantasy version of Venice, ruled by its Duke on the one hand and its crime boss, "Capa" Barsavi on the other. Barsavi has brought a certain equilibrium to the city through his "secret peace" that ensures that the nobility allow a certain amount of crime to go unpunished while the criminals avoid getting too greedy. Locke Lamora is a natural-born liar and thief, molded by his mentor, the false priest Father Chains, to be the Thorn of Camorr, pulling off long cons that break the Secret Peace and target the wealthy. And technically, Father Chains is an actual priest, but his patron god is the unacknowledged 13th god, patron of thieves, not the god that he professes to the public, but that's beside the point just now.

Lynch weaves together two basic timelines, a "present" story and a past story showing how Locke and the other Gentleman Bastards--Jean, the brothers Calo and Galdo, and the group's apprentice member, Bug--grew up together under Chains's tutelage and became the characters we see before us. The Gentleman Bastards are running a big con against a wealthy noble, but all this is hampered by other happenings in the city: the mysterious Grey King has entered the scene and seems intent on displacing Capa Barsavi. Locke and his Bastards are inevitably drawn into this struggle and forced to play both sides while looking for a way out.

The novel seemed to me to invite comparison with Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, and while The Lies of Locke Lamora kept my interest, neither the novel as a whole nor the characters seemed quite up to that standard. Locke is supposed to be some kind of thieving genius, but far too often he seemed over-matched and a bit passive. He doesn't have the panache of Vlad (nor of most other Brust characters) nor, ultimately, the same genius. Or self-control. But then, I do need to be careful: despite obvious points of comparison, I should remind myself that Lynch is not trying to create a clone of Brust's protagonist and I should work more to appreciate Locke for who he is.

One thing I'll give Lynch credit for: (view spoiler) and it's to Lynch's credit that he raised the stakes that high, that he was able to generate that kind of dramatic tension.

One thing worth mentioning is the language: it's very contemporary and very coarse. I was ambivalent about it: at times, it felt jarringly modern in a fantasy setting; at times, it felt jarring just because I got tired of hearing the f-word so much (and I did hear it: I was listening to the audiobook version). At the same time, it's not as though I don't hear the same language in films without batting an eye, and I've said all such words at one time or another, so it's not a squeamishness on my part. One nit to pick is that I would have liked to have had more of a sense of language differentiation: a big part of the story revolves around disguises, but I felt like everyone talked with roughly the same level of diction, no class differences or even personal quirks. There was at times some creative swearing, but that was more Lynch showing off than anything particularly individual to a character or class.

In the end, I enjoyed it enough to see it through to the end and I enjoyed it enough to pick up the next novel in the series, but it won't go down as one of my favorites or as a novel I'd class among the best that the fantasy genre has to offer. ...more

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Nov 27, 2013 Annie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf-f, audible

Gritty. I loved this story of a small gang of thieves called the Gentlemen Bastards. I listened to this in audiobook form, and the British narrator, Michael Page, does a fantastic job. His voice really suits the dialogue and exposition of the novel. Lynch’s style and literary voice is unique and incredibly entertaining. I was immediately drawn into this story, much to the detriment of my schoolwork, which I procrastinated until it absolutely had to be done.

The characters of Locke and his gang ar Gritty. I loved this story of a small gang of thieves called the Gentlemen Bastards. I listened to this in audiobook form, and the British narrator, Michael Page, does a fantastic job. His voice really suits the dialogue and exposition of the novel. Lynch’s style and literary voice is unique and incredibly entertaining. I was immediately drawn into this story, much to the detriment of my schoolwork, which I procrastinated until it absolutely had to be done.

The characters of Locke and his gang are all well-developed and strong. However, I would have liked to see more development of some of the minor characters, particularly the Countess (perhaps she will show up in the sequel and we can learn more about her…).

Locke’s adventures are amusing and at the same time cringe-worthy. Despite being a thief, he is an incredibly sympathetic character, and Lynch does a great job with his character creation. The world of Camorr is a character in itself, the city seems almost alive as Locke moves through it. I was particularly fond of the pantheon of gods and goddesses and the particular aspects of life that they rule.

One thing of note is that Locke’s lady love, Sabetha, who is oft-alluded to, never appears in the story. Perhaps she will show up in the sequel, as well. I’m not interested in her appearance as a love story, but more as it relates to the development of Locke’s character.

I also enjoyed the flashback style of the writing, with Locke’s training and the growth of the Gentlemen Bastards interspersed with the ‘present day’ story. Lynch is a master of suspense, inserting the flashbacks at the most inopportune times, which made it quite difficult to turn off the audiobook.

It is a gritty fantasy story, and I fully recommend it. Though, if you find yourself offended by harsh language, you may want to bypass it. But, the language fits the story, the city, and the characters, and is not detrimental to it in any way. A full five stars, and now I’m off to listen to the sequel… ...more

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Jan 03, 2009 Lakedaemon rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

I'm not sure if I really did like this book or not. It was interesting enough but the overabundant use of the f-word threw me out of the story. Not because I was offended but because it just didn't seem to fit.

The other thing that really irked me was the author's nonlinear story-telling. Sometimes it works. This time it didn't. To me it disguised a back-story that was unable to stand on its own.

My last thought about this book (based on an uber-thief too clever for his own good who likes to set ...more

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May 08, 2014 JM rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Entertaining fantasy. Enjoyed the way the character development unfolded.

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Dec 23, 2009 Derek rated it liked it · review of another edition

Very well written, with some superb swearing, and a nicely imagined world. Clever, too.

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Dec 28, 2019 Drew Kerlee rated it it was ok

I really really wanted to like this. And I may pick it up again and power through to the end. Heck, when I do that I may enjoy it and read more of the series! But for now, gonna set it down.

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