Thoughts - Book I: Ambition

[Ryan]

Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile
And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.

Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 3

What did you think about the Prologue and Book I of The Lies of Locke Lamora?

[Jasper]

Time to get the note pad out! The first part of this book already covers 200 page but they feel more like 100ish.

From the start of the prologue till the second part this book is quite amazing. It is all carefully plotted on how everything is being told. The prologue shows a promising start in terms of Locke's character, he is a street urchin but the dialogue between Chains and the Thiefmaker shows that Locke is quite ingenious and too smart for his own good. It starts building up the premise of the story.

The first thing that fall to notice in Book I is the skipping of several years, where Locke and the Sanza twins matured a "bit". They have grown into their roles as true Gentlemen Bastard's. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a heist story. It was therefore for me a true pleasure to read about how Locke and his companions were setting up the plans to rob Don Lorenzo Salvara. The setup of this is soo neatly put together it is just amazing.

A second part that was a plus for me are the interlude. At the end of the prologue, Chains forced Locke to talk about his past. In the interludes you get the flashbacks to Locke's earlier years. This on the whole gives greater depth to the book. Next to this is the usage of the chapters by Scott Lynch himself, for example, first he tells the events occurring from the perspectives of Locke himself. Then later switching to the third person view like with the First encounter of Locke and the Don, this was also repeated the Midnighter, this again adds a new level to everything, enriching the story tenfold if not more.

I can continue this for quite sometime, but on the whole The Lies of Locke Lamora is off to a good start. Book I sets a lot of things in motion, reveals already a bit of the world and I think with what I have seen so far it will probably be just the tip of the iceberg.

[Ryan]

I definitely fell behind on my reading of this book, stupid university.

I love the first part of this book, we get to meet Locke and the rest of the Gentleman Bastards, we get a lot of great back story about Locke growing up, and we get to see the early stages of the big play for Don Salvara's fortune.

I just love the style of this book, and especially the humour. The cussing at times seems a little bit crude, but it fits so it doesn't really bother me.

I forgot how much I enjoy this book.