The Lies of Locke Lamora

[[deleted user]]

This is my second time through this book and I really like the opening portions with Thiefmaker and Chains. It's a harsh world for Locke to grow up in but it's well written and enjoyable. At this point, though, it's not too different than many other books involving fantasy urban settings ...

[Donna]

I'm 37% into the book and am really liking it. While the setting seems fairly generic is some ways, I like the off-hand references to the weird alchemical stuff and the unknown Elder race that made all these mysterious things that everyone just takes for granted now. I'm also enjoying that so far Locke is not a "hero". He's interesting and likable but he's also just a criminal. I'm curious to see where the story goes.

[Eric]

I'll be jumping in on this one as soon as I finish my reading game assignment. (Which is thankfully not very long.) I was a bit surprised by the margin it won in the poll.

[Carey]

I am 36% through and I like the switch back and forth between the past and the present. I really books that show the characters flaws. Locke is cool and I can not wait to see how he gets out of the troubles that are brewing.

[[deleted user]]

I'm at 40% now and I'm surprised how much I've forgotten about this book. There are so many different grifts going on - its good fun. The jumping back and forth between his childhood and to current time is good. I don't think it would be as fun a book if it was linear.

[Donna]

I'm 75% in and I like that I still don't know how the story is going to be resolved. I have a couple of guesses but I don't know and that, to me, is a sign of a good book.

Am I the only one who thinks "Locke Lamora" sounds Scottish? I know that would actually be "loch" like a lake and not a person's name but from the beginning it has seemed Scottish to me. This is not a big deal, but I have been listening to Outlander as an audiobook and it is full of Scottish accents so every time I see "Locke Lamora" I hear it in a Scottish brogue.

Even worse though is that after I listen to Outlander for a while, the thoughts in my head are in a Scottish accent. Okay, now I just sound weird...

[Carey]

At some point the author explains what "Lamora" means and it just adds to to Locke's character.

[Rachel]

I started reading this last month (for another group's monthly read - shhhh, don't tell anyone how fickle I am!) and found it slow to get started, but then it picked up my interest after a few chapters. Hoping to actually get it read this month and come back to this discussion ;)

Rachel

[Liz]

I'll start reading this sometime, I swear. I've had too many recommendations and DH is listening to it on audiobook right now and he really enjoys it. I'm not an audiobook person and with the 4 year old in the car, I'd never get to listen to it anyway. ;) Just got to finish the other 2 books I'm reading.

[Donna]

I finished the book a few days ago (I've been without internet access for days, oh the horror!). I give it 4 stars; I was thoroughly engaged the entire time, and I found the plot interesting and not predictable. I would love to read more in this series.

[Maggie]

So I came here after looking at the thread where we discussed whether to reread previous selections. Let's see how well the suggestion of a newcomer using an old thread works. :)

Donna, I am so glad you thought that, too. I am not even vaguely associating it with Outlander (it's the one book this year that I've put aside without finishing, and I wasn't listening to the audiobook), but I thought Loch Lamora sounded like a lovely Scottish country escape. Every. Single. Time.

Regarding the time-hopping, especially at the beginning, I liked it about 80% of the time but sometimes I was genuinely confused (albeit momentarily) about what the setting was for the action I was reading. To some extent, I also think it kept me from getting attached to the characters as quickly. I'm not sure how to explain that, but I felt like a more linear progression would have shown me their relationships and how they developed and I'd build affection for them as they built affection for one another. It took them a while to grow on me. I guess it was a fun device but I'm not sure it added more than it took away?

(view spoiler)[I'm not sure if I need the spoiler tag after so long, but maybe for someone else who is coming back to the thread. I really don't like it when characters I love die tragically. I don't need everything to be happy and rosy all the time, I'm fine with plenty of difficulty and hardship, but I get so irate when an author coaxes me into loving a character and then is like "Yeah, see, you weren't really about it but now you adore them, right? See this little thief? Isn't he adorable? Bam. Arrow to the face." That's just a personal thing, though, and I absolutely understand that sometimes it's necessary for the development of the plot and the other characters. (hide spoiler)]

I finished it knowing that I liked it, and thinking back on it now I really liked the plot, but maybe it was a little dense for me? I didn't read it with the voracity (voraciousness?) with which I often devour books, and I don't know if I'll read the others in the series. I'd love to hear from anyone who has read the others and can comment on how it progresses and whether you think it would be worth it for me to pick up the next one.

[Donna]

Reading your comment, Maggie, has reminded me of how much I enjoyed this book. I meant to read the next one sooner rather than later but here it is, much later, and I never did. At this point though, I think I need to go back and re-read this one. I've shoehorned it into my TBR list.

[Liz]

I've listened to the audio books for the three. Still has time-hopping, but I didn't find it as jarring as I did with Lies. I found the backstory to be just as intriguing as the main story and filled in enough for the situation at hand but still kept me wanting to know more. The story continues following Locke & Jean, and things still keep going awry.