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  The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is an amazing book. The setting is a medieval Venice steeped in old magics the world no longer understands. Our main character, Locke Lamora, is a thief-priest devoted to the Nameless Thirteenth god, the Crooked Warden. His crew are the Gentlemen Bastards, thieves who remind the rich and powerful that they aren't impervious. Scott Lynch, the author, has published a second book in the series, Red Seas Under Red Skies. The general agreement is that it's not as good as the first book, but it's still worth reading. Reading it will spoil a majority of the first book though, so be careful to read them in order. A third book is on the horizon, but Lynch has crushing anxiety problems that seem to control his life and are preventing that book from being released on time, late, or possibly ever. Lies is a book that reads like a classic heist movie. It begins mid heist, then takes some time out to explain some of the characters and what's going on, then returns to the action. The stakes increase as the book goes along, until eventually the "good guys" get in over their head. The story resolves fully- the book can easily be read as a stand alone and the reader will feel like they have had a complete experience. I really like a lot of things about this book. The tone is light to begin but quickly becomes darker. The way magic is handled in the world is fairly unique and results in what for me was one of the best payoffs I have ever read. The characters are interesting and varied. I could go but it is just going to me babbling about how everything is awesome. Anyway, onto the spoilers. Anything past the first 100 page in Lies should be spoilered, unless it becomes clear everyone has read both books. Who else thinks in the Third Book that they are going to find a dragon heart to cure Locke? Earlier they mention that eating it will cure any disease. I'll be pretty excited if the third book ever does come out. And I hope the wait between three and four won't be as bad as two and three. Why should I read this book in one sentence? Read this book because twin mafioso women armed with spears fight sharks in an aquatic arena while rich Dukes look on praying that one will make a mistake, and Scott Lynch writes it in a way that doesn't make it sound nerdy or stupid just awesome.
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Dec 19, 2012 06:56
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Sexpansion posted:I got a quarter of the way through and had to put it down. Not trying to be a negative nancy, and I thought it was good for a debut, but I couldn't do it. What didn't you like?
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Dec 20, 2012 18:43
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Normal Adult Human posted:The longest con of them all is that there hasn't been a thread for this series. I think what disappoints most about the second book is that it starts off so well in the Sin Spire. And as so-so as the middle of the book is, I liked the ending of it well enough. I think what bothered me most about it was just how predictable it was.
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Dec 21, 2012 02:50
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It pains me that I own the right side version of the cover from the first post. I am such a vain rear end in a top hat it almost prevented me from buying the book in the first place. The US gets the worst book covers always. The European style is always more interesting to me. Especially for China Mieville. That said, Red Seas Under Red Skies doesn't have a good cover version that I know of anywhere.
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Dec 25, 2012 19:44
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BananaNutkins posted:Didn't the books drop hints that she was training to be a Mage? I just thought Lynch wasn't ready to bring out the magic system. As it is, without some retcon, I think he's going to have problems with that. Magic is just too powerful. I love that about his world. The mages all band together and form a big gently caress you guild, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Locke is a marked man for what he did to the bonds-magi he met for the rest of his life. The part about them going thermonuclear on Karthain was awesome. I imagine 99% of the time the mages do nothing- they just chill out in their guild and collect sickening amounts of money for being alive. It's clear they consider themselves above normal human relationships and politics.
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Jan 2, 2013 08:16
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To both the above posts, I don't believe we are given any information whatsoever beyond the fact that Jean is surprised to hear it.
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Jan 28, 2013 18:20
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Dienes posted:Okay, you made me go dig the book out. The last page of the novel: That's first and last name I assume, not just first name. But touche.
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Jan 28, 2013 20:09
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I wish I could get Scott Lynch to write campaign settings for tabletop rpgs. His narrative is at its best when he is discussing architecture, religion, or how his various syndicates function. I don't mean to put down his dialog, I just enjoy how he evokes a picture of his world more. And again, while I don't mean to put down his dialog, there are times where it gets a little too close to a pop culture nerd tone for my liking. This is an increasingly evident problem for my buddy Patrick Rothfuss, and I noticed it strongly in Lynch's Queen of the Red Sands story. And speaking of his religions, they are perhaps the only interesting ones I've seen in a fantasy novel in a long time. That Locke is actually a priest of the Crooked Warden is really cool, and how it's evident that from his time with father chains that it means something to him is an equally compelling character trait.
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Jan 29, 2013 07:19
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Oh Hell YES. Today is a good day.
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Mar 15, 2013 00:51
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Every time I load this thread and there are three unread responses my day just gets better and better.
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Mar 15, 2013 17:19
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withak posted:Yeah they are kind of in a gray area because he didn't actually kill the dude. That grey area where you torture a wizard guy and think there won't be reprecussions.
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Apr 10, 2013 00:04
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Nice bird, rear end in a top hat.
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Apr 10, 2013 04:59
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I feel safe saying Lynch will eventually reveal something about the bondsmagi that puts things in perspective. I don't doubt that have a lot of infighting and politicking, but I bet there is more to it than that. And as super awesome as they seem to be, when isolated they are clearly killable.
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Apr 10, 2013 07:20
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HOW DO I GET IT RIGHT NOW
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Jun 18, 2013 01:32
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Your spoiler tag, it is not right.
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Aug 16, 2013 05:34
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Mr.48 posted:A lot of people didnt like the second book, but I think its only because the author tried to do something different, whereas many readers expected it to be more like the first in terms of structure. I honestly still liked it a lot. I liked it, just not as much. Though upon a reread, there are a few pacing problems in the first book.
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Aug 30, 2013 04:36
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BananaNutkins posted:Same review. See, now I am less worried, because that book was awesome.
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Oct 2, 2013 04:10
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20% of the way through, I'm a fan so far. I am tired of reading about sick Locke Lamora though. One trope I could do without.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:39
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Overall I was somewhat let down by the book. I really wanted it to go in a different direction than it did. My favorite underlying theme to the whole series has always been, thieves prosper and the rich remember. Now we're taking a left turn from that into Locke's a wizard and space monsters! I want to read about a guy who is just so god drat good at being a thief that he pulls one over, even on all powerful wizards. But it seems to be diverging more and more from that ideal.
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Oct 12, 2013 18:27
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elzie posted:This is definitely the biggest problem I had. I really loved it once they finally got that whole thing squared away, but it just felt like such a boring way to set up the premise of the book (lady comes in and just ... patronizingly explains it, for a hundred pages.) Luckily I would rather the beginning of a book be slow than the middle/end and I liked those parts just fine. I liked that part. I think my brain equates it to reading the rules for an RPG.
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Oct 15, 2013 18:34
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Please, for the love of god, keep bitcoins out of this thread at least.
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Dec 31, 2013 05:04
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Lynch and Rothfuss are going to coauthor a tween series about romance and love and it's going to be so, gratuitously bad.
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Jan 8, 2014 20:57
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WastedJoker posted:Almost exactly two thirds of the way into TLOLL and poo poo gets super real Enjoy it, definitely some of my favorite scenes in the last 10 years.
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Jan 17, 2014 04:21
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