Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥'s Reviews > The Lies of Locke Lamora

”Some day, Locke Lamora,” he said, “some day, you’re going to fuck up so magnificently, so ambitiously, so overwhelmingly that the sky will light up and the moons will spin and the gods themselves will shit comets with glee. And I just hope I’m still around to see it.”
“Oh please,” said Locke. “It’ll never happen.”

Haha! You gotta love Father Chains for his vivid imagination and if you actually read the entire book you might find yourself at a place where you have to agree with him. XD
But I’m getting ahead of myself here so I’ll just start with my general opinion and will try to take it from there. ;-)

This book was amazing! I’m the first to admit that it had a rather slow start and that Scott Lynch put a lot of effort into his world building, the more I read on the more I could understand why he was so thorough with his descriptions though. He set the stage, let us see how Locke’s crew operated, gave us a good understanding about their close bond and offered us a brief glimpse at the machinations behind all their elaborate heists. In short: Lynch wrote a brilliant opening to an intriguing series and I can’t wait to read book two.

If there are at least half as many twists and unexpected turns as there were in “The Lies of Locke Lamora” I’ll be a more than just happy camper. *lol* I mean seriously, I loved all those characters and their cunning and deceiving ways. XD Throughout the entire book I never knew what to expect and there were about a ton of “Oh, shit!” moments that were shortly followed by “Jeez! NO!” and “What happened now?” exclamations. I confess that some of the happenings and casual revelations actually left me reeling and I found myself saying: “That’s it! That’s exactly what I want to read!” more often than I can count. And boy did the shit hit the fan at the middle of the book. I barely got a second to breathe and I continued to be breathless until the crescendo ended in a grande finale and the curtain eventually fell.
Yes, the second half of the book was THAT intense. *lol*

Anyway, enough of musical terms! Let’s go right to the characters! ;-)

The Characters:

Welcome to Camorr, the city that harbours questionable characters, morally grey individuals and a wide selection of rich nobles that quite literally beg to be robbed and spoiled. If you’re an innocent and clueless noble you better don’t dwell all too long. You might either end up relieved of the weight of your purse or even worse, you might end up being spoiled for the book! This was a fair warning; the rest is up to you. ;-P

Father Chains:

”There are only three people in life you can never fool – pawnbrokers, whores, and your mother. Since your mother’s dead, I’ve taken her place. Hence, I’m bullshit-proof.”

I really loved that guy! His observations and statements were so funny and accurate and boy was he a clever man. I mean he basically invented “The Gentleman Bastards” and made them the crew they are when we first set eyes on them. He might have been harsh to his boys but it was obvious that he only wanted the best for them and I guess in his own way he really cared about them too. I can’t help but wonder what happened to him though. We only read about him in flashbacks and memories so it’s kind of self-explanatory that he’s dead. How exactly he died was never mentioned though. Maybe this mystery will be solved in book two and we’ll find out more about Sabetha too?? She’s still such a mystery. XD

Locke Lamora:

”You’re one third bad intentions, one third pure avarice, and one eight sawdust. What’s left, I’ll credit, must be brains.” J

That’s Jean’s description of Locke and to some degree I have to agree with his words. *lol* I think Locke is definitely a whole lot more brains than he gave him credit for though. I really loved this character! He might be a thief but he was a gentleman too and he had his heart at the right place which is the most important thing. For Locke it never was about the money, it was all about the fun he had with his heists and brothers. You might say it was the scheming and plotting that made him happy. To create a plan and to actually execute it in the end. The money they gained from it was just secondary. Locke’s character arc was really intriguing because at the beginning it’s all about the heist and the fun, but the moment the Grey King appears everything changes and gets dark. Well, and after the Grey King took away the only thing he ever cared about his heart and mind are set on vengeance and vengeance alone. I’ve to admit that I loved that angry Locke too and the more I read about his complex character the more I loved him.

”If he was going to save them, he had to play the Grey King until the Capa was finished with him, and then he would pray for a quick and easy death. Let Locke Lamora just vanish one night; let his friends slip away to whatever better fate awaited them.”

”I will have the Grey King, and if all the powers of Camorr and Karthain and Hell itself oppose me, it will be nothing – nothing but a longer trail of corpses between me and your master.”

Jean Tannen:

”Hell yes,” cried Bug. “I knew there was a reason I let you lead this gang!”
“Well, I can’t argue with the manifest wisdom of the boy that jumps off temple roofs. But I trust my points are noted,” said Jean.
“Very noted,” said Locke. “Received, recognised, and duly considered with the utmost gravity. Sealed, notarised, and firmly imprinted upon my rational essence.”

I loved the bond between Jean and Locke! I don’t know how it happened that they got so close but it was obvious that they are like family to each other. After reading the entire book I have the feeling that I still don’t know Jean all too well but I’m pretty sure Scott Lynch had his reasons to keep his character vague. Maybe we’ll read more about him in the next book and I’d be totally fine with this. Alone the fact that he’s quite literally Locke’s “hatchet man” was enough to make me curious and I truly hope my curiosity will be sated in the next book. =)

”I don’t have to fight or run,” he crackled. “I changed the rules of the game. I just have to keep you here … asshole. Here … until … Jean gets back.”

The Sanza Twins:

”If you do end up in danger, Locke,” said Calo, “you must understand that we will ignore the orders of our garrista, and we’ll bludgeon our friend on the back of his thick skull and smuggle him out of Camorr in a box. I have just the bludgeon for the job.”
“And I have a box,” said Galdo. “Been hoping for an excuse to use it for years, really.”

Those two were so amazing! They grew on me so fast and then the ending happened and I was like NOOOOOOO!!! It’s so rare to read about twins in books and I really would have loved to see more of them. Unfortunately it seems like Scott Lynch had other plans and the funny Sanza twins had to disappear. T_T I loved that they would have done everything in order to save Locke and I know he loved them very much. =( I swear I cried real tears when he found them dead at the temple. It broke my heart… They would have deserved so much better than that. Locke was true to his word though, he really made them and Bug the biggest death offering Camorr ever saw and I love him even more for it! <3

”And I had to get rid of the moustache in a hurry,” said Locke.
“And damned if he didn’t scream when Jean did the honours,” said Calo.
“Like a Sanza brother in an empty whorehouse!” Locke made a rude gesture at Calo; Calo mimed aiming and loosing a crossbow at him in return.

The Grey King:

”But you could have settled for simple theft,” said Locke. “I would have given it all to keep Calo and Galdo and Bug alive. I would have given it all, had you put it to me like that.”
“What thief does not fight to hold what he has?”
“One that has something better,” said Locke.

I really disliked the Grey King and the Bondsmage made my blood boil with anger! They were both such arrogant and self-righteous numpties! I swear when Locke decided to take them down I cheered for him and even though he had to pay a high price for his actions I still think it was worth it. Bug, Calo and Galdo were worth it. I think what shook me the most about the Grey King and his lackey was the simple fact that they just did it because they could. I mean Locke never did them any harm, yet they destroyed his entire life and killed the people he cared about. It was so senseless. The Bondsmage obviously enjoyed to have the power over other people and relished to torture on behalf of the Grey King, so I have absolutely no pity for him. Was it drastic what Locke and Jean did? Yes! Was it wrong? Yes, definitely. Did the Grey King and the Bondsmage deserve it? I’m inclined to say yes, because let’s face it if Locke and Jean wouldn’t have done what they did their lives would have been forfeit the moment the Bondsmage got rid of his shackles. I think they actually didn’t have any other choice if they wanted to survive. >_<

The Spider:

”I have always found the presumptions of others to be the best possible disguise – haven’t you?”

Ha! I knew who the spider was the moment she appeared! It was a clever disguise but not clever enough to fool me. XD I’m just glad that she believed Locke and listened to him and I think they made an interesting pair. What I loved the most about their interactions was their mutual respect though. They could appreciate the skill of each other even though they lived in totally different worlds and were enemies. It was nice to see that Locke’s opponent was as cunning and artful as he was and it gave the story a really nice touch. Whilst the Grey King was all brutality and cruel force in the end, the spider remained conniving and prudent and I really liked that about her.

Conclusion:

This plane might have taken quite a while until it took off, but boy, did it take off in the end! The more I think about it the more I have to admit that this story was brilliantly executed and I can only take a bow and congratulate Scott Lynch for writing such a complex, detailed and elaborate book! =)

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It’s another month and since March just started I’m once again trying to reduce my TBR with my own blog meme “Hugs’n’kisses OR Dismissed by the Missus/Messrs” .

This time around I chose “The Lies of Locke Lamora” and I’m so happy I’m finally going to read this book.
I wanted to read it for ages but never had the time and now that I did my monthly blog meme I have no other choice than to go through with it – Which, truth be told, is awesome! *lol*

An infamous thief, his morally gray gang and a dangerous and bloody coup?

Say no more, because I’m so here for this! ;-P