The Lies of Locke Lamora: Collector's Tenth Anniversary Edition (Gentleman Bastard)

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This book starts off great - the main character is interesting and has all the makings of a good hero. We learn about his development and growth, his mistakes and his flaws, which is the seed of any great story. The writing is very good with interesting stylistic choices. I appreciate how the author uses modern English idiom, which makes sense because we can safely assume these people are not speaking English anyway, and he might as well get his point across, and presumably whatever language they are speaking has similar idioms. I thought that the epigrams from our reality were apropos and it was an interesting stylistic choice to include them. The book is also pretty funny. However as others have said the book gets extremely dark about halfway through. The author killed off some characters who still had a lot of potential, turning what had been a fairly lighthearted tale into more of a horror story. In a way, I appreciate this because I was not expecting it, and I have to give the author some credit for subverting my expectations, but I believe it came at the expense of overall enjoyment of the story. Also, while I do not demand “representation“ from fiction, I didn’t feel that the book would have benefited from a romantic subplot. It hints at one regarding two different characters, one of whom - somewhat surprisingly - is referred to, but never actually appears on the scene, as if the author introduced her but forgot to work her in to the story. The other possible love interest is a potentially very interesting character, but, without spoiling anything, I can say that the relationship is not developed.

Calo and Galdo Sanza: members of the Gentleman Bastards, humorous and debaucherous twins with a broad skill setBeyond the visceral and relatable feel of the world, it’s also stunning in its visual descriptions. Lynch writes sweeping passages about the locales of Camorr and beyond, all primed and ready for panoramic shots of a dirty-but-thriving city, replete with canals, gondolas, colorful buildings, and shady dealings between suspicious passers-by. Zoom in on the events of the novels for tense negotiations aboard a luxurious barge. Or pan around a vicious battle between two warriors and the primal marine beast they’re fighting. Then follow the camera through the secret entrance to the Gentleman Bastards’ hidden lair, accompanied by the sights and sounds of a sizzling meal-in-progress and the laughter of Father Chains, thrilled at his pupils’ latest score.

Ah, well, felicitations to you in respect of the superlative grace of your entry into our very humble boat, Master Lamora." Jean punctuated this statement by popping the remains of his apple into his mouth, stem and all, and producing a wet crunching noise. There are plenty of twists and turns in this and I loved the world building involved. This seemed to be the biggest area of contention in my group read of the book as most loved the dialogue but there were vary degrees of how much everyone like the flowery descriptions of things in the world. I live for all the extra little details like oranges that had liquor infused into them alchemically or gladiator type battles for criminals in the water with giant fish creatures. It all worked for me but a few others started skimming descriptions to get to the meat of the story. Blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim, blah blah blah, skim skim skim. It took me a while to get in to initially as we are thrown straight into the world which has numerous races, religions and underworld hierarchy but after about 30-40 I was under the spell. Some of the cons are mesmerising. I remember numerous times when I thought that the con couldn't get any more complex or multi-layered it did and I was left in awe.you guys, this story is unreal. its so morally wrong that you dont even want it to be right. its that luring, that gritty, that bold. Here it is in a nutshell: When I was first published, I was irritated when people compared me to Scott Lynch. Only now do I realize how huge a compliment I was being given.

The map of Camorr from the Bantam Spectra edition of Lies, by Robert Bull. This version is fully accurate and congruent with what is described in the novel.But when I went to request the next book, I found myself sort of shuddering at the thought of slogging through any more of these guys' adventures. It stole hours of sleep. It wrapped me in cozy myth. It gave me the blessing of feeling like a kid again, snuggled up with a book, wondering how the hell 10pm became 4am. Find. Buy. Consume‘ Pierce Brown, bestselling author of the Red Rising series

But there are whispers of a challenge to the Capa's power. A challenge from a man no one has ever seen, a man no blade can touch. The Grey King is coming. The second bit is how atmospheric and well-described the world is. Camorr is a Venice-built-on-alien-ruins and Lynch totally runs with it. Its descriptions tease you and intrigue you, but do not overwhelm the story*. The somewhat Italian Renaissance names and society fit in perfectly and things are easy to visualize.This is a four-star book, and not a five, because it is like the best 'pop' music, in that it is very good for a very wide audience, but nothing is absolutely fantastic literary work that will be remembered indefinitely. If you're looking for a wonderful distraction - like a great romp of a movie, this is it.