The Lies of Locke Lamora
I had the hardest time getting into The Lies of Locke Lamora.
It was frustrating because everyone around me was absolutely raving
about it. And given the premise - a group of thieves pull cons on rich
people - I was sure I'd like it, too, if I could just give it a chance.
But giving it that chance proved difficult.
This was partly due to timing. I started it on a beach weekend, then continued while we had a house guest. For the first week I was reading in dribs and drabs of 10 minutes at a time. When I finally had 3 hours to devote to reading, I wanted a book I could just finish in that time. This was compounded by the format of the book. Scott Lynch plays fast and loose with linear time. He jumps between two main timelines - Locke's childhood and the present-day heist. Within those timelines, he continues to jump around, or abandon plot altogether for 3-4 pages of exposition. More than usual I was re-reading earlier passages trying to figure out if I'd missed something or if I was supposed to be in the dark.
All that said, I did eventually get pulled in to the book. The middle section was really strong, and I gulped it down. Three or four different powers come into play and none of them are wholly aware of the others. They set traps for each other, walk into them blindly, and do their best to wriggle back out. It's fascinating and just the right level of complicated. Sadly, things tend to fall apart a little again towards the end of the book, but I've been assured that Lynch figures out this format and gets a lot better at it in the future.
There are a lot of other things that Lynch does really well, the main one being representation. While the core group of thieves doesn't have any women in it (well, none who appear on-page anyway), there are some awesome women in the book. Including a pair of deadly bodyguards, the big boss's daughter, a brilliant alchemist, and the spy to end all spies. Moreover, Lynch makes an effort to pepper the background characters - guards and soldiers - with women which is something that happens incredibly rarely. It's also worth noting that there are almost no white characters in this book. It takes place in a vaguely Mediterranean city, and the characters reflect that.
I'm hoping the next book pulls me in a little quicker and keeps me more engaged. Maybe I'll wait for my life to calm down a bit before seeking it out.
This was partly due to timing. I started it on a beach weekend, then continued while we had a house guest. For the first week I was reading in dribs and drabs of 10 minutes at a time. When I finally had 3 hours to devote to reading, I wanted a book I could just finish in that time. This was compounded by the format of the book. Scott Lynch plays fast and loose with linear time. He jumps between two main timelines - Locke's childhood and the present-day heist. Within those timelines, he continues to jump around, or abandon plot altogether for 3-4 pages of exposition. More than usual I was re-reading earlier passages trying to figure out if I'd missed something or if I was supposed to be in the dark.
All that said, I did eventually get pulled in to the book. The middle section was really strong, and I gulped it down. Three or four different powers come into play and none of them are wholly aware of the others. They set traps for each other, walk into them blindly, and do their best to wriggle back out. It's fascinating and just the right level of complicated. Sadly, things tend to fall apart a little again towards the end of the book, but I've been assured that Lynch figures out this format and gets a lot better at it in the future.
There are a lot of other things that Lynch does really well, the main one being representation. While the core group of thieves doesn't have any women in it (well, none who appear on-page anyway), there are some awesome women in the book. Including a pair of deadly bodyguards, the big boss's daughter, a brilliant alchemist, and the spy to end all spies. Moreover, Lynch makes an effort to pepper the background characters - guards and soldiers - with women which is something that happens incredibly rarely. It's also worth noting that there are almost no white characters in this book. It takes place in a vaguely Mediterranean city, and the characters reflect that.
I'm hoping the next book pulls me in a little quicker and keeps me more engaged. Maybe I'll wait for my life to calm down a bit before seeking it out.
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