Herding Cats Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora

[owlmoose]

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is my fourth book for the tl;dr challenge, rec'd by not_cynical and thornsmoke, and then talked up so convincingly by lassarina that it had to jump to the head of the line.

I enjoyed it, quite a lot; it kept me turning the pages and picking it back up when I really ought to have been doing other things, and there are some really winning characters in here. Lynch makes you think he's giving you a straightforward, fun, thrill-ride caper story, and then he sneaks up behind you and punches you in the gut, and rather than being a jarring tone shift, it just draws you in even more. Very effective. Pretty tightly written, too -- Lynch takes great care to make sure that you see all the guns on the walls, presented just casually enough that you forget they're there until someone fires them. The structure is interesting, going back and forth between the main narrative and "interludes" that are sometimes flashbacks and sometimes infodumps on the world and the people in it. This also could have been jarring, but for me it worked; I liked getting Locke's backstory and more context without having to contrive reasons for people to talk about them. Thumbs up. I will definitely be acquiring the sequel once it's out in paperback next month.

Comments

[iamleaper]

I thoroughly enjoyed that book as well. Did you know that Locke was named after Locke from FFVI? I can't remember if he said that in a book or in some interview I read somewhere.

I also liked the interlude sections very much. It's a great way to get around the "contrived reason to talk about my life!" sections that happen often in books.

[lassarina]

It's actually in his FAQ, and was one of the reasons I initially picked the book up XD

Also, the author has an LJ, for anyone who wants to stalk: scott_lynch :D

Yay, I am so glad you liked the first book! The second one makes less use of the flashback-interludes, but is just as well put-together and carries an even sharper gut-punch.

[iamleaper]

Woot! I heard about the book and the Locke reference from babel, I think. I can't wait to read the second one, because Locke and Jean are so totally my OTP. ;)

And now I'm LJ stalking him... I mean, adding him to my friends list. >.>

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I had seen links to his LJ from time to time, but I hadn't ventured there for fear of spoilers. But it looks like he hasn't updated in awhile; too bad.

I'm really glad the paperback is out next month, otherwise I might die of waiting!!

[lassarina]

Does your local library not have it in hardcover? :)

I, uh, it is a well-known fact that I have neither patience nor willpower. If I want books, I buy them. This is why I have at least 3 bookshelves exploding, and that's just the stuff I've bought since I came to college; there are boxes upon boxes upon boxes of them at home, too.

Voracious bookworm Rina is voracious!

But I'm really glad you enjoyed the book :)

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I haven't checked, but I'm sure they have it, although it's a new enough book there's also a good chance that all copies are checked out. But I am the worst librarian EVER because if I want to read a work of fiction I pretty much just buy it. ;) Instant gratification! I think I've checked out a pleasure book from the library once in the last year. *hides*

But I also have a strong preference for paperbacks because I do so much of my reading "on the go" (at lunch, on the train, etc.) and I hate hauling hardbacks around. So I have trained myself to wait for paperback, if I can manage it; I usually have enough to read that I can distract myself. I pretty much only buy hardbacks if I need the book *now right now* -- like with the new Naomi Novik coming out in a couple of weeks (*bounce*), or the ASoIaF books. (Usually I replace them with paperbacks for re-reading purposes, then sell the hardbacks.) If the Scott Lynch were more than a couple of months away from paperback release, I'd probably give in to the hardback and/or the library.

[lassarina]

Since I re-read books so often, I basically just buy whatever I want. I'm actually considering hunting down a hardback copy of Locke Lamora, because Red Seas is in hardback and I am OCD enough that it will drive me NUCKING FUTZ if I have one book in paperback and the rest of the series in hardcover. I'm just that spastic. *hangs head in shame*

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I am a librarian, I am the last person to mock anyone for being compulsive about books. :)

T has been trying to get me to buy fewer books, or be better about getting rid of the ones I have. All I can do is look at him blankly. "Too many books" = "does not compute"

[lassarina]

EXACTLY. My boyfriend mocks me for having no self-control when it comes to games or books. I'm just like "Life's short, why bother?" (He's an engineer; it's not EFFICIENT. He likes ebooks. I want paper I can touch.) Mostly he just rolls his eyes and sighs at me.

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that! If you haven't read Scott Lynch's FAQ, you must. (There weren't any spoilers for the new book.)

I suppose if a lot of books used the interlude structure, it would get old, but it worked very well here. I thought Lynch did a good job of pairing the bits of Locke's backstory and present, too.

[luciab.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reminding me-- I loved the first book and read it twice already. I didn't realize the second one was out-- on my way to the library to get it now. Yay!