Review on The Lies Of Locke Lamora.

 

That piece of art.

It’s rare that a book will inspire and motivate me to create a campaign around it. Truly rare. On of those books was “The Lies of Locke Lamora”, it made me want:

A)    create a dungeons and dragons adventure were cunning and deceit would be the best weapons of the players and

B)     Play a rouge.

As anyone that has done Dungeonmaster for more than five sessions knows that the first  of these things is impossible for a D&D setting, especially at the 3.5 edition that I am accustomed with. And anyone that knows me, knows that it will be a cold day in hell before I play a rouge.

This would be the lava pits at the said day.

As that first dream died I admitted to my self that this book had me enthralled. Because as it has been proved time and time again

And again, again again again….

I am a sucker for smartass protagonists and clever written stories, where not physical prowess but mental strength is shown to triumph.

For that reason I even followed this little devil for a while.

“The Lies of Locke Lamora” is all that and many things more.

The story.

We follow the adventures of a team of thieves called “The Gentlemen Bastards” as they try to rob blind one of the richest families in their city. Leader of that joyful company is none other than Locke Lamora, the most risk taking person in any book ever.

The characters.

Locke Lamora: To smart for his own good Locke was borne for no other reason than being a thief and lead the Gentlemen Bastards. He is a master of the art of lying and acting. The only persons that can truly trust him are the rest of the Bastards and his trust on them knows no limits.

Jean Tannen: The muscle of the team. You don’t want to face him with his “Wicked Sisters” at hand, actually you don’t want to face him at all, he is deadly. That been said don’t even for a second think that he is all muscle and no brains, he is probably way smarter than you.

Calo and Galdo: The twins that were sent as a plague to be set louse upon the wealthy.

Bug: The youngest of the bastards, he still apprentices but he shows great promise, he idealizes and imitates Locke which is a dangerous thing to do.

The rest of the world:

Scott Lynch has created a wonderful in her complexity city with interesting characters, from the slams to the shining palaces we see cunning minds and power plays that vary only slightly in their cruelty.

Things that I liked:

1)      The narrative. Especially the changes from the present to the past as we switch views from the current Locke to the kid he once was.

2)      The characters. They are presented excellently, we see their cruel side, their caring side, we can at the end relate to them.

3)      The story in its self. I can’t really say what I liked without spoiling the story but trust me on that, the story is great!

Things that I disliked:

1)      That there has to be a limit (of words, size, pages) to a book so awesome. What do I mean. Through the course of the story we are introduced to a plethora of interesting characters that don’t get enough time under the spotlight, characters that I would really liked to learn more about.

Conclusion:

You better read the shit out of this book, go to your nearest bookstore and buy it now! Or order it online whichever suits you best, but for god’s sake do it now!