Book Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

TL;DR: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
+ Easy to read, straightforward text
+ Low fantasy, with alchemy, magic and pre-industrial tech
+ Buddy-novel cum heist/thievery, interesting cast of characters
++ HATEFUL villains
++ Focused story-telling, relatively fast paced
+ Intermediate world-building
++ Quite Long!
+/- Sans Romance
++ Satisfying conclusion

4/5 Very enjoyable read/listen.  Highly recommended.

With the release of Book 3 of the Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch, I gave the first book in that series, The Lies of Locke Lamora a go.

Having found the first few chapters an easy read, I switched to audiobook format (so I can listen while driving/walking/taking out kitty poop).  Michael Page did a credible job narrating the book (and he does so again for the next two books), but his characterisations are a bit limited (thus, confusing).

I enjoyed the book's low-stakes (in the greater scheme of things), low-fantasy setting, which focused mostly on Locke Lamora and his buddy Jean Tannen as well as the rest of their gang of thieving, heisting Gentleman Bastards.  While the Gentleman Bastards are far from your troop of white knights, they're quite likable and I did get quite attached.  The villains, on the other hand, are positively hateful while remaining grounded and believable -- no evil for evil's sake here, they're just right bastards.

The book is fairly long, though it moves along in a brisk pace with little padding.  World building is done well and quite unobtrusively, and while the fictional pre-industrial Venice is not that dissimilar from the historic one, with its Italian sounding names and places, it  is quite well fleshed out and believable.

Oh, magic is there, but it is quite low key: it's quite the practical sort, almost like technology, though alchemy and more physical science is quite present.

One thing that's fairly odd about this novel is the lack of love interest(s), unless you count the Bromance between Locke and Jean to be one (purely platonic, I think) or the long distance relationship between Locke and Sabetha (another member of their gang).  It is quite similar to the Lord of the Rings in that regards.

All-in-all, I enjoyed listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora: interesting characters, fleshed out world, despicable villain and a fast pace makes the pages fly.  I'm glad I have two more books to look forward to.  Give it a go if you like your fantasy books less wandy and more gritty.