From Goodreads An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.

From me {/i} That doesn't do justice to how intricate the story is.

Anyone who like action/adventure in a historical settings, with a little bit of magic thrown in.

It is very detailed, and that frustrated me a bit.

The story is AMAZING. The overdone detail frustrated me because it took me out of the intricate, dense, expertly woven tapestry of the story. It takes some serious writing chops to pull off a plot like this.

The book is extremely witty, with some great dialogue and believable characters.

Lynch did. He took too long to do it, but it is one hell of a story.

It also very much tested my patience. So much so, I started to detach from most of the characters well before their arcs. I managed to keep my love of Jean, Locke and surprisingly, the Falconer intact. And Chains, because, well, he's Chains.

Did I mention I was frustrated?

Usually when I'm reading book like this, I chew it up and spit it out within a few days. It took me forever to get through this. I kept igoring it. Then it would get really good. Then it would fizzle again and I'd ignore it.

I'm not arguing that he's a poor world-builder. Quite the opposite. It's not my preferred style.

It is one of my favorite plots.

Is often compared to Patrick Rothfuss. Rothfuss has stated publicly that he takes that a huge compliment, because he's being compared to Scott Lynch.

The plot is so stellar.

Getting to all the plot points takes forever.

I'm a solid 3.5 stars on this one.

The glowing reviews are not Lies Of Those Reading Locke Lamora. The plot, and the core of the story, is 5-stars. No argument from me. Where we will differ is in how long it took to get from A to B. If you're into the lush, dense extras, it'll be a 5-star book. I'm not, but I won't argue about the plot at all. It is spectacular.

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Created Aug 15, 2019 at 5:05pm • Submit your own review...