On Starships and Dragonwings

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is an excellent example of a top-notch fantasy story and a top-notch audiobook. I stumbled upon The Gentleman Bastards series when I requested the third book on NetGalley without realizing it was a third book. I am so glad I did! I am loving this hilariously uncouth writing, superb world-building, and wonderfully imperfect cast of characters.

Note: I purchased The Lies of Locke Lamora on Audible.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch 
Narrated by Michael Page
(Gentleman Bastards #1)
Published by Tantor Audio on July 2007
Genres: Adult, Fantasy 
Length: 719 pages
How I got my copy: Purchased
IndieBound - Book Depository - Goodreads
Purchases made support this blog 

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.... --Goodreads 

Strengths:

• First off, the narration for The Lies of Locke Lamora is simply fabulous. I cannot recommend the audiobook of this story enough! Each character has their own unique voice, female characters are well done by the male narrator, and even the various disguises of the main character have their own voice (quite impressive if you ask me!).
• The Lies of Locke Lamora has some of the most inventive and entertaining swearing I have ever encountered. I don’t generally run into this much swearing in a fantasy book, but it worked perfectly to set The Lies of Locke Lamora apart from all other fantasy stories I’ve read.
• Locke Lamora is not a heroic wielder of amazing magic, but The Lies of Locke Lamora still have an intricate magic system that we get hints of throughout the story. I was amazed at how well the world was built and the magic was built without having a hero of ages complex (ie, the main characters were not the most special people in the history of the world).
• While The Lies of Locke Lamora is quite long, the storytelling makes it completely worth it. All the details are important and come together into a beautiful work of plotting and scheming ;-).

Weaknesses:

•  There are basically no women in The Lies of Locke Lamora…. There are a couple of noblewomen that play fairly prominent secondary character roles, but they are both duped by Locke, so that doesn’t really work for me. There is also a female thief that is referred to frequently, and I assume with show up in later books, but she didn’t show up in this one, so she doesn’t count.
• There are these interludes that flash back to Locke’s youth, but you start in one, so it feels at first like you are flashing forward during the non-interludes. It was a bit confusing to figure out what the main storyline was going to be at first, but I did get used to it.

Summary:

I very much looked forward to all of my long drives because I knew that I was going to be listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora. I’m torn between listening to or reading the next book because I want to continue listening to such a great narrator, but I also want to be able to read the next book more quickly than audiobooks let me. So conflicting! In any case, if you don’t mind creative and amusing swearing (but lots of it!) you should most definitely read The Lies of Locke Lamora in preparation for the third book coming out this fall. This is a series that I have no doubt I will love all the way through.