The Lies of Locke Lamora has been a book that’s been on both my virtual and physical TBR for what feels like years now. It’s a book that whenever anybody talks about the best fantasy books, is one that often appears on people’s lists. So I thought it was about time I finally picked it up and formed my own opinion on it.
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The Lies of Locke Lamora predominantly follows the rise of our main protagonist Locke Lamora. I say predominantly because it does heavily feature a cast of other characters too, but it’s Locke’s who we mostly follow. The book tells two stories – one with Lamora as a young boy, joining the guild he’s now a part of it and his growing up and the other is current day with Locke grown, fully established into this guild and taking part in numerous heists, culminating in one large one at the end.
The Lies of Locke Lamora plot – 4.25/5
As aforementioned, The Lies of Locke Lamora tells two stories in tandem. I think, by far, my favourite was the story of Lamora growing up. I found the relationship between him and his master growing up more entertaining and also the life lessons he learns along the way. He essentially is a very good thief but has to learn how to work as part of a team to fully flourish in this thieves guild he’s joined.
This is a “grimdark” fantasy novel which means it’s filled with dark jokes, some gruesome moments and doesn’t ever really take itself seriously and when it does it’s at the true benefit of the reader. This means I found myself chuckling along at some moments too which is rare in a fantasy novel (though less rare in grimdark novels).
I found the actual plot to be a little disjointed at the start. I think the story of Lamora as an older man initially struggles to find its footing and I did find myself wondering where it was going. But it does eventually figure out a route and that’s when my intrigue built up.
The Lies of Locke Lamora characters – 4.5/5
Without a doubt, The Lies of Locke Lamora has fantastic characters. Lynch himself is clearly filled with personality and this floods down into his different characters. Lamora, our main protagonist is a driven, energetic and ambitious young man who clearly leads the Gentleman Bastards (the name of the guild he’s a part of) without directly ever being called their leader. His charisma and sometimes brash personality make for a very entertaining main lead.
Other characters along the way including Father Chains and Jean Tannen are great additions to the cast offering humorous and even quite meaningful contributions to both the story but also to Lamora’s character too. The early years where Locke and Jean form their budding friendship were some of my favourite moments of the book.
As with any good fantasy novel, you’ve got to have a good villain and Capa Raza or Luciano Antolius as his real name is worthy of such. He’s one of those villains where it seems he has very little tolerance for mistakes and thus you never really know what he’s going to next and what might cause him to snap. The best villains either have reasonable logic behing their antagonistic choices or who simply insane and can change at any moment.
The Lies of Locke Lamora final rating – 4.5/5
The Lies of Locke Lamora is every bit the great fantasy novel you hear people say it is. It ticks a lot of the boxes I enjoy ticking in a fantasy novel – a well fleshed out world, a genuinely enjoyable cast of characters and a story you find yourself engaged in. Lynch’s writing is highly engaging with all of our main protagonists showing multiple levels of depth, causing you to vouch for them as a reader. Though not the most engaging story I’ve ever read, I’m very excited to learn more about the world and read more of the trials, tribulations and thievery of the Gentleman Bastards. People said The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of the all-time grimdark GOATs and I can certainly see why.
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