Review | The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Part coming-of-age story, part Ocean’s Eleven heist, unfolding in a city somewhat resembling Renaissance-age Venice, The Lies of Locke Lamora is a stunning debut effort from Scott Lynch. With intricate world-building, a colorful writing style, and a unique interlocking structure, the novel is satisfying even at its weaker moments.

The Lies of Locke Lamora
By Scott Lynch; Read by Michael Page
Audible Download – 22 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: 2009
Print: Mass Market Paperback, 736 pages

Orphaned at an early age, Locke Lamora must find his way on the streets and canals of Camorr, a city whose soaring elderglass spires and alchemical streetlamps meet roving street gangs and scheming guilds of thieves. Into one of the latter the young Locke Lamora soon finds employ, and quickly proves hmiself a most capable pickpocket and swindler. Alternating with chapters of Locke’s youth are chapters which comprise the main story, telling how Locke, as garista of the Gentleman Bastards, attempts to pull a massive scam on one of the city’s nobles. The novel’s unique structure keeps the story fresh and interesting. Just as the action in one timeline begins to flag, we cut to the other part of the story to complete more of the picture.

Locke Lamora is your typical noble-hearted thief, but he’s portrayed in a way that defies most of the clichés. Locke suffers some horrible tragedies both in his childhood and in present time, and he responds to these challenges in a strikingly human way. That is to say, sometimes he rises to the occasion, either internally or externally, and other times he does not. Lynch thus transforms what could have been a carbon copy of Robin Hood into a lifelike and ultimately likable character.

The other characters are no less well-drawn, from Locke’s hatchet-wielding partner Jean to the enthusiastic young Bug, the newest inductee into the Gentleman Bastards. Locke’s childhood mentor Chains, who masquerades as a blind, manacled priest by day, holds the childhood chapters together.

The city of Camorr is a character in its own right, highlighting Lynch’s considerable descriptive and worldbuilding skills. The city’s layout, criss-crossed as it is by broad canals traversed by boats, along with the Italianesque names of most characters, lends the city a Venetian feel, a Venice that might have been. Alchemy lights the city by night, and occasionally also serves more nefarious purposes. The city is ostensibly led by Duke Nicovante, but he’s clearly a figurehead, as the various nobles and street gangs hold de facto rule. The magic, geography, and politics combine to render Camorr as lifelick as the people who live there.

I initially found Scott Lynch’s writing style a bit off-putting, since The Lies of Locke Lamora features a high ratio of average swear words per page. In many recent fantasy novels, this comes off to me as pretentious, a deliberate rebuff of the pastoral sanitized language of the fantasy classics of yesteryear. Lynch, however, manages to pull it off. Mostly this is because the language fits so well with the characters and the setting. This is just the way I’d expect Locke Lamora and a band of thieves to talk. A healthy dose of humor doesn’t hurt either.

Part of the reason, I think, that the language didn’t bother me is that Michael Page does a fantastic job of narrating the audio version. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting a British narrator, but now I can’t imagine the story told by any other voice. Page is equal to the task of capturing the broad scope of Lynch’s world and characters.

Any reader of fantasy will probably find much to enjoy in The Lies of Locke Lamora, and fans of the heist genre of books or films will also likely enjoy experiencing that form transposed on a fantasy medieval setting.