Scott Lynch II: Read The Lies of Locke Lamora and Win at Life!

[Algiz]

I finished the book this past Friday, leaving me desperately wanting the next one with all achievable haste. Since more or less every possible phrasings of praise for it has been mentioned in these threads already, I guess it will suffice to state that I wholeheartedly agree. Utterly brilliant book, fantastic writing – especially the dialogues were extraordinary good. Good mix of brutal and exciting action with light-hearted and witty commentary. Jean’s remark regarding Bug’s inability to remain in high places for any considerable length of time had me chuckling loudly to myself – probably looking like a twit, since I was on the bus home from work.

There was, however, a fairly minor detail that bugged me. Nothing major, but frequent enough to notice:

SPOILER: The Lies of Locke Lamora

The amount of physical violence Locke can endure, without evident effect - immediately afterwards and in the long-term aspect. In the end, for example, when he is first savagely booted in the face several times by Conté – and then punched with full force by the captain. Afterwards he can gleefully strut off for the final showdown with the capa. Since there are several incidents like this throughout the book, it is a minor miracle he doesn’t have permanent brain damage, and a single tooth left in his mouth. I have had my share of street scraps and bar brawls, and as anyone with such experience knows – a decently delivered fist or foot in your face will render you fairly uninterested in any advanced physical exercise for a while. Not to mention being cut/stabbed. But as I said – this was not an especially serious issue, but it did weaken the immersion a bit for me.

[pat5150]

I acted as a go-between so that the good folks at elbakin.net could get an interview with Scott. This website is probably the biggest French fantasy website around. The Q&A has gone live this morning, both in French and English. I've put a link to it on the blog.

Enjoy!

Patrick

[RaceBannon42]

LLL has only twelve reviews on Amazon- that's pathetic! If everyone on this board who's liked this book were to vote, we could increase that number at least five-fold.

P. Diddy says: "Vote or die! "

My review is up there.

ETA: I take that back, I know I submitted my review last week, but its not up yet.

[Scott Lynch]

Vaporak, Katran, Bellis-- thanks for the kind words!

Pat5150: "I'm surprised Harriet Klausner has not reviewed it. . ."

Oh, I got Klausnered, have no fear.

http://harrietklausner.wwwi.com/review/the...ke_lamora_lynch

As for Algiz's cloaked comment:

SPOILER: The Lies of Locke Lamora

It's a good catch; I will admit that were I to rewrite those scenes now, I would make the effects of Locke's injuries more explicit, with headache and jaw-ache described. I justified his response to myself while writing by the fact that he's angry, desperate, and very keyed-up for all of these scenes at the climax. In my own limited experience with getting the crap walloped out of me (I did take some hard licks on the soccer field and in firefighter training, but I've never been knocked unconscious or broken a bone), I always found my excitement level was a major part of the difference between "Alright, you bastards, bring it on!" and "Mommy, I just want to go home..."

And Locke is much, much, crazier than I am.

Nonetheless, it is a good catch, and I've kept this in mind while working on the next novel.

Cheers!

SL

[Xray the Enforcer]

I suckered convinced my SF/F-loving father to read this book. I'll be curious what he thinks of it.

[Ser Paladin]

After seeing a couple recommendations and buying the book, I avoided this thread until I completed it, which I did last night at 2:30 AM. Here are my thoughts:

I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book to this degree in years, since A Storm of Swords. After a mere 10 pages, I was completely hooked. I've seen some criticism upthread that it's not that "literary," but I can state emphatically that it is an addictive page turner. At least a dozen times I thought I knew what was going on, who was pulling which strings, and Scott managed to effectively turn my expectations on their heads.

As far as characterization, Locke was extremely believable, as were Jean, Chains, the other Gentlemen Bastards, and even the nobility. As I alluded to above, the plot was excellent, and the pacing was pitch perfect. I leave Locke's world wanting to know more about the Eldren and the Bondsmagi, eager to meet Sabetha and a couple other mentioned but unseen characters.

Welcome to a home on my reading list, Scott Lynch! If this excellent book is what we get as a first novel, I look forward (impatiently) to your next effort.

[Brys]

Vaporak, Katran, Bellis-- thanks for the kind words!

Pat5150: "I'm surprised Harriet Klausner has not reviewed it. . ."

Oh, I got Klausnered, have no fear.

http://harrietklausner.wwwi.com/review/the...ke_lamora_lynch

As for Algiz's cloaked comment:

SPOILER: The Lies of Locke Lamora

It's a good catch; I will admit that were I to rewrite those scenes now, I would make the effects of Locke's injuries more explicit, with headache and jaw-ache described. I justified his response to myself while writing by the fact that he's angry, desperate, and very keyed-up for all of these scenes at the climax. In my own limited experience with getting the crap walloped out of me (I did take some hard licks on the soccer field and in firefighter training, but I've never been knocked unconscious or broken a bone), I always found my excitement level was a major part of the difference between "Alright, you bastards, bring it on!" and "Mommy, I just want to go home..."

And Locke is much, much, crazier than I am.

Nonetheless, it is a good catch, and I've kept this in mind while working on the next novel.

Cheers!

SL

Ok, I know Klausner rarely actually reads the books she reviews, but how did she manage to even get a basic plot summary so far off?

And Locke is much, much, crazier than I am.

I don't know - I've seen your blog. Perhaps you're going to show us the true extent of Locke's craziness in the later books (write them faster!)

[Ixodes]

My wife doesn't generally read speculative fiction but I got her to read GRRM and she really loves the series (who doesn't?). Anyway, I got her to read Lies of Locke Lamora after some effort.

I haven't spoken with her for the past week. Every spare moment she spends with her nose in the book and she even takes it to work with her (let me tell you, that is a great accomplishment!). She won't discuss it with me since she is afraid I will drop a spoiler by accident. Even people who don't generally like fantasy books love this one.

The more I think about this book the better it gets. I only wish I had some cocktail ability because the drink making contest makes me sick knowing that I don't have a snowball's chance in hell!

[Kat]

Plus, really, isn't glossing over seemingly nasty injuries a traditional part of fantasy anyway? Maybe this is fodder for another thread, but I can think of a lot more books in which everything seems to just be a flesh wound than ones in which people are screaming in an appropriate amount of agony after being beaten.

[Voland]

Wait! Is Klausner actually a real person? I thought she was some kind of Amazon review-bot

[Algiz]

Scott Lynch

SPOILER: The Lies of Locke Lamora

I totally understood your intent, especially bearing in mind his desperation/anger regarding the wraithstone and vengeance for the twins. It was just something that came to mind while reading the book, so I thought I’d mention it. Certainly not a major bother, this is after all fantasy. I have to add that I found it very refreshing that Locke – being a major protagonist, possessed no more than fairly mediocre combat skills. It made his fighting sequences all the more exciting to read. Speaking of broken bones however; should your future books ever feature anyone breaking their collar bone and dislocating their shoulder at the same time, if they so much as sneeze without collapsing from pain I vow sell all my Gentlemen Bastards books in order to invest in the collected works of Terry Goodkind This particular ordeal happened to me once, and the most advanced strife I participated in the following weeks involved toilet paper and… well, you probably get the general idea.

Chataya

I was not debating Locke’s pain threshold, or his ability to withstand hurt without breaking down in tears. There is a fairly big difference between such aptitude and actual human anatomy – if your skull takes sufficient damage; you go down, regardless of how non-“fucking wimp†you may be. Watch a K1/boxing/Ultimate Fighting/Pride FC bout – I doubt many of the contenders are especially wimpy – yet still they tend to lose their combat enthusiasm when being subjected to well-placed punches or kicks to the face.

And Locke's aftereffects are realistic - the last chapter of LLL is proof of that.

Realistic? In regards to the book being a work of fantasy fiction literature, or in the so-called “real word�

[guipago]

... but even so the death of the animal was something I couldn't swallow so easily.

Yeah, I know, me either. However, I figured that when I read it it was obviously done for a reason :/ Poor bird, if only it'd had a better master...

Jenn

[Bazzlebane]

Yeah, I know, me either. However, I figured that when I read it it was obviously done for a reason :/ Poor bird, if only it'd had a better master...

Jenn

C'mon, give us your honest opinion: what did you think of the book? We won't tell Scott what you say.

[guipago]

For all those who don't know how Locke stands his injuries: some people are tougher than others.

There was the time I fell 10 feet (rope swing in a bar - don't ask) only to break my pelvis in two places. It kinda hurt, and while driving myself to the hospital, I was wondering if I was being wimpy, 'cuz I was on my way to the *hospital* after all, and then figured "naw, I really should get this checked out - because I can't move my leg"...so I can say that you can break a very major bone with significant trauma, and keep on going. At least for a while.

Pain is relative. Pain while in the midst of a fight or in the midst of somthing interesting is *especially* relative. And Locke's aftereffects are realistic - the last chapter of LLL is proof of that.

Question for Scott: what gave you the inspiration for the ginger liquor drinks?

I'm with you on the pain thing. I have been in a few fights, and instead of running away being hit only made me more "clear". However, I'm very happy I'm not the only one who has fallen, broken something and wondered if she was being weak for finally going to the doctor a month later.

I also broke my tibia while hiking and continued to walk on it for three days before I got back home and could make it to the doctor to have it xrayed and splinted.

I'm just tickled that there's someone out there who deals with pain the same way I do.

Jenn

C'mon, give us your honest opinion: what did you think of the book? We won't tell Scott what you say.

You want *my* honest opinion? That's simple. When the UK arc came in the mail, I curled up with it in bed...read it... and promptly fell asleep with it wraped in my arms. The Arc was a godsend because it meant I could reread the book and not have to worry about flying manuscript pages and pages getting confused and lost. I love this book. I know there may be faults, and as people have picked it over and shown them to me, I can agknowledge them, but it's as much my baby as it is Scott's.

I drag the book in one of it's many formats with me everywhere I go. The ARC is the most beat up from sleeping with it, however I've got a copy of every one out so far.

My favorite character? That's Bug. Which frustrates me to no end.

My second favorite character? The Spider. I had so much fun talking about the Spider with Scott and enjoyed reading about that part of the plot immensely. I want to be like the Spider when I grow up.

And, of course, I love Locke and Jean Tannen. How could I not?

Anything else you'd like to ask? I'm trying to stay awake and chatting does me good

Always,

Jenn

[Bazzlebane]

Thanks for the serious reply to my semi-serious post! So far I'm only a hundred-odd pages into the book, so I haven't generated the depth of questions others may have so far. But I'm enjoying it immensely, because it's both fun and well-realized.

So far my favorite character is Jean Tannen. And Chains.

There is a lot to like. Just the idea of the pleasure barge with the alchemical forest growing out of it, floating through the canals to watch the festival on the water...love it. And the ginger oil drink. Certainly inspiration for a ... strong ... gentleman bastard cocktail.

I'm glad I still have a lot of book left to read, and that another will be appearing...

[guipago]

Thanks for the serious reply to my semi-serious post! So far I'm only a hundred-odd pages into the book, so I haven't generated the depth of questions others may have so far. But I'm enjoying it immensely, because it's both fun and well-realized.

So far my favorite character is Jean Tannen. And Chains.

There is a lot to like. Just the idea of the pleasure barge with the alchemical forest growing out of it, floating through the canals to watch the festival on the water...love it. And the ginger oil drink. Certainly inspiration for a ... strong ... gentleman bastard cocktail.

I'm glad I still have a lot of book left to read, and that another will be appearing...

Well, you could tell Scott, but he already knows

I'm in love with the alchemy. I'd love to have fruit that juices into an alcohol, or just a floating forest. Enjoy the book, and then enjoy it again It's well worth it!

always,

Jenn

[Werthead]

I did a Wiki page on Lynch a month or so again, but in the meantime someone's done a good page on the novel itself. There are many spoilers on this page so don't click unless you've finished the book!

Welcome to the boards Guipago. Is your avatar pic one of your cats?

[guipago]

I did a Wiki page on Lynch a month or so again, but in the meantime someone's done a good page on the novel itself. There are many spoilers on this page so don't click unless you've finished the book!

Welcome to the boards Guipago. Is your avatar pic one of your cats?

Sadly no, I'm not sure how to upload the avatars I do have onto this site, so I randomly picked a picture offered

I'll check out wikipedia to see what's there

Thank you!

Always,

Jenn

[Werthead]

If you follow this link, it will tell you how to upload personal pictures etc. And I'm guessing you can tell us if any of the info on the Wiki page about Scott is incorrect?

[guipago]

If you follow this link, it will tell you how to upload personal pictures etc. And I'm guessing you can tell us if any of the info on the Wiki page about Scott is incorrect?

Urk. Still not working for me. Could be because I'm tired. Naptime!

I checked on the Wikipedia page and altered it accordingly. The facts are:

Born in downtown Saint Paul, MN

currently lives in New Richmond, WI

Currently a volunteer firefighter for the city of New Richmond.

Bound to get himself seriously attached in 18 days.

I'm off for a nap, and thank you!

Jenn