Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has become infamous in the book club. Firstly, because it's the only book that has been autographed, and since the autograph is made out to "Fuzzy and the book club", it's also where we got our name. Secondly, because before me no one had actually finished it. I think partly because it's 700 pages long, but in some cases because of the aggressive lack of female characters.

And that lack of female characters is why I'm only rating it three stars. I did enjoy the plot, because I like con-stories and action and gentlemen thieves, but oh my gods, you cannot have this few female characters in a book this long. Not when the book is only ten years old! No, I won't accept that.

And fuck you, Scott Lynch, for brutally killing of most of the female characters as well. Yes, I know, a lot of the guys died too, but their women always went first so they'd suffer the most from it, and the women NEVER was as important for the plot as the men were before they were killed. So no, I'm not okay with that. At all.

I am super-not okay with Sabetha never showing up at all, just existing as the Love Interest and Painful Past of Locke Lamora. Take your manpain somewhere else, dude. Actually, he is an enjoyable character, but I got the feeling the author is kinda in love with him and that made me dislike him a little.

So to sum up: Scott Lynch can write, his story was good, but the way the narrative treats the female characters made it way less enjoyable than it should have been. I'm not mad, Scott Lynch, I'm disappointed.

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True story.