Scott Lynch: The Lies Of Locke Lamora

[direstraits]

saliotthomas, you invoked the hallowed name of Guy Gavriel Kay. This bears investigating. Closely.



Lit, good stuff. Thanks.

ds

 

[saliotthomas]

Reading Scott Lynch now and really enjoying it.
This might be a good Chrismass present for my Bro.

 

[saliotthomas]

I finished it yesterday and had a good time. It's been a while i read fantasy, the last was Gary Kilworth(super good) and it toke me some time to get in the mood but once in, it just flowed.
The characteres are fun and it not a quest(for change) though there is a super vilain and some magic.I would put it closer to Prachett than Martin, specialy due to the city atmosphere, and the fluid humoristic style.
The end was a bit heavy handed on the "nice and happy" and "even thieves have a big heart " , less violins could have made it easier to digest.
Well, just to bitch a bit, really it is a good read.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

I personally liked this book a lot, and its sequel even more (it was a lot more touching and powerful) but there were still a lot of things in this book that didn't make sense. Like the fact that in a world with so many thieves and outlaws nobody's heard of con artistry. Or the fact that the characters say 'go to hell' in a book where presumably hell doesn't exist in that sense of the word because there's a completley different religion. And, of course, the constant use of the f-word annoyed me...not because I have problems with swearwords, but because it was so liberally sprinkled over the pages.

I wrote a review of this book and its sequel on my blog if anyone's interesting (link in my signature to the blog).

 

[beer good]

And suddenly I really want to read this. Scott Lynch gets non-fan mail.

Third your characters are unrealistic stereotpyes of political correctness. Is it really necessary for the sake of popular sensibilities to have in a fantasy what we have in the real world? I read fantasy to get away from politically correct cliches.

God, yes! If there's one thing fantasy is just crawling with these days it's widowed black middle-aged pirate moms.

Real sea pirates could not be controlled by women, they were vicous rapits and murderers and I am sorry to say it was a man's world. It is unrealistic wish fulfilment for you and your readers to have so many female pirates, especially if you want to be politically correct about it!

First, I will pretend that your last sentence makes sense because it will save us all time. Second, now you're pissing me off.

You know what? Yeah, Zamira Drakasha, middle-aged pirate mother of two, is a wish-fulfillment fantasy. I realized this as she was evolving on the page, and you know what? I fucking embrace it.

Why shouldn't middle-aged mothers get a wish-fulfillment character, you sad little bigot? Everyone else does. H.L. Mencken once wrote that "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." I can't think of anyone to whom that applies more than my own mom, and the mothers on my friends list, with the incredible demands on time and spirit they face in their efforts to raise their kids, preserve their families, and save their own identity/sanity into the bargain.

Shit yes, Zamira Drakasha, leaping across the gap between burning ships with twin sabers in hand to kick in some fucking heads and sail off into the sunset with her toddlers in her arms and a hold full of plundered goods, is a wish-fulfillment fantasy from hell. I offer her up on a silver platter with a fucking bow on top; I hope she amuses and delights. In my fictional world, opportunities for butt-kicking do not cease merely because one isn't a beautiful teenager or a muscle-wrapped font of testosterone. In my fictional universe, the main characters are a fat ugly guy and a skinny forgettable guy, with a supporting cast that includes "SBF, 41, nonsmoker, 2 children, buccaneer of no fixed abode, seeks unescorted merchant for light boarding, heavy plunder."

You don't like it? Don't buy my books. Get your own fictional universe. Your cabbage-water vision of worldbuilding bores me to tears.

As for the "man's world" thing, religious sentiments and gender prejudices flow differently in this fictional world. Women are regarded as luckier, better sailors than men. It's regarded as folly for a ship to put to sea without at least one female officer; there are several all-female naval military traditions dating back centuries, and Drakasha comes from one of them. As for claims to "realism," your complaint is of a kind with those from bigoted hand-wringers who whine that women can't possibly fly combat aircraft, command naval vessels, serve in infantry actions, work as firefighters, police officers, etc. despite the fact that they do all of those things-- and are, for a certainty, doing them all somewhere at this very minute. Tell me that a fit fortyish woman with 25+ years of experience at sea and several decades of live bladefighting practice under her belt isn't a threat when she runs across the deck toward you, and I'll tell you something in return-- you're gonna die of stab wounds.

 

[Will]

Yeah I was wondering about the political correctness thing too... Shit, that unhappy-fan definitely shouldn't read Joe Abercrombie's stuff either...