The Lies of Locke Lamora

Ich habe es gelesen wegen der überzeugenden Antwort von Scott Lynch auf den Protest von jemandem, der was gegen schwarze Piratinnen hatte (in einem anderen Buch). Es war von Anfang an klar, dass das eine sehr männliche Männerangelegenheit werden würde, ein Roman, der eigentlich in Fortsetzungen in so einem Magazin für Äxte und Bartpflegemittel erscheinen müsste. Vieles daran ist ein bisschen albern, Eva Müller hat das meiste in ihrer Rezension schon benannt. Das ist schade, weil es alles eigentlich leicht behebbare Probleme gewesen wären. Aber vielleicht werden sie ja in den Folgebänden behoben, ich fürchte, ich werde weiterlesen müssen, denn es war ein Buch mit einer wirklich vorbildlich großen Menge an Plot. Es passiert in jedem Kapitel was, es wird nicht hundert Seiten lang nur von A nach B gereist wie in "Game of Thrones". Und die ganzen Untaten werden nur aus sauberen niederen Beweggründen verübt, Geld, Rache, Triumph und so weiter, wenigstens nicht unter einem schäbigen Deckmantel wie gEReChTigKeiT o.ä.

(Ich habe nichts gegen Gerechtigkeit. Ich mag es nur nicht, wenn blutige Taten in Büchern oder Filmen damit begründet werden, "es war nötig, um die Welt zu retten / um meine Frau und meine Kinder zu verteidigen", damit wir uns ungestört an ihnen erfreuen sollen.)

I've got kids that enjoy stealing. I've got kids that don't think about stealing one way or the
other, and I've got kids that just tolerate stealing because they know they've got nothing else to
do. But nobody--and I mean nobody--has ever been hungry for it like this boy. If he had a bloody
gash across his throat and a physiker was trying to sew it up, Lamora would steal the needle and
thread and die laughing. He...steals too much.

This has been one magnificent introduction of a new fantasy series. It is a bit of a "con game" setin fantasy land. By far the most enjoyable read I've had lately. Pace is just right, there's alwaysthings going on and it does not get overwhelming. Characters are built in jumps that give themenough background without lingering too much in the past. And what characters they are...One thought that came up again and again as I read the book - this was probably the first book whereI very much enjoyed little time-jumps forward-backward. They were done well, the past events settingup the "current time" events and explaining how/why. It did not feel forced and it was notconfusing. This in itself is an achievement based on my past experience with such attempts.In addition there are little overlapping storylines that are described from multipleperspectives. They are short enough to not cause boredom due to repetition and always add somethingnew. But they provide a fun little avenue to let you guess what really happened before it getsproperly explained. I loved that. After all - half the fun of reading a "con game" book is figuringout how you'd do it.Looking forward to next books in the series.

Imagine a group of con men--disguises, fake identities, the works--with a particular set of skills honed over years of discipline, training and research. Now imagine them in a medieval setting. Sound good so far? Part Ocean's 11, part Oliver Twist, Locke Lamora and his band of merry men run complex cons in a fantasy land.

The writing is clever and the worldbuilding is strong. You journey with the gang in both past and present tense, learning about how they came together and the capers they are pulling now. You will get attached to the characters and want them to win. They are likable, to be sure, and who doesn't love an underdog? But the best laid plans don't always work out, and they run into obstacles along the way. You will find yourself pulling for Locke and cursing his enemies. And when you get to the end, you will want to continue your journey. Good news! You can in the next book, [b:Red Seas Under Red Skies|887877|Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2)|Scott Lynch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407082584s/887877.jpg|856785]. Perfect for fantasy fans who are looking for their next smart, plot-driven world.