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What's The Last Book You've Read?


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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's another genre-bender: The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. It's a fantasy book, yes, but thank goodness, like The Name of the Wind, it's not a damn, sorry rehash of old fantasy tropes. It's so fresh and original that you'll be hooked the moment you start reading it. The world-building in this book is as tight as the writing itself. You don't have to memorize a sweeping map of kingdoms and their rulers and their houses and whatnot; rather, the writer made a conscious effort to do away with unnecessary padding and keep a tight rein on his characters and the world they move in. And, oh, the dialogue is such a pleasure to read. It's full of acerbic, funny, and witty banter.

 

In a nutshell, the story centers around Locke Lamora, as you may have inferred from the title. He was orphaned at a very young age and was forced to choose between living as a thief/conman or suffer worse fates. It's a coming-of-age story set in the criminal underworld, with a dash of magic here and there but not so much as to be outrageous. There is one character here, a crime boss by the name of Capa Barsavi, who reminds me of the real-life mob boss Carlo Gambino, who ruled the Five Families of New York. If you like The Godfather, Ocean's Eleven and Dickensian characterizations, or if you just want a really good read after a hard day's work, then try this one. You owe it to yourself.

 

I heard a film adaptation is under development. So, yeah, read this before it gets turned into a movie, before your social circle suddenly gushes rave reviews about it because everybody said so (oh my god, isn't the actor gorgeous? don't they make a cute couple? is she dating him?) and not because they have read it first.

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Edited by Lord Superb
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  • 2 weeks later...

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