COMMENTARY: Lies of Locke Lamora (2006)
The following are thoughts and reactions I had while reading Lies of Locke Lamora (2006) by Scott Lynch. They do not reflect my overall post-reading opinion of the work.
⚠️ SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD ⚠️
- Everything is named in a silly D&D way. 77th year of ___, ___maker of ___, ____ priest, temple of _____. It’s too much data dump. What’s more, little to none of it is relevant to the plot or characters. It’s a pointless history lesson in a made up world that doesn’t add anything to the story. The only few times it was plot-relevant was the glass rose garden, the trellis outside the Broken Tower. The missing gladiator twin sisters was a foreshadow that amounted to very little.
- The dialogue sounds goofy. It sounds like people who don’t do dangerous/serious things pretending to be dangerous/serious, but talking way too much without subtlety/subtext. It’s spoonfeeding the audience
- A whole chapter of expository backstory
- They say “no shit” and other modern day slang like “I’ll come running”, “sooner or later”, “fucked someone over”, “fuck damn”, “wow”, “cut the shit”, “piss him off”, “fucking idiot”, “cocksucker”, “like your ass is on fire”, “getting clipped”
- the lore is irrelevant. The extra description don’t add to the characters nor the plot. They’re there just for window dressing. And it’s added every second paragraph and it’s annoying.
- When backstory/description mattered: when they reflected on passing by a location where their old master lived twenty years later. When Locke observes the social dynamics of the Camorr… how everyone robs everyone at all levels.
- The swearing doesn’t make any sense. It sounds modern. Fucking creep. And no shit.
- Chapter 3 scene 4,6: completely unnecessary. I already know they are the midnighters. Why dramatize an entire scene of them dressing up.
- why mention woman guards? Virtual signalling? I think the sharkdancers was sufficient.
- Did you just fridge Nazca at the 45% mark???
- so many of these conflicts are obstacles, not complications. Just dragging out the story unnecessarily
- so much description of food that doesn’t really add anything to the plot or character.
- I’m at the 86% mark and I’m realizing there’s only so many pages left and if this ends up with a lot of loose ends for the sequel I am going to be really pissed off.
- 70% of the interludes are more lore dumps that I don’t need or don’t care for