The Lies of Locke Lamora

I really wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. It seemed like it would be a throw-away plot of an orphan being raised into the world of thieves, but it turned out to be so much more. I usually breeze through the world-building explanations because too many seem overly convoluted. There's a bit of that in here, but each place and each piece of history explained in the Interlude chapters actually matters and helps explain the different personas and situations Locke and his friends get into.

What really hooked me was how smart Scott Lynch's written situations came to be. There were a couple reveals in the book that just left me saying, “that's badass” out loud. It just shows some expert craftsmanship by the author and really solidified my determination to read the rest of the series. There's even a “Red Wedding”-type scene and it's refreshing to read something like the Game of Thrones series where the author isn't scared into making sure everyone has a happy ending.

I may just jump right into the next book, which I almost never do in a series, because I really enjoy Locke as a character and his thought process to enduring his life of thievery and morality. Also, whenever Jean picks up the Wicked Sisters to do battle, I'm fully engaged and imagining every move he makes as perfectly written by Lynch.

Of the “fantasy”-esque books I've read, this ranks in my top 3 for sure; if not my favorite. We'll see how the rest of the books play out!