The Lies of Locke Lamora

This is a difficult one to review. The things I liked were in the four-star range, whereas the things I didn't like so much weren't actively negative, but rather just kind of blah.

What I liked:

- An interesting fantasy world that assertively rejects the hobbits-and-elves framework. This goes for more realism - many of the elements could have taken place in a non-magical Renaissance Venice. But this version of Venice is built on the remnants of a technologically advanced, long-vanished civilization, and uses alchemy as its technological driver the way steampunk uses Victorian brass-and-steam.

- An intriguing underworld society that has its own government and even its own secret priesthood.

- A likable band of rogues pulling off heists and confidence games.

- A conflict that mines revenge as a motivator (eventually)

- Some textured and interesting supporting characters (eventually)

- A lot of the themes do come together by the end of the book, in a pretty satisfying way

What I didn't like:

- Most of all, this is SLOW to start. You have to get through half of the book before the main conflict emerges at all. A neat setting and charming characters pulling off capers only maintains interest for so long, unless an actual plot is in evidence. And when the book is 500+ pages, waiting till the halfway point to engage the main narrative is particularly problematic.

- Coming a close second, Locke and his band of merry men are so talented and well-funded that they basically start the story with Story-Breaker Power, which then requires the villain to be nigh-omnipotent to pose a threat, which for me makes things kind of boring. It means either the bad guy will win (usually not allowed, and if allowed, rather a downer), or the good guys will have preposterously good luck to overcome him.

This is a shame, because the backstory does give younger Locke some flaws that could have fueled a more believable challenge for him.

Upshot:

Check this out if world-building is your jam, and you don't mind a leisurely interval where the author introduces background information and you get to know the main characters.

Overall, I think I might check out the next book, because now that the setting and characters are established, it could hook me earlier. And the setting is truly fascinating, plus the first story leaves some characters set up in a really intriguing way for further adventures!