I liked this book - but with reservations.
The premise of the story is we follow a young Locke Lamora from the time he is picked up by the Master of the Thieves, and sold to the Temple of Perendelo and his subsequent training as a very masterful thief. We see how he becomes the leader of his "Gentlemen Bastards" and follow them on their adventures as they rid the rich of their wealth.
First, Lies of Locke Lamora has a two track story line - the plot bounces between Locke's past and his present situation. This...annoyed me. I am a linear person and I like things to putter along from point A to point B, and not deviate to point M then back to C then over to T, etc etc. Still, it was written well enough that I could mostly set aside my grievance and enjoy the story up until about 2/3 of the way through
My second reservation was the ending. I understand the tendency of an author to heap mounds and mounds of insurmountable troubles on their characters so they may triumph against all odds in the end, but this ending, for me, was over the top. Between bouncing from past to present and extraordinary troubles, I lost interest.
What I did enjoy, was the world of Camorr. Very cool. And I enjoyed the grimy underbelly world of the thieves, beggars, gang bosses and all the rest. I recognized similarities to say, The Scar, but it wasn't as depressing or dark and definitely had more humor. It's just too bad that that the plot became so implausible for me.
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