The Lies of Locke Lamora is hands down one of the best books I've read in the last five years. And I've read a LOT of books in the last five years, lol. The only thing wrong with it is that it only has one sequel so far, not two. ;) So don't feel bad if you can't put it down. I couldn't either. And the others will wait. :D (Best Served Cold was...pretty good, I thought. Not great, but pretty good. Not that you asked or anything, lol.)
lol i just came in here to say this (resolutely skipping over all your sookie stackhouse summaries, no spoilers for lya no siree), but james is apparently psychic so i'm just going to second what he said.
i ... have maybe more reservations about locke lamora than he does, but it's coming up on my 30 days of books meme so i'll talk about it there? though i totally agree, best served cold - while a solid read - wasn't OMGamazing or anything.
i think that my problem with locke lamora is that it could have been better than it was. bigger than it was maybe. i think that he could have written a flawed but ambitious debut rather than an undoubtedly entertaining but safe one. i dunno, some people might say that the book wasn't intended to be epic, it's not supposed to be ambitious, but i dunno. anyway the sequel was not as good imo.
i think that he could have written a flawed but ambitious debut rather than an undoubtedly entertaining but safe one
Interesting! I think I in general tend to prefer entertaining and safe to ambitious but flawed, though I can admire the reach of the ambitious and flawed ones.
Anyway, we'll see what I think of the actual book.
Let me put it this way. Locke Lamora was entertaining and safe (as well as epic, see below) and I absolutely loved it. Best Served Cold was flawed and ambitious (as was pretty much everything else from Abercrombie's pen) and I only found it decent. You make the call. ;)
I keep waffling over The Demon's Lexicon. I'm not at all into demons (another thing apparently we share) and I don't like being creeped out when I read, but I've heard so many good things about this book, and I certainly did love sarahtales' fanfic, so I WANT to like this but ... I'm just not sure it's my thing. Can't decide whether to try it or not. (My library has a copy.)
I would say, give it a shot, since your library has it! I think it's entirely possible to enjoy it without being interested in demons. Like, obviously, demons are pretty central to the whole plot, but. Um. How can I say this without spoiling? It's entirely possible not to care about the fact that what's going on is centered around demons and still enjoy the plot and the character dynamics. I actually remembered you saying you were considering the book and being concerned that it might be too creepy, so I kind of kept an eye out for that. I think there are only two scenes, both pretty brief, that I would classify as creepy, and they are not creepier than some of the darker stuff in Harry Potter, IMO.
The faries are some of my favorite characters in the sookie books, I haven't read the latest one, but I hope to see more of them... I'm also not a fan of the shifters
Basically word on everything you said on Corambis. For me this book was a vindication as a person who adored Felix through all of the first three books and felt like there were things that a lot of people weren't seeing that this book proved to be canon, but even outside of that - it was a relief after the Mirador, but with just enough pain to keep me happy. And I love Corbie; she's awesome. I think at one point there was a plan to write a children's series where Corbie and Gideon were best friends.
I didn't like Kay and I felt like his narration pieces were mostly pointless. So that was my main beef with this last book. I did come away from it wanting more and still satisfied, so I guess that counts as liking the ending?
Re: The Demon's Lexicon - I've mentioned recently how much of a total sucker I am for sibling relationships. Your reasons for being wary of the sequels is exactly the same as mine, and I love how well you articulate the reasons Alan is an awesome character. I like Nick in a weird, sideways sort of way, but only
( ... )
For me this book was a vindication as a person who adored Felix through all of the first three books
I can definitely see how it would be! I was waffling on Felix for the first three, and Corambis finally made me like him a lot, so I can only imagine how awesome it must have been for an already established Felix fan! :D
I think at one point there was a plan to write a children's series where Corbie and Gideon were best friends.
I would read the hell out of this! Like, instantaneously. Gideon was one of my favorite characters in the earlier books, and probably *the* favorite in Mirador, and Corbie quickly got into the top favorite characters in this one.
I like Nick in a weird, sideways sort of way, but only with Alan I think, not really on his own.
Yes, exactlyI'm... trying to keep open-minded on the sequels. Like, it should be interesting to see Nick and Alan's relationship from an outside POV. But I have a sneaking suspicion that how much I enjoy them will depend on how close they are to the Nick and Alan Show :P
( ... )
Yes! I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't been watching the witchlights since you mentioned them, but I'm glad I was! :D
I love that description of Corbie! (And I would totally read a spin-off novel/series about her being a kick-ass virtuer and periodically dropping in on Felix and Mildmay to pester them like a baby sister should :)
Comments 18
Reply
i ... have maybe more reservations about locke lamora than he does, but it's coming up on my 30 days of books meme so i'll talk about it there? though i totally agree, best served cold - while a solid read - wasn't OMGamazing or anything.
i think that my problem with locke lamora is that it could have been better than it was. bigger than it was maybe. i think that he could have written a flawed but ambitious debut rather than an undoubtedly entertaining but safe one. i dunno, some people might say that the book wasn't intended to be epic, it's not supposed to be ambitious, but i dunno. anyway the sequel was not as good imo.
Reply
Interesting! I think I in general tend to prefer entertaining and safe to ambitious but flawed, though I can admire the reach of the ambitious and flawed ones.
Anyway, we'll see what I think of the actual book.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
I didn't like Kay and I felt like his narration pieces were mostly pointless. So that was my main beef with this last book. I did come away from it wanting more and still satisfied, so I guess that counts as liking the ending?
Re: The Demon's Lexicon - I've mentioned recently how much of a total sucker I am for sibling relationships. Your reasons for being wary of the sequels is exactly the same as mine, and I love how well you articulate the reasons Alan is an awesome character. I like Nick in a weird, sideways sort of way, but only ( ... )
Reply
I can definitely see how it would be! I was waffling on Felix for the first three, and Corambis finally made me like him a lot, so I can only imagine how awesome it must have been for an already established Felix fan! :D
I think at one point there was a plan to write a children's series where Corbie and Gideon were best friends.
I would read the hell out of this! Like, instantaneously. Gideon was one of my favorite characters in the earlier books, and probably *the* favorite in Mirador, and Corbie quickly got into the top favorite characters in this one.
I like Nick in a weird, sideways sort of way, but only with Alan I think, not really on his own.
Yes, exactlyI'm... trying to keep open-minded on the sequels. Like, it should be interesting to see Nick and Alan's relationship from an outside POV. But I have a sneaking suspicion that how much I enjoy them will depend on how close they are to the Nick and Alan Show :P ( ... )
Reply
Did you see what she did with her witchlights? :3
Reply
Yes! I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't been watching the witchlights since you mentioned them, but I'm glad I was! :D
I love that description of Corbie! (And I would totally read a spin-off novel/series about her being a kick-ass virtuer and periodically dropping in on Felix and Mildmay to pester them like a baby sister should :)
Reply
Leave a comment