The Lies of Locke Lamora Review 

"I just have to keep you here till Jean shows up.." Absolutely adore that line..I got literal chills when it came up again with his fight with the Grey King..

I really love the part where there's an entire flashback of Chains warning Locke how dangerous bondsmagi are and to very polite unless you want to die. Then first line in the next chapter is Locke saying "nice bird asshole."

One of my favorite parts is when the Spider realized that the ship they sank was the offering from Locke to Calo, Galdo, and Bug

“Why the fuck would you assume that Locke is my real first name?” One of the most badass lines ever.

If I ever own a boat, there’s a strong chance that it will be named “Thorn of Camorr.”

All that gushing about this series for all these years and now we get an actual review for it.

I loved this book. I can't wait to read book 2 My favorite line: "there's no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated"

I don't think I've ever enjoyed a book more than this one. Lynch's prose are lyrical, his characters' conversations were laugh-out-loud funny. Character relationship were precious. Am I gushing?

One of my favorite scenes was when Locke meets the Falconer for the first time and we get a flashback to Chains telling Locke to be absolutely respectful to a bondsmage. Cut immediately back to Locke telling the Falconer to "eat hemp and shit rope."

Find someone who talks about you the way Merph talks about The Lies of Locke Lamora

One of my favourite things about this book was that you actually see the crew being clever and funny and friends together, where so often in other books you are just told that they are funny or clever or have a deep friendship. Also I love that they are not the most clever/strong/magical people - so so many other books the main character just happens to be the absolute best at [skill] and soon all their friends are the best ever at [their special thing] too, usually without training, just by innate skill.

Sat here and cried while you read the "my brother, my friend," lines, even though I literally just finished this book an hour ago, lol. This was the gush I needed after my first time experiencing this turbulent and wonderful adventure.

Since Merphy went in blind and read One Piece, I tried to do the same with the Gentleman Bastards series. I've finished The Lies of Locke Lamora and I loved it so much. I enjoyed the boys' bickering and shenanigans a lot. Thank you, Merphy :) P.s. I love how there are mentions of Sabetha, but we haven't met her yet. My favorite part is when father Chains tells Locke: "There are only three people in life you can never fool- pawnbrokers, whores, and your mother. Since your mother's dead, I've taken her place. Hence, I'm bullshit-proof."

The chaos that is locke as a kid - you couldn't have said it better. The flashbacks of this book were amazings

Locke lamora is such an incredibly written character

I've never read this but I'll happily sit through this because I love watching people talk passionately about stuff they love

One of my favorite moments is when Jean and Locke decide to cast aside their gripes and become pals. Shit made me tear up a little.

What feels like a million years ago, I stumbled across a video with you and Daniel Greene (before subscribing) doing a Beginner to Advanced Fantasy Series recommendation list. During that video, you gave a glowing review of "Lies" that stood out among the other series that the two of you spoke on. I wrote a couple of the suggested series down and made a trip to my local bookstore. "Lies" was the first one I found. I sat down on one of the community benches and read three chapters, unable to put it down. The rest, as they say, was history. --Thank you for the recommendation, for your channel, and your love of books...all of which continue to bring me joy.

I think I'll pick up this series again. The flashbacks are similar to one piece when I think about it. It's been a few years and I'm in a better place now and I think I'll enjoy it even more this time around.

I started this book when you announced the read along, and oh boy was it a challenge for me. English is not my first language I'm used to reading Sanderson but Lynch writing style feels like a classic to me. And I'm struggling to read every paragraph but at the same time I'm fascinated by the beauty of his prose! Anyways i couldn't finish reading it in time, I'll be back here when I'm done. So far I've fallen in love with his witty humor.

So I remember alot of people saying they liked Locke and Jean's relationship in particular and after reading book 1 I REALLY liked The Gentleman Bastards relationship overall but not really them in particular and then I read book 2 (no spoilers) and I got the hype. Book 1 was like the PERFECT balance between the plot and characters book 2....was amazing in characters though the plot could have been exucted better imo

I was new to adult fantasy when I read the story so I didn't have a lot of patience but wow, realising the reason for the flashbacks and watching the character growth made the book satisfying

Absolutely incredible book! I love the first scene of Locke with the Salvaras at the shifting revel. The world building in that scene was so visceral

My sister and I came to an arrangement earlier this year. I got her to read One Piece, and in exchange I read through this series of books and am now making my way through the Stormlight archives. Your channel is the perfect cross section of both of our interests and I am very happy to hear your thoughts about all these series!

About a year ago I picked this series up on your recommendation and immediately it became one of my favorites. Ever since then I've wanted your gush and talk about this book and it was so much fun reliving this story and its best parts. I also agree that the payoff of the ending with "I just have to keep you here until Jean comes" is one of my favorite moments ever.

I love the book. It's smart and funny, do I need to say more? One of my favorite scene is when Locke and Jean met with the woman while climbing down the Broken Tower. "She came BEFORE we came" I laughed so hard, more than I should. Great video Merphy, as always.

The insults are GOLD in this book! I couldn't stop laughing throughout

I just finished book 1 (due to Merph's gushing in other videos) and as put so eleganty by the tricycle child in the Incredibles... "That was totally wicked!!!". Truly one of the best books I've ever read. Thank you Mrs Napier!

Merphy: If you don't know, this is my favorite series 95% of the viewers: Wait really? No shot, color us surprised ;)

I just finished The Republic of Thieves yesterday. I really enjoyed the series so far, although there were some minor things I didn’t like that much. I actually read the books in German, and I didn’t know that the german translation was much longer than the original (for every single book). The Lies of Locke Lamora was actually the first “real” book I read, meaning that I didn’t read any books out of school. So, thank you for talking about this book the whole time, because if you wouldn’t, I probably wouldn’t have discovered the beautiful world of books.

I read this book early this year because of you and Daniel gushing about it. I really enjoyed the humor and camaraderie between the crew. This definitely became one of my favorite. Planning on reading the next book soon.

I’m still reading Red Seas Under Red Skies and I’m loving it! Can’t wait for your review of that book. Thanks for getting me started on this series!

Loved this series! It was the series that got me back into reading a couple of years ago. Plan to re-read it soon, maybe next year? Agree that too many main characters died in book 1, but glad to have flashbacks in sequels.

I love this series! I've read funny books, but I've never really laughed out loud while reading a book until I read this book and it's sequels. Can't wait for Book 4 to finally be released.

Hi there! I just wanted to thank you so much for getting me to read this book. Your enthusiasm for it was so infectious (in your other videos) I decided to go into it blind and enjoyed the wild ride! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series and then checking out the subsequent review/gush session on here. Your channel is delightful and sometimes I listen/watch while I make my kids' dinner so double thanks for keeping it family-friendly!

I finally decided to start on this series right after listening to your review. This is great, Merphy. Thanks! 🥰🤓😍

I just finished the book today, and I am not being hyperbolic when I say this book renewed my faith in what the modern fantasy genre can be. I spend the vast majority of my time reading the classics- Shakespeare and narrative poetry (Dante, Milton, Homer, Virgil, etc.) especially. I've tried to dip my toes into the fantasy genre multiple times over the years, and most of the time I was not rewarded for my efforts- the works were atrociously bad to my tastes. I began to wonder if I was simply setting my standards to high- a reasonable starting point is to assume I was the problem, not the genre. But this book was so well written- the tone, the pacing, the characters, the emotional intelligence that suffused the work- it revealed to me that my standards were not unrealistic, I was merely looking for a true master of the craft. And I found one in Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. I can't wait to start the next book in the series!

Thank you so much for recommending this book over and over again Merphy- I just finished the first book and I am OBSESSED!!! I appreciate all of your videos so much and I’m so excited to hear more from you!!

A very serendipitous time for this video to come out; I just finished reading the book about a week and a half ago, entirely on your (repeated) recommendations.

I’ve finally binged this series and am now able to watch the videos. HYPE

I just barely finished this book and started Red Seas Under Red Skies yesterday, and I'm so excited to get to watch your review!

I absolutely LOVED this book, I am now obsessed with this story! My favorite lines are “Bug there 4 cursed words in this and they are Locke would appreciate it.” “Only rivaled by Locke taught me a new trick.” Also when Locke met the bondsmage for the first after we get a flashback of him stating I need to be on my best behavior and then hard cut to “nice bird asshole” Fantastic

Rewatching this review, and I just wanted to say that this book-this series-is the best I have ever read, and I am forever thankful you led me to it. Thank you, Merphy, for giving me my favorite characters, my favorite world, and my favorite story.

Listening to you describe this book makes it clear that it must have been heavily influenced by Dickens and Dumas and probably Machiavelli too. What an intriguing mix, especially when combined with a unique fantasy setting. Consider me sold.

I got curious about it from you. Decide to pick this series up is my best choice ever. Thank you Merphy for introduce me to the Gentlemen Bastards.

I’ve had this book on my shelves for over a decade. Now I very much want to read it. Thanks for the glowing review that was also a love song to great writing.

I started reading the series because of your channel. Hands down love the book! I’m currently reading the 2nd one. Thank you for your review ☺️

Recently finished Republic of Thieves and I understand why you like this series so much, top 3 for sure for me, wouldn't have found it if not this channel so thanks.

I just finished this one last night before work. I LOVED it. 10/10 for me. The parallel between the Locke/Tessa fight and the Locke/Grey King fight was probably one of my favorite things in the book. But there are so many other things I love about the book. Like you mentioned, how dangerous magic is in this world. I LOVED the story about the Bondsmagi just crumbling a whole city after defeating an entire army. I can’t gush enough. Also 100% with you on how awesome Father Chains is!

This is the first book that really kicked off my current and ongoing fantasy escapade. It’s been about 3 years now of back to back fantasy novels. What drew me to Lies of Locke Lamora was the description given by Daniel and your recommendation, and I couldn’t thank you two enough for guiding readers the way the both of you do.

You went from a rant review last week to a gush review this week. The RANGE. But seriously, you’re making me want to reread the series.

This has been my all time favourite book/series so far. It is what got me back into reading after years absent from it. (I am part of the generation that was introduced to reading through Harry Potter) Back when Merphy started reading it, I couldn't wait to see what her thoughts were and so I was stoked when i found that she loved it as much as I do :D Thank the Crooked Warden, the Nameless Thirteenth!

Thanks for a fabulous review, as immersive as the books themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed the three books, and your reactions match mine. A friend recommended the series, and I'm delighted I followed up his suggestion. I've moved it up my "read again" list.

Ooo I was waiting for this ☺️

Ah. Finally an unbiased review of this book. Seriously speaking, though, I'm really surprised to know you hadn't made a review about this until now.

Hey! I decided to give this book a try after watching one of your videos, and I really thank you for it. And even though reading in English is a bit frustrating for me because I often have to stop to search the meaning of a word, which kind of hinders my immersion , I have loved this book, and especially its characters and the friendship between them. It feels so real. Really psyched for the next books😍

I read this book in June because of you, you talked about it with so much love, I HAD TO READ IT (and I loved it!!) now my brother is reading it 🥰

This whole series reignited my love for reading on its own. I used to read a bunch back in highschool, but fell out of it when I got busier with work and college. The minute I sat down with The Lies of Locke Lamora the first time I was glued to it until I finished it in about two or three days. I then immediately ordered the other 2 books in the gentlemen bastards series and summarily completed both. The books aren't without their faults but they are so incredibly engrossing that they beat my previous favorite series out the minute I read them (my previous favorite being The Nights' Dawn trilogy by Peter F Hamilton). Amazing review, nice to see this series getting more recognition, can't wait for when Scott Lynch gets around to the sequel series.

I just got this at the library because you kept recommending it! I will be back to watch after I read it 💜

You convinced me to read this and I loved it! Now on to book two.

Just finished book 1 a couple of days ago. Perfect time to watch a review from the person that got me into TLoLL. Loved the prose and the dialogue. I went straight on to book 2.

My husband and I both got separate copies and read the book at the same time. We can’t remember the last time we enjoyed reading a story like this! We saved this review to watch for after we finished the book. So worth it. Thanks for constantly recommending this book, Merphy! It’s a brilliant one.

Bang on. The fact that magic exists in this world but is not something on the wheelhouse of our pov characters is one of the major selling points of the series for me

I'm so glad I decided to join this readalong because this is one of the best books I've ever read. Yes, I have criticisms (lack of female characters and too much description at once for my taste), but it has been a while since I was this invested in a story and so much on the edge of my seat. I had a wonderful time reading this. Thank you for recommending it!

read the whole book cause i wanted to watch this video 😅 FINALLY now I can hear murphey’s thoughts

Imma be the one to say it, girl it TOOK you long enough. We all knew this was coming, but you really made us wait! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora today and It has been even better than I imagined. I already had big expectations thanks to all your videos and reviews but this book totally blew them. I simply love this book and can’t wait to read the next two. :D

My favorite one about the 13th god, it is just so awesome and imaginative. I love that they worship what amounts to basically an outcast god. This is the quote: "A glass poured to air for the one who sits with us unseen; the patron and protector, the Crooked Warden, the Father of Necessary Pretexts. Thanks for deep pockets poorly guarded. Thanks for watchmen asleep at their posts. Thanks for the city to nurture us and the night to hide us. Thanks for friends to help us spend the loot. - Scott Lynch" This just makes me love the setting. It makes me want to know more, to explore more. To understand the Gentleman's drive and motivations. Why Chains does what he does.

Found your channel because of One Piece. My wife and I listened to the audiobook for this book a few years ago and I’ve since reread this book and the following two in the series (halfway through Republic of Thieves). The audiobook reader is truly one of the best audiobook performers I’ve ever heard. He creates so many distinct and wonderful voices for the characters. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. A younger me wouldn’t have enjoyed its plodding pace, but I absolutely love how slowly it lays everything out and how incredibly he describes things. I’ve honestly never read anything like the way Scott Lynch writes. His use of metaphor and colorful descriptor is so unique and compelling, I sometimes just stop reading (or pause the audiobook) and sit there in wonder, saying “what an incredible way he just described that. I love the words he chose to use.” I can’t think of almost any books that so frequently have made me do that.

I’m so glad you got me to read this book. I think my personal favorite line is when Chains calls Locke his “intermittently brilliant boy.” Because it says so much about Chains, about Locke, and about young boys at their best.

I know I'm late to this video, only getting into the world of booktube recently, but boy oh boy it has been great. The Lies of Locke Lamora was such a good book. I love pretty much everything about it. The only thing I was sad about was the fact there was a lot of time skips and the begging in the flashbacks. I would have loved to see more of Locke and Jean's development playing through overtime, and maybe parts like the Sanzas finding out about Locke's past at Shade's Hill and the people he got killed. It would have been so good to have this! Officially my no. 1 book at the moment and I can't wait to read the sequel. Thank you, for saying so many of my thoughts. Loved this video.

This book is perfect in every way possible. Best dialogue I’ve ever read, fantastic characters, absolutely shocking plot.

Perfect timing! Loved LLL and am reading the second novel in the series now. 😁

I just finished the book today, and well, I absolutely did enjoy it! I also felt that the first half was long, but I also suspect that I'm just not used to it anymore, since I've only gotten back into reading more again. I absolutely agreed with everything you said, the descriptions were great, the characters were too, and the writing style reminded me of a friend's writing style, which gives it just more plus points bc i loved it.

I think I really enjoy how lived in this world feels, aspects of this worlds history that are just there, pointing to a past without needing to tell you every little encyclopedic detail about, because it doesn't really relate to the story that is happening right now. It makes it all feel more genuine. It is a show don't tell attitude to world-building that I really like!

Such and incredible series!! Really hope book 4 comes out sooooooon >.>

A friend of mine recommended me this book and it's been sitting on my shelf for a while. Definitely excited to check this one out!

With seeing and hearing how much you love a story coming together, I can't wait for you to finish, Malazan Book of the Fallen.

I love this book too!!! It's SO COOL!!! Favorite quote: "Get serious about telling me where that money is, or I'll kick your ass so hard every piece of shit that falls out of it for the rest of your life will have my gods damned heel print on it" Conté to Locke

The scene where Locke decks the spider is one of the funniest scenes Ive ever read.

I just picked up Locke lamora from my TBR and WOW! … I’m loving the story so far and I will protect Bug with my life 😊💙

I just finishied it! I dropped it a few months ago at 30%, but I picked it up again out of boredom and I'm SO HAPPY I DID. Arround 50% I was totally immersed in this world and now I love Locke so much, and it hurt me so bad when his friends died... it was a rollercoaster, and the end was brutal, I also love how they love each other so much. It's just so good. Thanks for the recommendation!

Thank you for this review. Added into my list.

Your reading voice is incredible! I can just imagine your kids' jaws dropping as you read them bedtime stories.

Put this book on my to read list based solely off your enthusiasm, can’t wait!

I loved the audiobook, I want a physical copy though!

oh okay, Merphy speaks with so much love about these books I'm starting to consider giving them a second chance

"Nice bird, asshole" - I was sold on this book from the start, but this line. This line, and the laughter and rush of feelings coming in torrents from that moment forward. That had me hooked.

The way that you can determine if it's a full flashback or the main storyline is the title of the section. Interludes are for the first book and Reminiscences are for the second book.

This book was my gateway fantasy book. The flashbacks were so jarring but once I got into it I was so taken in by the story. I really feel like it was a complete story and could be read without touching the other books in the series

I’m gonna watch video anyway even tho I haven’t read. Seeing you gush may motivate me to read an actual book again. Since I’m mostly a manga reader who came from your beginnings of one piece reviews 🖤. You mention intentionality in this story like in one piece. So who knows. If I do read I’ll rewatch and gush with you and may comment back here if I do read it.

One of the single best things i have ever read came from this book. The small handball story was truly one of the things that shaped this book and made it my favorite. It just explains so much for the world and the people in it. It also just shapes to show how the world feels about people.

Just finished this book and cannot wait to get onto the next 2. Only picked it up from your recommendation after finding and loving your channel through One Piece. Thank the gods for it, seriously adored this read. A quote from the last chapter that really sicks hard "So this is revenge... "It is" "It's a shit business" "It is"

I just read this book on vacation and oh my god merphy you weren't lying on all your previous gushing talks about this book! I really enjoyed it and already bought book 2. Also now I know why you only ever talked about Jean and Locke and not the other Gentleman Bastards :(

I also love this series. I read it before any of my friends, so to sell them on the series I would tell them that when "Name of the Wind" (a favorite among us, especially for the quality prose) came out people called Patrick Rothfuss the next Scott Lynch. Another series I always suggest if a person enjoys great prose is The Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin. Horror is definitely not my bag when it comes to reading, but these books about a vampire apocalypse kept my stomach clenched in the most wonderful knots. Even banal scenes would have this satisfyingly oppressive atmosphere to them because of the expectations that Cronin had established prior. They're great. More people should read them.

I've just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora today. I found it hard to start with, it took me about 150 pages to get into it but once I did I really enjoyed it. Need to get the second one now. Thanks for recommendation! 😀

I just finished reading this right now and I loved it!

Read this book years ago as a teenager and am just now as an adult getting back in reading. I have a lot on my list at the moment, but Merphy convinced me to put this near the top.

Damn. Now I wanna read it again! I really liked flashbacks and they were quite connected with the story for me.

You know it’s going to be a flashback when it says “Interlude”. Loved this book. One of the best ending ever.