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Entry tags:
Missing Maps And Annoying Alliteration
Jul 2010
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch - Gollancz, 2007
* * * *
Grrr. Another epic fantasy novel that doesn't have a map. Less of a problem here because of the single setting, but still annoying. Listen, young authors (Abercrombie, I'm looking at you) - there is a reason why golden age fantasists like Tolkien and Ursula Le Guin provide extensive maps. It saves them having to spend precious words explaining the relative locations of places, allowing them to focus on dialogue, history and spectacle rather than describing how the characters get from A to B. And don't say that it frees readers to use their imaginations - I'm not interested in woolly fantasy worlds and get annoyed when the picture I have built up in my head is undercut by an authorial aside which doesn't fit.
Okay, rant over. Actually I rather liked this book. Though the lack of a map isn't its only flaw.
The setting is Camorr, a Venetian-style city based on a set of islands separated by canals which delineate different social groupings, such as Shades' Hill, home to the Fagin-like Thiefmaker and his orphans, the Temple District, the water-based Shifting Market and the Five Towers, where Camorr's rulers live. I couldn't be bothered to wade through the prose to work out the geographical relationships of these areas to each other, but fortunately it isn't really germane to the plot. Camorrian society is that of a fairly typical fantasyland city, with the usual quota of rich lords, priests and merchants living in splendid isolation and the teeming masses of the poor held in check by sinister mafia-like organisations run by the Barsavi family and the upstart Grey King. As usual with American fantasy writers, there is no history of significance. All this may sound very conventional and by the numbers, but there is plenty of colour and a few original(-ish) ideas, such as Elderglass and the Teeth Show, that mark this setting out from the general run of city-based fantasies.
The main plot revolves an elaborate scam perpetrated by the eponymous Locke Lamora and his band of Gentlemen Bastards against Don Salvara, a hapless nobleman. This is described in some detail and has some enjoyable twists. Whilst the scam goes well, Locke attracts the attention of Capa Barsavi, the Grey King and the sinister Spider, leader of the city's secret police, with unpleasant results.
The characterisation is fine - Locke himself is charming if somewhat anonymous, and his companions Jean Tannen the swordsman, the twins Calo and Galdo, and apprentice Bug, are all engaging characters. However they are all men, making this book, like Abercrombie's, suffer from a distinct absence of oestrogen. There is only one female character of any significance and she is introduced relatively late on. Those who think that epic fantasy should always have romance will be seriously disappointed.
The writing is generally good - like Joe Abercrombie, Lynch has a talent for witty and entertaining dialogue - and the approach of finishing each chapter with a cliffhanger followed by a flashback to a significant scene in the early life of Locke or his companions is a crude but effective means of keeping the pages turning. There is, however, an overabundance of description. Lynch is clearly very proud of his setting and data-dumps its background and history at every opportunity. This makes the first half of the book in particular tend to drag.
The two main problems, however, are with magic and tone. Magic is introduced only relatively late and in gaming terms is ridiculously over-powered. It is practised by bondsmages who have the ability to create utterly convincing illusions and take total control of someone if they know their true name. Worse, they have formed a city state that holds a monopoly on magic and which practises hideous revenge on anyone who kills a mage. The problem with this is that it is utterly unbelievable that they are not ruling the world. At the very least, anyone of any note should be constantly considering whether they might be in a bondsmage-created illusion. Bondsmagi and what to do about them should be a major topic, but everyone seems curiously unconcerned.
The tone of the book is also problematic. It starts off as a light-hearted hustle but veers into very dark territory indeed. The transition is managed well but I think it is not too much of a spoiler to say that very bad things happen to characters that I had got to like. It raised an emotional response, but did so in a crude way that did not endear the book or its author to me.
And one final thing. Alliteration is neither big nor clever. "The Thorn of Camorr" would have been a much better (if more anonymous) title. It is symptomatic of this book as a whole, which is clearly the work of an overeager-to-impress new author. He should lay off the dark stuff and trust his talent for characterisation and dialogue a little more.
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch - Gollancz, 2007
* * * *
Grrr. Another epic fantasy novel that doesn't have a map. Less of a problem here because of the single setting, but still annoying. Listen, young authors (Abercrombie, I'm looking at you) - there is a reason why golden age fantasists like Tolkien and Ursula Le Guin provide extensive maps. It saves them having to spend precious words explaining the relative locations of places, allowing them to focus on dialogue, history and spectacle rather than describing how the characters get from A to B. And don't say that it frees readers to use their imaginations - I'm not interested in woolly fantasy worlds and get annoyed when the picture I have built up in my head is undercut by an authorial aside which doesn't fit.
Okay, rant over. Actually I rather liked this book. Though the lack of a map isn't its only flaw.
The setting is Camorr, a Venetian-style city based on a set of islands separated by canals which delineate different social groupings, such as Shades' Hill, home to the Fagin-like Thiefmaker and his orphans, the Temple District, the water-based Shifting Market and the Five Towers, where Camorr's rulers live. I couldn't be bothered to wade through the prose to work out the geographical relationships of these areas to each other, but fortunately it isn't really germane to the plot. Camorrian society is that of a fairly typical fantasyland city, with the usual quota of rich lords, priests and merchants living in splendid isolation and the teeming masses of the poor held in check by sinister mafia-like organisations run by the Barsavi family and the upstart Grey King. As usual with American fantasy writers, there is no history of significance. All this may sound very conventional and by the numbers, but there is plenty of colour and a few original(-ish) ideas, such as Elderglass and the Teeth Show, that mark this setting out from the general run of city-based fantasies.
The main plot revolves an elaborate scam perpetrated by the eponymous Locke Lamora and his band of Gentlemen Bastards against Don Salvara, a hapless nobleman. This is described in some detail and has some enjoyable twists. Whilst the scam goes well, Locke attracts the attention of Capa Barsavi, the Grey King and the sinister Spider, leader of the city's secret police, with unpleasant results.
The characterisation is fine - Locke himself is charming if somewhat anonymous, and his companions Jean Tannen the swordsman, the twins Calo and Galdo, and apprentice Bug, are all engaging characters. However they are all men, making this book, like Abercrombie's, suffer from a distinct absence of oestrogen. There is only one female character of any significance and she is introduced relatively late on. Those who think that epic fantasy should always have romance will be seriously disappointed.
The writing is generally good - like Joe Abercrombie, Lynch has a talent for witty and entertaining dialogue - and the approach of finishing each chapter with a cliffhanger followed by a flashback to a significant scene in the early life of Locke or his companions is a crude but effective means of keeping the pages turning. There is, however, an overabundance of description. Lynch is clearly very proud of his setting and data-dumps its background and history at every opportunity. This makes the first half of the book in particular tend to drag.
The two main problems, however, are with magic and tone. Magic is introduced only relatively late and in gaming terms is ridiculously over-powered. It is practised by bondsmages who have the ability to create utterly convincing illusions and take total control of someone if they know their true name. Worse, they have formed a city state that holds a monopoly on magic and which practises hideous revenge on anyone who kills a mage. The problem with this is that it is utterly unbelievable that they are not ruling the world. At the very least, anyone of any note should be constantly considering whether they might be in a bondsmage-created illusion. Bondsmagi and what to do about them should be a major topic, but everyone seems curiously unconcerned.
The tone of the book is also problematic. It starts off as a light-hearted hustle but veers into very dark territory indeed. The transition is managed well but I think it is not too much of a spoiler to say that very bad things happen to characters that I had got to like. It raised an emotional response, but did so in a crude way that did not endear the book or its author to me.
And one final thing. Alliteration is neither big nor clever. "The Thorn of Camorr" would have been a much better (if more anonymous) title. It is symptomatic of this book as a whole, which is clearly the work of an overeager-to-impress new author. He should lay off the dark stuff and trust his talent for characterisation and dialogue a little more.