Reinventing the Wheel

Spring break is only 23 school days away, Memorial Day is only 52 school days away, and THE END is only 63 school days away.

In other news, The Lies of Locke Lamora confuses me, because there are so many aggravating flaws, but I still read it and enjoyed it. Would I read it again? Probably not. Am I picking up the sequel? Not yet. Is it good? Mmmmmmmmyeah.

The book crafts a very complete universe. One of the big problem with fantasy and scifi is integrating bizarre, alien cultures without sounding like an encyclopedia article. tLoLL did a decent job of avoiding that. There were still a lot of random, info-session cutaways, but most of the explanation was pretty smoothly integrated into conversation and descriptions.The plot is highly political, dealing with a Mafia-like crime syndicate. Everybody is out to backstab everybody in the bloodiest and most over-the-top way possible. (As in, the major assassination involved a trained shark.) In the background, Locke Lamora spends his time crafting theatrical, intricate scams to swindle people for vast amounts.

The charm is in the creativity, I guess. The whole book is cloak-and-dagger, so much so that the reader doesn't have a clue whether minor characters are actual beings, or just Locke in another disguise. It's something few writers pull off well -- most who try to play their cards too close wind up annoying and confusing the reader -- but here, it's more amusing. Realizing that the secret agent of the duke, who shows up to blow Locke's cover, is actually Locke with another, more complicated scheme up his sleeve, is fairly amusing. The guy would fit in perfectly in the 7th Sea universe, with a 5 or 6 in panache.

One of the best things, IMHO, is that they don't tie up every bloody loose end. The characters are people. Their lives have extraneous details. Locke's long-lost lady love, who does preoccupy his thoughts, doesn't suddenly swing down from the chandelier to save the day. His parents don't come back from the grave. The amusing side characters and sidekicks die and stay dead, or stay out of the way. It's like life. Just because someone is important to you doesn't mean that they play a critical role in every plot twist.

The death toll is also refreshing. Fantasy writers seem loath to part with a character, no matter how flat or hackneyed, and will let their long-winded, boring lives bog the plot into oblivion. (*COUGH*RobertJordan*COUGH*) tLoLL kills off almost everyone halfway through, and you actually feel the loss. It wasn't meaningless death, but...they died, they went away, they stayed away. No improbable resurrections, no random, useless plot twists. Dead.

So: Good points -- Immersive universe, lack of irritating exposition, good characters, amusing plot, kept reader guessing.

Bad points: Political shenanigans that put Congress to shame (and the reader to sleep)

Ah, well. Now to stop procrastinating and finish my cover letters.