Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life and times of the Artful Dodger, 1 Aug 2008
First of all, what a great read! It is a fresh, original and welcome addition to the ever-rising bar of fantasy fiction.
It did take me a while to get into this book, and at one point i was seriously wondering what all of the fuss was about (around the 100 page mark), but then suddenly i found myself carring about the characters, getting that 'just one more page' feeling, and that's when you know a book has done its job, (the outrageous 'shark duelling' might have had something to do with it!).
This is a strangely effective brew of ingredients: Oliver Twist with Oliver Twist taken out - in fact more like the life and times of the Artful Dodger, with a series of scams thrown in to rival the Sting, Ocean's Eleven and Hustle, and then a curiously 'Godfather/Soprano's' like gangland underworld that uses knives, crossbows and hatchets instead of machine guns!
All of this is thrown together within a city which is reminiscent of medieval Italy, except that large portions of the city are made of glass!
As with any book, for me it comes down to the characters, and the author has put together a fine ensemble cast - loveable rogues as the 'leading men,' plus a fine array of supporting characters and 'bad guys' - the Falconer and the Spider are stand-out.
Also it is expertly written, with the tension ratcheted up throughout the book;timely 'interludes' help to do this, while also providing both depth of character and dragging you deeper into carring about the central characters.
The end wraps things up very well, in fact a little too well - there are no major unanswered questions or cliff-hangers left as carrots for book 2.
The world-building is not as detailed as it could be, but i got the impression that this was intentional, leaving out the almost obligatory maps that seem to be part of the course with most fanatasy novels (personally i like maps - bit of a geek, i know, but aren't most of us that eat up our fantasy fiction?).
Oh, also, i must mention that this book is seriously funny! Dialogue is sharp and witty, although a little 'sweary' - not one i'd read to my 11 year old son!
Overall a fantastic read, written well, with engaging, rounded characters. I was most definitely entertained - i've given four stars instead of five because of my initial 'what's all the fuss about' sensation, but maybe i'm being too picky - it is only that there is so much good fantasy comming out of late that it is possible to make such picky remarks - a few years ago and this would have been stand out five star stuff. I'd like to give it 4.5, but amazon don't do halves.
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57 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Fantasy Book 2007, 25 April 2007
I'll keep this simple. Buy this book. This is a fantastic romp that really does make you read it at any opportunity you can get. I could hear it calling me when I was at work. I couldn't sleep until I'd just read one more chapter ... I can't recommend it enough - it's the best book I've read in years (probably since Julian May's The Many Coloured Land). It's not classic fantasy but that really does not matter. Just buy it, take a day or two off work and enjoy. I don't need to go into the plot, the characters or the writing. If you're interested enough to be reading this review then just take my word for it. You really will get to laugh, cry, plot, plan and be amazed by Locke Lamora and the Gentlemen Bastards ...
I always like to know what other authors people read when I am checking a review so to help you, my taste in books runs from SF authors such as Peter Hamilton, Iain Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Richard Morgan, fantasy writers including Raymond Feist, R Scott Bakker, Julian May, Steven Erikson, George RR Martin, Tad Williams, Dan Simmons and other good storytellers such as Christopher Brookmyre, Neil Gaiman, Christopher Fowler, Matthew Reilly, Clive Barker, Michael Crichton.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific fantasy, 15 Jun 2007
Hard to believe this is a first novel, it is unputdownable. Exceedingly intricate plot with some shocks encountered along the way. If I'm looking for points to criticise, then perhaps there is too much strong language for some tastes, and the violence in the closing chapters was just that bit predictable. But these are surely the only possible criticisms; this is a superb novel. I shall buy the sequel the split second I see it.
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