The Lies of Locke Lamora

The Lies of Locke Lamora is the debut fantasy/adventure novel of Scott Lynch and is the first of a seven book cycle.
After finishing this novel, I give it a hearty 2 thumbs up and would recommend it to almost any reader of fantasy.

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first of all the hype surrounding this book. When I first became aware of it, on a forum dedicated to the discussion of George RR Martin’s works, many people were calling this work “genius” and “greatest of all time”. Superlatives such as this often lose their edge and veracity over time, so I began reading it with the expectation that I would probably notice every little mistake of comment and be overly critical (as I often tend to be). To be honest, I still haven't gotten over the shock of just how bad Steven Erikson's series is after hearing so many outstanding reviews of his work (something called the Marzipan Books of the Swollen or some such nonsense). The word "Genius" is getting bandied about a bit too liberally for my tastes these days. So, that is the mindset I was coming from when I began reading Lynch.

So, is the book really that good?

When I had read about 1/3 of the book, I had some doubts as to the overall quality and whether or not I would even get to page 100! Lynch lays out the story in the beginning with some odd chronological leaps hither and thither that are just a bit too cutesy for the good of the story. Not only does he tell the main story in the "present" but there are flashbacks to a time when the chief protagonist, Locke Lamora, was a child learning to make his way in the world. There are also flashbacks within both the present and past storylines, however, making for periods of awkward plot progression. In fact, one entire chapter is rendered irrelevant due to fact the reader already knows the outcome from the proceeding chapter which takes place chronologically after the chapter that follows it. Confusing aint it? There are also some freshman errors in comma placement and sentence structure that the editor should have picked up. Im also distressed that a learned man would use the term “two-tenths” instead of “one-fifth”, but I suppose that’s my little pet peeve. The characters kept me interested enough to continue reading and I journeyed onward (buoyed also by George RR Martin's recommendation). By the time I got halfway through the tome I was hooked.

Lynch settles down into a simple present and past layout that makes the prose read easier and the plot progress faster. I also stopped noticing any internal inconsistencies or editing problems, although I do not know why the first half should differ so much from the second. From there on out, the story is a real page turner. I had trouble putting the book down at times, wanting to see what happened next. There was actually a time I was late to work because I wanted to finish a chapter and couldnt put the book down. I dont want to give a lot away, because there are some twists that need to be experienced. This is not a typical "good guys always win" type of fantasy either, so be prepared to have things turn out perhaps not quite as you would have liked them to.

At times there is just a tad bit too much "power comparison" between characters and groups. By that I mean, Lynch sets up one character, lets say "element A" as being the "one you do not want to even look funny at" but then needs to up the ante with the next one that comes along. So "element B" becomes the one that "element A" is even frightened of crossing! After several levels of this go by you begin to wonder why anyone was worried about "A" to begin with! Lynch does this several times and it does standout as a Freshman error. Hopefully he'll learn the value of "showing" instead of "telling" and issues like this will be resolved.

This book has something for everyone, humor, action, good character development, sympathetic protagonists, believable antagonists etc. There are a few more negatives I could point out, but the positives really outweigh them in this case. One of the characters, Jean Tannen, is a real standout and one of my favorite characters in the genre. Locke's not bad either!

This is not a big-world, sprawling adventure like Jordan's Wheel of Time series or Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, but is a really fun adventure/crime tale in a fantasy world.

In summary, imagine Joss Whedon’s Firefly crossed with Robert Asprin’s Thieves Guild and Steven Brust’s Taltos series. Two thumbs up and 4.75 out of five stars!!!

The shocking truth about William Shatner!

Are you ready for this America? Is the world ready? Here it comes: William Shatner is not that bad of an actor!

Yes, you heard it here first. A revelation that may bring the world of entertainment to its knees. So shocking the rumor of it caused Nicole Ritchie to flee to the sanctuary of a Denny’s for comfort food.

Why the need for this sudden declaration of support for the much maligned former Captain of the Enterprise?

I’ve been reading more and more commentary concerning the franchise of Star Trek as a whole. In particular, on a number of different Sci-Fi related forums and websites there have been questions posed along the lines of: "What version is the definitive Trek", “Who is your favorite character” and conversely "Who is the most annoying character?".
More and more the answers to the first and last questions are becoming: The Next Generation and "Kirk". (I think he places second to Wesley Crusher, but that’s hardly a comfort to me.)

Now, lets address the first notion: Star Trek: the Next Generation is the definitive version of the Trek franchise.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with this. I disagree, but I know for many people STTNG was the series that brought them into the world of Trek initially. Many people watched this show that had never been exposed to or even interested in the adventures of Kirk and Spock and the valiant crew of the Enterprise. I even know a select few that watched it simply for Patrick Stewart (wink).

The notion that the Next Generation is preferred version of Star Trek is particularly true for a generation who look back upon the original series having already been exposed to the quality of special effects found in Star Wars and later offerings. The original series must appear to movie-goes of the Lucas-Spielberg era to be corn-ball and banal. As such, I sincerely doubt that anything I could say or write will every really gain any converts over to the side of the original. There is a conversation that could be had about overlooking special effects for the sake of the story, ala Doctor Who and Blake’s 7, but we’ll leave that for the time being.

As I said, this feeling is understandable. What I do have a problem with is the lack of respect individuals seem to have for the first series.

Point One: Without Kirk and his five year mission, tribbles, the doomsday machine, Sulu wielding a rapier, a bearded Spock etc…you never would have had your Next Generation and your Deanna Troi, Wesley Crusher, that blonde security woman who died and no one remembers (what the hell was her name?), a Klingon who constantly was put on his back by aliens..etc. Not to mention all the later offerings of Nelix, Quark…well…you get my point.
It was the deep love people had for the original show, sustained for well over a decade through movies, fiction, conventions, artwork and models that generated enough interest for the powers that be to bring the show back from the dead. How many other shows can say the same? Can you really look me straight in the face and tell me there is nothing worthy about the original series? There are some hackneyed moments (Abraham Lincoln) and some out and out poor episodes (Spock’s Brain), but overall the show had many wonderful episodes, plus lets not forget the multi-cultural cast, quite unique for its time.

Point number two: Shatner’s acting ability. Well, I can see where people have cause for concern here. I sometimes still shudder and watch some old original episode scenes through lidded eyes, but there is another viewpoint also. Bashing his acting ability has been done so many times it has simply entered into the realm of pop culture mythos. I think many are just repeating jokes Jay Leno did 20 years ago and acting like they are speaking from an unassailable position, particularly younger viewers.

Shatner does not do emotion very well, except maybe anger and irritation and he is prone to overacting. However I do think he does a quite good job at playing a confident starship captain. Recently I re-watched “Balance of Terror” and recalled just how great a piece of science fiction this episode is. Shatner is great as Kirk in these types of situations. “City on the Edge of Forever”, "A Private Little War" and "Return of the Archons were other great eps in which I think Shatner did quite well. These are just to name a few. It’s a shame these are looked over because he didn’t do as well of a performance in other eps.

I also think he does well in humorous roles such as he plays on Boston Legal. He’s quite funny actually. He’s been on Howard Stern several times and carries himself very well comedically.
He won an emmy and was nominated for at least one more. Plus he’s never really been away from the camera. TJ Hooker, the ST movies, Boston legal, movie appearances. He’s making money! The worst you can say about him is that he’s entertaining.

Certainly he’ll never do Shakespeare alongside Patrick Stewart, but I hardly think it’s a fair comparison. He does just a good a job as Jonathan Frakes ever did in my opinion. (Remember Young Doctors in Love?)

I watched the original series as a very young child. Back then, it instilled in me a very real sense of excitement and adventure. It captured my imagination like no other offering at that time. It pains me to see a new generation of science fiction fans maligning the works that came before their time. Sure there's a lot to criticize, but there is a lot to enjoy also. Keep in mind the original series spawned all the spinoffs you hold so dear.

So, put those prejudices away, put The Trouble With Tribbles into the DVD player, kick back with a beer and enjoy! Get off the Shat's Back !