Best fantasy novel I've read in about two years. Contrast with my rant on Perdido Street Station.
Big shock, believe me. I expected to dislike this novel based on what I'd heard of it, and since it's a debut novel, I was especially skeptical. Yet another shitty pseudo-Renaissance fantasy novel, I imagined, with a bunch of boring stuff in it.
In spite of myself, I ended up enjoying it. (I really should learn not to make assumptions.) The book isn't without flaws, of course. Some of the plot twists are unbearably predictable. The twins were not especially well-drawn. There's a nasty plot hole where Locke does something plain stupid for no good reason. But I can forgive these flaws (and a few others) because Lynch wrote the story in a clear, straightforward, entertaining manner. Aside from some purple diction in a few places, his style is transparent. No affectations. And for this sort of story, I think it works perfectly.
This book also succeeds in all the ways that The Name of the Wind, another fairly recent debut novel from Patrick Rothfuss, fails. Rothfuss uses two narrative threads ("past" and "present") skipping back and forth between the older protagonist and his younger-self-in-training. Lynch does the same thing with his band of thieves, and it works. Looking back, I can see all the mechanical ways in which Lynch's approach is superior. Lynch doesn't spend too long in a single place, as Rothfuss often did. Lynch takes you back into training only when it matters to the plot, whereas Rothfuss often went back to older-Quothe for no clear reason. Lynch's text is free of the odd devices Rothfuss uses, especially the whiny self-indulgent "if only I had done blah blah blah" intruding on the narrative. Perhaps most importantly, Lynch's plot actually goes somewhere and has a real ending, unlike Rothfuss's plot.
But enough of that comparison. Lynch's work can stand on its own. He knows when and where to add relevant descriptions and backstory. He keeps the story moving and doesn't provide many opportunities to get bored. And even though I had a good idea what was going to happen at various points in the story, I was able to shut down my inner editor and enjoy the ride. I couldn't put the fucking thing down. I can't think of a much better compliment than that.
Big shock, believe me. I expected to dislike this novel based on what I'd heard of it, and since it's a debut novel, I was especially skeptical. Yet another shitty pseudo-Renaissance fantasy novel, I imagined, with a bunch of boring stuff in it.
In spite of myself, I ended up enjoying it. (I really should learn not to make assumptions.) The book isn't without flaws, of course. Some of the plot twists are unbearably predictable. The twins were not especially well-drawn. There's a nasty plot hole where Locke does something plain stupid for no good reason. But I can forgive these flaws (and a few others) because Lynch wrote the story in a clear, straightforward, entertaining manner. Aside from some purple diction in a few places, his style is transparent. No affectations. And for this sort of story, I think it works perfectly.
This book also succeeds in all the ways that The Name of the Wind, another fairly recent debut novel from Patrick Rothfuss, fails. Rothfuss uses two narrative threads ("past" and "present") skipping back and forth between the older protagonist and his younger-self-in-training. Lynch does the same thing with his band of thieves, and it works. Looking back, I can see all the mechanical ways in which Lynch's approach is superior. Lynch doesn't spend too long in a single place, as Rothfuss often did. Lynch takes you back into training only when it matters to the plot, whereas Rothfuss often went back to older-Quothe for no clear reason. Lynch's text is free of the odd devices Rothfuss uses, especially the whiny self-indulgent "if only I had done blah blah blah" intruding on the narrative. Perhaps most importantly, Lynch's plot actually goes somewhere and has a real ending, unlike Rothfuss's plot.
But enough of that comparison. Lynch's work can stand on its own. He knows when and where to add relevant descriptions and backstory. He keeps the story moving and doesn't provide many opportunities to get bored. And even though I had a good idea what was going to happen at various points in the story, I was able to shut down my inner editor and enjoy the ride. I couldn't put the fucking thing down. I can't think of a much better compliment than that.
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) kinda went out the window. I had to make myself finish it. 
It seems like everything I love you hate and vice versa. If I just reverse your opinion every time, I'll know whether I'd like something. 
I would not complain if he was the MC. I loved all the nautical adventures in RSURS, although I got really annoyed by all the explanations of nautical terms, as I already know them all. I like Lynch's writing in general because it's quite gross and gritty, and he loves to torture and kill off his major characters almost as much as GRRM. Also, it's so much fun to watch Locke get the crap knocked out of him repeatedly