The Sword and Laser discussion

that's a great point. I think that's why I tend to read a lot more sci fi than fantasy. it's harder to keep track of these massive casts in some fantasy series(there seems to be a lot more "epic" fantasy series than sci fi) let alone connect with a protagonist. I loved the narrow scope and tight plot in this book.

I'm not sure I'll have time to listen to the podcast episodes, but I'm surprised by the use of "small stakes." I guess most of the fantasy I read (epic or smaller scale) tends to have fairly high stakes...and not always a lot of action (a lot of chess moves, though).

I'm finding Lies of Locke Lamora somewhat hard to get into/keep coming back to. I think someone hit the nail on the head in a different thread, I think it's because Locke (as protagonist) doesn't really have a "want" other than to be a trickster. Though looking through my "fantasy" bookshelf on GR, I guess a lot of my fantasy books are pretty high on action (high stakes or otherwise). I think a reasonable example of "small stakes and high action" could be Gaiman's Stardust. I find books like that refreshing.

For the record, I definitely consider myself to be more to the sword side than laser, typically. I think part of that is because I work in the space industry. Much of the "space" science fiction I typically don't read because it's almost like work. And I confess to being overly picky with regards to "science" in science fiction.

I think seeking purpose is a perfectly acceptable motivation for a character, and I think that's what this book is about at some level. that's a different thread, but it ties in.

i think that part of the issue that some have with Locke's motivation is that he's not on a quest of some sort. his motivations have a lot more to do with real world motivations rather than the villian is trying to do "x" to "y" where "x" is the villian's plot and "y" is the kingdom or the world or the age.

with that said, the stakes here are money and the lives of criminal's in the city, rather small when compared to the world ending. but I think that's where this book succeeds in capturing the imagination. because the stakes are "small", we can relate to them. we understand betrayal and the desire for a better life and friendship.

so while the stakes are small, they are by no means unimportant, and in a way they are more important than the more epic, more abstract stakes of a lot of other stories.

I've pretty much given up on epic fantasy because of the size of modern series, so was really pleased with The Lies of Locke Lamora.

I appreciate the immense effort and skill in running a long series of big books with multiple plots and a large cast of viewpoint characters, but I've found that following them requires more commitment than I can put in.

It was also definitely refreshing just to have a change of scope, and read a story that wasn't about the clash of empires or the fate of a world, but was still gripping.(view spoiler)[I was actually disappointed when the stakes changed at the end of the book - it felt cliched and didn't add to the drama for me. (hide spoiler)]