The Alchemist - Paul Coelho

Rating: 6/10

Read this one on a plane from Hobart to Canberra. It was simple and easy enough to get into, but it was basically one long sermon thinly disguised as an adventure undertaken by a young shepherd, Santiago, on a pilgrimage from Spain to Egypt to find his "Personal Legend" - the one thing each person wants to accomplish in life.



The prose itself is sparse, which meant it didn't get in the way of the central message of the book. By about halfway however, I was well sick of repetitive themes, and in particular the phrase Personal Legend. This may be an artifact of the translation process, as the book was originally written in Portuguese.

Character development wasn't a great part of the mechanics of this story either, and I did find the beginning and middle parts fairly hum ho. What saved this book from becoming a complete waste of time was the ending, specifically when Santiago speaks the Language of The World to the desert, the wind and the sun. This may have appealed to my fantasy-genre sensibilities but it did tie the allegory together quite nicely.

I'm still not entirely sure if I would give this book the thumbs up or down. I think it's major appeal so far has been its accessibility to people who don't normally read, as it's quite short and easy to read. I'll definitely be interested to watch the movie, with Lawrence Fishburne cast as the eponymous character. I wouldn't however, rave over this book like a lot of others have done.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch

Rating: 8.5/10

This book was a good self contained novel. It follows the life of Locke Lamora; a leader of a small gang of thieves known as The Gentlemen Bastards, who steal from the searioulsy rich using confidence tricks. I agree with one critic's take on this book as a "swashbuckling yarn."



Set on a fictional, yet rather violent renaissance-like archipelago, Scott Lynch does a surprisingly good job of building a believable fantasy world. Locke is a legend amongst the upper class for his ability to dupe the most guarded citizens out of their money, earning him the title the Thorn of Camorr. In reality however, he is a flawed, and largely likable anti-hero.

The story itself is told as a flash between the present and the titular character's youth, where he is accepted to into his gang and is mentored in the art of thievery by their father-figure master, 'Chains'. The story telling is done via a limited omniscient narrator who focuses largely on Locke to keep the main story arc going, which makes for an easy read. There are enough detours into other minor characters' points of view however, to build dramatic tension right up toward the final chapters.

Essentially, Locke's gang get caught up in a secret war between the current leader of the Undergound, and a mysterious usurper known as the Grey King. Locke becomes caught between trying to appease both sides whilst at the same time attempting to protect his men. This eventually leads to some hasty alliances between Locke and the other side of the law, and culminates in an extremely satisfying revenge ending. (It was satisfying for me, anyway).

There is a fair amount of swearing, and a healthy smattering of violence, which isn't all gratuitous in that it helps establish some seriously evil antagonists. Overall it was a definite page turner. It is extremely well written, and although it is one of seven planned books, it is easily read in isolation, as the ending resolves the conflict nicely.