Product Description

They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he's part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count. Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they're the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards. Together their domain is the city of Camorr. Built of Elderglass by a race no-one remembers, it's a city of shifting revels, filthy canals, baroque palaces and crowded cemeteries. Home to Dons, merchants, soldiers, beggars, cripples, and feral children. And to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city. But there are whispers of a challenge to the Capa's power. A challenge from a man no one has ever seen, a man no blade can touch. The Grey King is coming. A man would be well advised not to be caught between Capa Barsavi and The Grey King. Even such a master of the sword as the Thorn of Camorr. As for Locke Lamora . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162441 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

ABTA magazine
"Excellent fantasy about young grifters known as the Gentleman Bastards, out only for themselves."

Review
"Exports the wit and suspense of a cleverly constructed crime novel into an exotic realm of fantasy and the result is engagingly entertaining. A remarkably stylish debut." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )

"Like an episode of the BBC's 'Hustle' on speed, The Lies of Locke Lamora layers a series of daring scams, one on top of the other, in a complex and highly entertaining mix of magic, manipulation and mayhem. Great stuff." (Sandy Auden SFX )

'Like Locke Lamora himself, Scott Lynch's novel oozes charm, ability, guile, flair, courage, cheek, humour, brevity and bravery in equal measure. It's an awesome debut, powerful and dangerous, romantic and relentless and it absolutely lives up to the hype. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a novel you'll have to work very hard not to be utterly blown away by.' (John Berllyne SF Revu )

" A richly developed fantasy novel, with a nice line in earthy dialogue and many instances of grotesque violence. Lies of Locke Lamora is just like it's anti-hero - bold, witty and likely to catch you off guard." (DREAMWATCH )

"Excellent fantasy about young grifters known as the Gentleman Bastards, out only for themselves." (ABTA magazine )

"Grabs you by the nethers and tears through a ride of intrigue, deceit and daring deeds. In short, a ripping yarn from a major new fantasy-writing talent." (THE LINCOLNSHIRE ECHO )

"Lynch is a virtuoso plotter, who plays fair with us and keeps us bemused at every turn. For once deserving every bit of the praise heaped on it." (Roz Kaveney TIME OUT )

"A surprisingly skillful swashbuckling debut signals the next big thing in fantasy writing. The Lies of Locke Lamora stands up to the hype." (EDGE magazine )

About the Author
Scott Lynch was born in 1978 in St Paul, Minnesota, where he still lives. In addition to being a freelance writer for various role-playing game companies, he has done all the usual jobs writers put in their bios: dishwasher, waiter, web designer, marketing writer, office manager and short-order cook.

Customer Reviews

Assured and entertaining
An assured debut novel the plot centers around a con that the Gentleman Bastards (Locke, Jean Tannen, Bug and the twins Calo and Galdo) are pulling on a nobleman, involving a rare wine. The con also allows Lynch to introduce Locke's backstory, from joining a gang belonging to the Thiefmaker and his transgressions that lead to his adoption by Father Chains and inauguration into the Gentleman Bastards. It also gives Lynch the opportunity to establish his world credibly and competently and in such a way that you want to find out more about it.

Although the con goes a little too smoothly to be fully believable, Lynch eventually introduces the Grey King, a dangerous man with his own agenda who coerces and blackmails Locke into helping him settle an old score with Barsai, the head of Camorr's crime syndicate. Although the end of the book is never really in doubt, I enjoyed the way in which the Grey King was always one step ahead of Locke. However, the introduction of the Bond Mage felt like a cop-out, particularly because Lynch doesn't really explain how magic works in this world until near the end, when the concept of 'true names' is revealed to cheap effect.

Until the Grey King's introduction about half-way through the text, the pace feels a little slow, although Lynch's writing style is absorbing. Characterisation is well handled - Locke et al aren't evil so much as of a different moral ilk to other folk and Lynch takes the time to set out their own moral code. Lynch's descriptions are evocative and vivid and Camorr has an almost Venetian feel to it.

On the negative side, this book doesn't have feature strong female characters. The women are pretty much on the sidelines in whore/wife roles. The two most interesting women in the novel don't get much page time and the supposed love of Locke's life is nothing but a name. I wanted to see more of the Grey King's motivations and how his plans were set up as it only comes out in the last 150 pages and feels rushed. On the plus side, Lynch surprised me by whacking people you would expect to make it into the sequel and the novel hangs together well, tying up loose ends so as to set up the sequel while providing a satisfying read.

Simply outstanding
The Lies of Locke Lamora and the sequel weave a quite remarkable story. Reading other reviews will give you the story background and wonderful it is too. More remarkable is that they mark the start of this authors career.I just want to convince you to read them.Scott Lynch has created a tale that is totally engrossing, full of interesting credible characters and lots of wicked humour which help ease the less humorous episodes that are there too. These books should not be speed read, they really should be savoured because they'll be over soon enough as you'll have great trouble putting them down! They are amoung the handful of special books that I would unreservedly recommend to any of my friends whatever their genre preference. O.K the first few chapters read a bit like an Oliver Twist rewrite[ not a critisism], which in itself was hugely enjoyable but then things change and the story becomes something much bigger... I can see me returning to read these superb books again soon which is something I very seldom do. They are wonderfully written, I just can't believe this "new author" writes this well. I eagerly await the third book and have it pre-ordered along with the book of two novellas which go into more depth on a couple of the adventures,or tie loose ends, not that I felt anything was missing in the first place. I just can't get enough of this kind of writing.I read a lot of books due to travelling and working abroad and have seldom enjoyed a book as much as this and the sequel
I would congratulate Mr.Lynch for producing these remarkable books, they are truly outstanding and works to be very proud of.

Really 4 1/2 stars
This is a great book and by the end I was totally immersed in the story. The reason then I gave it four and a half is that it was extremely slow in the beginning and I needed all my patience to continue. But if you are able to push past this small point the book rewards you well worth its with complex characters, an extremely interesting world and a great plot.

Am now eagerly awaiting the sequel.