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From Publishers Weekly
Life imitates art and art scams life in Lynch's debut, a picaresque fantasy that chronicles the career of Locke Lamora—orphan, thief and leader of the Gentlemen Bastards—from the time the Thiefmaker sells Locke to the faking Eyeless Priest up to Locke's latest con of the nobility of the land of Camorr. As in any good caper novel, the plot is littered with obvious and not-so-obvious obstacles, including the secret police of Camorr's legendary Spider and the mysterious assassinations of gang leaders by the newly arrived Gray King. Locke's resilience and wit give the book the tragicomic air of a traditional picaresque, rubbery ethics and all. The villain holds the best moral justification of any of the players. Lynch provides plenty of historical and cultural information reminiscent of new weirdists Steven Erikson and China Miéville, if not quite as outré. The only drawback is that the realistic fullness of the background tends to accentuate the unreality of the melodramatic foreground. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* On a distant world, orphan Locke Lamora is sold into a crew of thieves and con artists. Soon his natural gifts make him an underworld celebrity, leader of the flamboyantly larcenous Gentleman Bandits. But there is someone who covets Locke's talents, his success, his very life, forcing him to put everything on the line to protect himself. With a world so vividly realized that it's positively tactile, and characters so richly drawn that they threaten to walk right off the page, this is one of those novels that reaches out and grabs readers, pulling us into the middle of the action. With this debut novel, Lynch immediately establishes himself as a gifted and fearless storyteller, unafraid of comparisons to Silverberg and Jordan, not to mention David Liss and even Dickens (the parallels to Oliver Twist offer an appealing extra dimension to the story, although the novel is no mere reimagining of that Victorian classic). Fans of lavishly appointed fantasy will be in seventh heaven here, but it will be nearly as popular with readers of literary crime fiction. This is a true genre bender, at home on almost any kind of fiction shelf. Expect it to be among the year's most impressive debuts. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy's appealing "dark side.",
By
This review is from: Lies of Locke Lamora (Paperback)
Scott Lynch has a way with words reminiscent of George R.R. Martin; he creates a gritty world full of colorful and multifaceted characters. The plot is centralized in one city, a location fraught with intrigue and enough history to fill volumes with. There's an underbelly to the city, of course, which we are thrust into as we follow the cunning Locke Lamora's rise to infamy and his ultimate quest for revenge.One of the charms of this book is the way in which Lynch tells the story; this is anything but a straight forward narrative. Throughout the "main plot" we are told intermittently about the history of Locke Lamora, his admittance into the criminal organization known as "The Gentlemen Bastards", and his training in the art of theft. Each of the characters presented is beautifully fleshed out, with their own histories, agendas and motivations, making for a believable and engrossing novel. If you're a fan of grittier fantasy - gods, thieves, plot and intrigue, and (of course) fantastic story telling - then this is the novel for you.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy thieves,
By
This review is from: Lies of Locke Lamora (Paperback)
A welcome addition to the "Rough Fantasy" genre, along with the likes of Esslemont and Erikson, or Martin. Fewer main characters (basically the Gentleman Bastards) and a slightly less fully developed world. Still, very entertaining, good character development, and a very nice treatment of alchemy/biochemistry. I am waiting for the next instalment.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story; disappointing ending,
By
This review is from: Lies of Locke Lamora (Paperback)
Even if his name appears on the front page of this book, I'll try not to mention George R.R. Martin in my review (oops! too late). Associating new authors with well known and established fantasy authors no doubt helps in selling books, but I find that this business practice is usually misleading such as in the present case.The world created by the author is inspired by Italian city-states of the late Middle-Age. If it was not of the involvement of a mage, this novel could have easily been categorized as a fiction instead of a fantasy novel. This book can be read as a stand alone novel, and its story follows a single storyline. The main character, Locke Lamora, is a con artist. The story focuses on the cleverness of Lamora and his ability to conceive bold plans and to improvise his way out of trouble. What is really interesting is that the reader is not left in the black with regard to Lamora's plans and motivations. As such, as a reader you feel like you are being part of his plans instead of only being a spectator of their outcome. I however find that the ending was rather disappointing. This book shines because of the personality of its characters, and the events in the end are triggered by actions that were rather out of character (this is especially true for the mage mentioned above, but also for Lamora). Despite the ending, this novel is an 'absolute must read' for its entertainment value, and as such I give it five stars.
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