- Mass Market Paperback: 722 pages
- Publisher: Spectra Books; Reprint edition (Jun 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 055358894X
- ISBN-13: 978-0553588941
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 3.1 x 17.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,297,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Lies of Locke Lamora
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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 ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"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 ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
In this stunning debut, author Scott Lynch delivers the wonderfully thrilling tale of an audacious criminal and his band of confidence tricksters. Set in a fantastic city pulsing with the lives of decadent nobles and daring thieves, here is a story of adventure, loyalty, and survival that is one part Robin Hood, one part Ocean’s Eleven, and entirely enthralling.…
An orphan’s life is harsh–and often short–in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains–a man who is neither blind nor a priest. A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected “family” of orphans–a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting.
Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld’s most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful–and more ambitious–than Locke has yet imagined.
Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi’s most trusted men–and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr’s underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game–or die trying.…
From the Hardcover edition.
An orphan’s life is harsh–and often short–in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains–a man who is neither blind nor a priest. A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected “family” of orphans–a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting.
Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld’s most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful–and more ambitious–than Locke has yet imagined.
Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi’s most trusted men–and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr’s underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game–or die trying.…
From the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I suspect a fair number of readers will give up on this in the first few chapters: you can tell this is a debut novel and the writer is sort of settling into his own voice as he goes. The first impression was of a sort of sub-Jack Vance, which is a hard act to follow.
It's worth persisting though - the language becomes less florid and the plot more fascinating: I really liked the setting. At first I didn't warm to the characters, but after a while I started to get attached to them. Be warned though, if you are the kind of reader that finds violence and death to sympathetic characters in fiction hard to read, you may not like this.
Several reviewers have referred to this novel as fantasy: it's set in a renaissance culture in the ruins of an alien culture, which to my mind makes it sci fi, but perhaps sci fi is less in the public eye just now.
I am definitely looking forward to reading the next one.
It's worth persisting though - the language becomes less florid and the plot more fascinating: I really liked the setting. At first I didn't warm to the characters, but after a while I started to get attached to them. Be warned though, if you are the kind of reader that finds violence and death to sympathetic characters in fiction hard to read, you may not like this.
Several reviewers have referred to this novel as fantasy: it's set in a renaissance culture in the ruins of an alien culture, which to my mind makes it sci fi, but perhaps sci fi is less in the public eye just now.
I am definitely looking forward to reading the next one.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Lies of Locke Lamora" is the first in a projected series of seven books detailing the adventures of The Gentleman Bastards, a gang of thieves and conmen from the Venice-like city of Camorr. It's a ripping yarn full of larger-than-life characters, something akin to "Moll Flanders" meets "Pulp Fiction"; mostly light-hearted but with moments of savage violence, as befits the protagonist's devil-take-the-hindmost attitude to life. There is one torture scene that literally gave me nightmares, which rather puts me off buying the rest of the series - a pity, as it is otherwise good fun.
The mix of traditional fantasy elements (pre-gunpowder weapons, mages) with vaguely SF/clockpunk elements like the advanced architectural technology of the long-departed Elders, the intricate Heath-Robinsonian human inventions and the pseudo-science of alchemy combine in a heady mix of otherworldliness, making Camorr a city you'll remember long after you close the book. If the description is occasionally a little heavy-handed (please, Scott, can it sometimes be just the wind, not the Hangman's Wind?), it's still damned impressive for a debut novel, especially from someone who is still under 30.
Only one thing really takes the edge off an otherwise great book: the dialogue. I'm not at all averse to swearing, but in "Lies" it is at times overdone and inappropriate. It's one thing for the Gentleman Bastards to be effing and blinding amongst themselves, but the Bondsmage? Don Salvara? Considering that the city is sharply divided into the haves and have-nots, the frankly rather unimaginative swearing sometimes gives the dialogue a homogeneous, classless (or rather lower-class) flavour that spoils the overall effect. The characters' voices become almost indistinguishable from one another at times, and sound anachronistic to boot, like Lynch had been watching a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies to get in the mood.
Judging by things he has said in interviews, Lynch is a fan of "Serenity" and presumably "Firefly" (the tone of the book reminded me very much of the show). IMHO he should study Jos Whedon's work a bit more closely: learn how to write really cracking dialogue and most importantly, be a bit more creative with his cursing!
The mix of traditional fantasy elements (pre-gunpowder weapons, mages) with vaguely SF/clockpunk elements like the advanced architectural technology of the long-departed Elders, the intricate Heath-Robinsonian human inventions and the pseudo-science of alchemy combine in a heady mix of otherworldliness, making Camorr a city you'll remember long after you close the book. If the description is occasionally a little heavy-handed (please, Scott, can it sometimes be just the wind, not the Hangman's Wind?), it's still damned impressive for a debut novel, especially from someone who is still under 30.
Only one thing really takes the edge off an otherwise great book: the dialogue. I'm not at all averse to swearing, but in "Lies" it is at times overdone and inappropriate. It's one thing for the Gentleman Bastards to be effing and blinding amongst themselves, but the Bondsmage? Don Salvara? Considering that the city is sharply divided into the haves and have-nots, the frankly rather unimaginative swearing sometimes gives the dialogue a homogeneous, classless (or rather lower-class) flavour that spoils the overall effect. The characters' voices become almost indistinguishable from one another at times, and sound anachronistic to boot, like Lynch had been watching a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies to get in the mood.
Judging by things he has said in interviews, Lynch is a fan of "Serenity" and presumably "Firefly" (the tone of the book reminded me very much of the show). IMHO he should study Jos Whedon's work a bit more closely: learn how to write really cracking dialogue and most importantly, be a bit more creative with his cursing!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is like the Godfather, Oliver Twist and Ocean's Eleven mixed up and distilled on the page. Fun, witty, violent and entertaining, it keeps you reading and so is the perfect commute read. As other reviewers have said, Lynch dramatises rather than tells - a bit of a lost art for contemporary writers.
Personally I didn't like the flashbacks and back story, and thought it was too much of a device to delay the main plot but that's personal taste. There are places where Lynch overwrites but this is forgiveable, especially in the middle section of the book where the tension really ramps up. Lynch doesn't shy away from making his characters realistically violent as so many writers do out of moral correctness and that adds to the texture of the plot and characterisation.
This isn't by any means great literature, but it is a great romp of a novel that reminded me of how much sheer fun reading as a child used to be.
Personally I didn't like the flashbacks and back story, and thought it was too much of a device to delay the main plot but that's personal taste. There are places where Lynch overwrites but this is forgiveable, especially in the middle section of the book where the tension really ramps up. Lynch doesn't shy away from making his characters realistically violent as so many writers do out of moral correctness and that adds to the texture of the plot and characterisation.
This isn't by any means great literature, but it is a great romp of a novel that reminded me of how much sheer fun reading as a child used to be.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A magnificent romp in a wonderfully realised city.
The Thorn of Camorr is a legendary master swordsman, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. He is also a complete fabrication. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Mr. D. I. Fisk
A modern classic
The Lies of Locke Lamora is definitely one the most interesting fantasy books I've read lately. First off, Lies takes place in a bustling port city similar to a Renaissance age... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Ken
Pinch Me!
Having had "The Lies of Locke Lamora" recommended to me on multiple occasoins, I finally got around to reading it during a lull in another series that I am currently addicted to. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Charley R
Entertaining Read... so far
Not yet completed the book so this is only a partial review. Lynch develops the environment and scene perfectly which allows the characters to flourish in their actions. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mb85
Exciting wee read.
This book was a recommendation from a friend of mine. He decribed it as a oceans 11-esk fantasy book. And you know what? He is definately on the right lines. Read more
Published 1 month ago by redders...
Starts really dull, but ends up promising much
Well, it's another debut novel with all its ups and downs (mostly downs) we see much in the fantasy genre. Read more
Published 1 month ago by ManInsideTheHelm
A potentially interesting tale that never really burst into life
I'd been looking forward to reading this book for ages, having seen it recommended on a number of sites. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Georgiana89
A Unique Read
This book is one of a kind, the author has produced characters that you just can't help but love. The book centers around Locke Lamora, who is a master con man in a corrupt city,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Chase Marshall
Twists and Turns
This is an excellent novel. I was beginning to tire of some of the cheaper novels and the lack of depth in the plots and characters. No such problems here. Read more
Published 5 months ago by RobAllan
Great Read
Simply a brilliant and immensely fun read. The Lies of Lock Lamora has everything you could wish for in a fantasy novel from a super and at times utterly un-predictable plot to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by bronze-yohn
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