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The Lies of Locke Lamora [Paperback]

Scott Lynch
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

1 Feb 2007

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 . . .


Frequently Bought Together

The Lies of Locke Lamora + Red Seas Under Red Skies (GOLLANCZ S.F.) + Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Book 1)
Price For All Three: £16.80

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Product details

  • Paperback: 544 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (1 Feb 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0575079754
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575079755
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.3 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"Locke's resilience and wit give the book the tragicomic air of a traditional picaresque, rubbery ethics and all."--"Publishers Weekly "
"Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser would have felt right at home with the Gentleman Bastards. They're not out to save the world, just their own skins...oh, and to relieve some nobles of their gold, jewels, and silks along the way. This is a fresh, original, and engrossing tale by a bright new voice in the fantasy genre. Locke Lamora makes for an engaging rogue, and Camorr a fascinating and gorgeously realized setting, a city to rival Lankhmar, Amber, and Viriconium. I look forward to returning there for many more visits."--George R. R. Martin
"Scott Lynch is a con man, a conjuror, a wickedly entertaining juggler of words with knives up his sleeves and hatchets down his back. By the time you realize he's dangerous, you're already bleeding. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a ticket inside the astonishing city-state Camorr, and a free pass into the com --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

Introducing Locke Lamora, the fantasy genre's next cult hero. A brilliant debut fantasy from a 26-year-old author.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Starts slowly, but keep at it 11 April 2008
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining caper 19 Oct 2007
By Roman Clodia TOP 50 REVIEWER
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.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but tries a bit too hard 12 Mar 2011
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!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Slow burner
Almost gave up on this a couple of times as the plot takes rather a long time to set up and Scott Lynch goes the scenic route to get there as well. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Martin Squires
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad read, but a bit slow.
The basic plot is not bad. The book is a bit slow and quite a bit of it seems to be written
to increase the page count.
Published 18 days ago by Murky Dismal
5.0 out of 5 stars love it
I absolutley love this book and have read it several times.It is just the right length and the main characters are rogues but you really warm to them very quickly. Read more
Published 21 days ago by pipin
5.0 out of 5 stars Slow burner - persevere!
Well I couldn't take to it at first, but it really develops slowly and brilliantly and becomes a plot on a larger and larger scale. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Mr. S. Greenmantle
5.0 out of 5 stars Add my voice to the chorus
Hard to believe this is his first book. It is brilliant, sparkling in every way. He does a fantastic job of structuring the book and his visual descriptions are pitch perfect. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GoldenHairLionClaws
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!!!
Must get!!!
Absolutely sensational with its incredible plots, witty characters and amazing writing.
Is a definite five out of five stars!!!
Published 1 month ago by Seungyeon
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable rogues
While the story employs a core format that has been used before (Artful Dodger-esque), Lynch introduces several fresh ideas that, together with well balanced "world... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Story Fanatic
5.0 out of 5 stars A marvel
Truly one of the best books of all time. And I've read most of the others so I should know.
Jon
Published 1 month ago by J. Dore
5.0 out of 5 stars Why did it have to end?
I don't remember ever enjoying a book as much, and I read a lot. Close to perfect. I hope Scott Lynch writes many more.
Published 2 months ago by spore frog
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and rivieting read
Just what the Dr ordered to take my mind off real life.

I can't wait for the next book in the series
Published 2 months ago by SM Davies
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