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The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)

by Scott Lynch (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; Export ed edition (1 Jun 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575078022
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575078024
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 289,023 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

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

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 )
See all Product Description

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Customer Reviews

75 Reviews
5 star:
 (54)
4 star:
 (13)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (75 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Life and times of the Artful Dodger, 1 Aug 2008
This review is from: The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
First of all, what a great read! It is a fresh, original and welcome addition to the ever-rising bar of fantasy fiction.
It did take me a while to get into this book, and at one point i was seriously wondering what all of the fuss was about (around the 100 page mark), but then suddenly i found myself carring about the characters, getting that 'just one more page' feeling, and that's when you know a book has done its job, (the outrageous 'shark duelling' might have had something to do with it!).
This is a strangely effective brew of ingredients: Oliver Twist with Oliver Twist taken out - in fact more like the life and times of the Artful Dodger, with a series of scams thrown in to rival the Sting, Ocean's Eleven and Hustle, and then a curiously 'Godfather/Soprano's' like gangland underworld that uses knives, crossbows and hatchets instead of machine guns!
All of this is thrown together within a city which is reminiscent of medieval Italy, except that large portions of the city are made of glass!
As with any book, for me it comes down to the characters, and the author has put together a fine ensemble cast - loveable rogues as the 'leading men,' plus a fine array of supporting characters and 'bad guys' - the Falconer and the Spider are stand-out.
Also it is expertly written, with the tension ratcheted up throughout the book;timely 'interludes' help to do this, while also providing both depth of character and dragging you deeper into carring about the central characters.
The end wraps things up very well, in fact a little too well - there are no major unanswered questions or cliff-hangers left as carrots for book 2.
The world-building is not as detailed as it could be, but i got the impression that this was intentional, leaving out the almost obligatory maps that seem to be part of the course with most fanatasy novels (personally i like maps - bit of a geek, i know, but aren't most of us that eat up our fantasy fiction?).
Oh, also, i must mention that this book is seriously funny! Dialogue is sharp and witty, although a little 'sweary' - not one i'd read to my 11 year old son!
Overall a fantastic read, written well, with engaging, rounded characters. I was most definitely entertained - i've given four stars instead of five because of my initial 'what's all the fuss about' sensation, but maybe i'm being too picky - it is only that there is so much good fantasy comming out of late that it is possible to make such picky remarks - a few years ago and this would have been stand out five star stuff. I'd like to give it 4.5, but amazon don't do halves.
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61 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Fantasy Book 2007, 25 April 2007
By himilne (North East England, permanent loan from Scotland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)

I'll keep this simple. Buy this book. This is a fantastic romp that really does make you read it at any opportunity you can get. I could hear it calling me when I was at work. I couldn't sleep until I'd just read one more chapter ... I can't recommend it enough - it's the best book I've read in years (probably since Julian May's The Many Coloured Land). It's not classic fantasy but that really does not matter. Just buy it, take a day or two off work and enjoy. I don't need to go into the plot, the characters or the writing. If you're interested enough to be reading this review then just take my word for it. You really will get to laugh, cry, plot, plan and be amazed by Locke Lamora and the Gentlemen Bastards ...

I always like to know what other authors people read when I am checking a review so to help you, my taste in books runs from SF authors such as Peter Hamilton, Iain Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Richard Morgan, fantasy writers including Raymond Feist, R Scott Bakker, Julian May, Steven Erikson, George RR Martin, Tad Williams, Dan Simmons and other good storytellers such as Christopher Brookmyre, Neil Gaiman, Christopher Fowler, Matthew Reilly, Clive Barker, Michael Crichton.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Grabs you round the throat right from the start . . ., 31 Mar 2006
By LW Jolly (Reading, Berkshire UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)
Somehow this book managed to be lush *and* gritty and completely absorbing. The characters are real, the pace doesn't let up, the setting is three-D and colourful and dangerous. It made me laugh aloud and gasp and, in one place, cry. By the end I wanted to cheer for Locke, the lovable rogue of the title.

The action centers around organized crime in a Venice-like fantasy city, focusing on the Gentlemen Bastards, a ring of young grifters who fleece nobles for fun. It's a right laugh until the new mob moves in and things turn deadly serious, setting them up for their biggest caper ever. Provided nothing goes wrong, of course.

This is interspersed with the backstory of the Bastards themselves, which only adds to the richness of their characterisation and the darkness of the city and its cultures.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you enjoy fantasy or crime books, it'll be a good time. It just didn't seem to have any weak spots: the characterisation, the setting, the plot were all dead-bang-right.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic.
EXCELLENT,EXCELLENT,EXCELLENT,EXCELLENT, What more can I say, fantastic book, great story, brilliant characters, only one fault in my opinion the first chapter is a bit to Oliver... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Me

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
I must agree with some of the other reviewers, it took me a little while to get into this book. In fact, I bought it two years ago, started it, got about 50 pages in and parked... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Sisa

3.0 out of 5 stars Over-hyped and unoriginal
I bought this book on the back of comparisons with George RR Martin. In that respect I was disappointed. Read more
Published 1 month ago by RJL

5.0 out of 5 stars Inaccurate Cover Picture - Great Novel Though
I bought this from amazon uk and the book I was delivered had a different cover from the picture displayed on this page. Read more
Published 2 months ago by muffinman

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentlemen thieves get more than they bargained for
Locke Lamora is the Thorn of Camorr, leader of the Gentlemen Bastards, a master thief who robs the nobility of that city-state with grand breath-taking plans. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. R. Bhaskar

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and packed full of goodness.
The Lies of Locke Lamora is most certainly an original book full of twists and turns, fighting and gore, swearing, pick-pocketing, scheming, conning, trickery and wicked... Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. Phethean

1.0 out of 5 stars could not finish this one
I hate to start a book without finishing but this was so utterly boring I gave up in the end. I felt nothing for the characters they just were not sympathetic in anyway. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Woodstock

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and Darkly Beautiful
This year has been one of my best in terms of reading enjoyment, so far. I've read at least 5 unforgettable novels, and I count Lies of Locke Lamora as one of them. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Craig Lam

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb read
Simply the most gripping, intricate plot of any novel I have read in any genre. I dare you to read it and not be blown away.
Published 7 months ago by D. Wielding

5.0 out of 5 stars Have at you....dog
Loved this I have been avoiding fantasy for about ten years as had got so tedious and predictable,but this is a gem ,beautifully painted world with characters portrayed... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Anthony Minns

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