The Lies of Locke Lamora

The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a ghost that walks through walls. Half the city believes him to be a legendary champion of the poor. The other half believe him to be a foolish myth. Nobody has it quite right.

Slightly built and barely competant with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. He certainly didn't invite the rumours that swirl around his exploits, which are actually confidencegames of the most intricate sort. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves: The Gentlemen Bastards.

The capricious, colourful underworld of the ancient city of Camorr is the only home they've ever known. But now a deadly mystery has begun to haunt the city, and a clandestine war is threatening to tear the underworld apart. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends will find both their loyalty and their ingenuity tested to the breaking point as the struggle to stay alive...

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Praise

"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, author of the Song of Ice and Fire sequence“Hugely enjoyable, a rollicking blast of solid fun; Locke Lamora cuts a roguish dash -- with all the swagger and the spark of Errol Flynn in his heyday -- and the twists and turns of the plot make for compulsive reading.”

Hal Duncan, author of Vellum“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 company of the entirely extraordinary Gentleman Bastards, and a match for any fantasy adventure I’ve ever read. The best news is: it’s Book One. That means there’ll be more.”

Matthew Woodring Stover, author of Blade of Tyshalle“Tough, funny, and inventive. You will be entertained.”

Kate Elliot, author of the Crown of Stars sequence"The picaresque tale is not dead. It lives again—to my great delight—in Scott Lynch's wickedly enjoyable debut novel. Follow Locke the thief and his fellow Gentlemen Bastards through an outrageously ingenious and Byzantine plot, which has more twists and turns than the minotaur's labyrinth. The Lies of Locke Lamora is dark, complex and utterly compelling."

Sarah Ash, author of the Tears of Artamon trilogy"Somewhere off-stage and west of Othello and The Merchant of Venice, Scott Lynch has built a quirky, high octane fantasy caper around a refreshingly original hero and his not-quite-Venetian city of Camorr. Here there are titled nobles, elaborate schemes, multiple disguises and horrible fates enough for any piece of Shakespeare, but all laid out in a finely imagined otherworld and told at the narrative pace and pitch of Pirates of the Caribbean. A great, swashbuckling yarn of a novel."

Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon"This is one of the most enjoyable first novels I've ever read. I'd listen to Scott Lynch tell lies all day long."

Tim Pratt, author of The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl"...an outstanding fantasy novel and a breathtakingly impressive debut. The action never flags, and the sensory and scenic detail is extraordinary."

Peg Kerr, author of Emerald House Rising"One part caper, one part swashbuckler, and one part Mission: Impossible, Scott Lynch's debut novel is deeply satisfying to the Robin Hood in all of us."

Elizabeth Bear, author of Hammered"Scott Lynch’s first novel, The Lies of Locke Lamora, exports the suspense and wit of a cleverly constructed crime caper into an exotic realm of fantasy, and the result is engagingly entertaining."

Lisa Tuttle, Times of London book review, June 3rd, 2006"The Lies of Lock Lamora doesn't just kick ass, it kicks all kinds of ass -- it tracks down all of the ass's friends, and kicks them as well. This is the kind of book that makes you happy just to be alive and the owner of the eyeballs reading such an excellent fantasy caper novel."

Andrew Wheeler, Science Fiction Book Club Senior Editor"...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 Berlyne, SFRevu.com" 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 its anti-hero - bold, witty and likely to catch you off guard."

Dreamwatch"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"...a true page-turner with no need to apologize for the fact and decisively the most significant debut of the fantastic this year."

Jay Tomio, Fantasybookspot.com"The Lies of Locke Lamora is a complete joyride strewn with a remarkable number of corpses ... and if he keeps up the good work, Lynch will rapidly establish himself as one of the major players in the fantasy genre."

Patrick St-Denis, Pat's Fantasy Hotlist"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."

Booklist (Starred Review)"At times laugh-out-loud funny, at others jaw-droppingly intense. The city’s real enough to tour (and as gritty as Miéville’s New Crobuzon), the characters real enough to jump off of the page and pick your pocket (or stop your heart), and the plot’s just plain amazing. This one’s not to be missed."

Patrick Heffernan, Mysterious Galaxy Books"Even on the 'high concept' level,' Lynch distinguishes himself... The Lies of Locke Lamora is a 'fantasy' Ocean's Eleven... and Lynch delivers an appallingly enjoyable shtick that is itself witty enough to make you believe his characters' wit as well... pretty damn entertaining."

Rick Kleffel, The Agony Column

Reviews

Review by Jayaprakash on kvltsite.com August 2007

Review by C.M. Morrison Strange Horizon, 26 June, 2006.

Review by John Berlyne SFRevu, June 2006.

Review by Sherwood Smith The SF Site, 2006.

Review by Pat's Fantasy Hotlist 29 May, 2006.

Review by Sue Griffiths Fiction Reviews, 2006.

Review by Dylan Skerbitz Twin Cities Daily Planet, 5 September, 2006.

Review by Williams Lexner Reviews of Speculative Fiction for the Fan and Collector, 2 July, 2006.

Review by Violet KaneAlternative Reality Webzine, 2006.

Review by Ilya Popov 6 February, 2006.