I heard about The Lies of Locke Lamora from Joe Sherry's blog Adventures in Reading (which is becoming one of my favourite blogs btw). Since then I read several positive reviews about the book, so I thought I should check it out. One day I saw it in the bookshop, read the jacket and wasn't convinced by it, so I didn't buy the book. I was afraid that it was going to be a complex fantasy book, full of descriptions of a magical world difficult to understand, written in a style of English as old as the world itself. This is probably one of the reasons I don't usually read fantasy books, even though the titles and cover art are very alluring. Finally, I borrowed the book from the library, and started reading it half heartedly. Boy was I sucked in the story.

A couple of people on Shelfari described the book as an Oceans 11 / Robin Hood type of book, and I tend to agree. The book is about a group of thieves who call themselves the Gentleman Bastards. Unlike Robin Hood though, they keep the money they steal. The gang leader (garrista) of the Gentleman Bastards is Locke Lamora. Locke isn't endowed with supernatural powers or an imposing physique, however he's the best at what he does, and what he does is stealing.

The book starts with the story of Locke as a child living in the streets of Camorr, a city not unlike Venice. After a teaser of Locke's early life, the story suddenly jumps to the present day, where Locke is already the garrista of his gang. After setting up a complex con job against the wealthy Don Salvara family, the peace of the city is disturbed by an uprising boss who calls himself the Grey king. With the help of his bondsmage (wizard) henchmen, the Grey King wants to overtake Brasavi, the old boss, to start ruling the Camorr underworld. This part of the story is reminiscent of Mafia stories. At the end of each chapter Lynch adds interludes that describe the formation of the Gentleman Bastards. I really liked this way Lynch pauses from the main storyline to describe something as interesting as the main story itself.

The dialog and language of the book are quite modern, not something I was expecting in a fantasy novel. The title "Gentleman Bastards" itself suggests that the language is indeed modern. Lynch doesn't hold back on using foul language in his dialog. I think this modern language use made the book much more accessible for me.

I'm glad that I started this series from the very beginning. At least now I can read each book as it's published, not having to play catch-up with a long list of thick books. In fact today I ordered the next book in the series, Red Seas Under Red Skies, which was just released this summer. I recommend Lies of Locke Lamora, to anybody looking for a good story or anybody who wants to get into fantasy fiction. 4.5/5

Some Links
Scott Lynch's personal blog on Live Journal
32 page extract from the book
Wikipedia Entry for Lies of Locke Lamora
Strange Horizons Review
Forum for the book / series