The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Trained from childhood as a thief and con-artist par excellence, Locke Lamora employs a silver tongue and quicksilver mind to divest the rich of Camorr of their excessive wealth. No sooner do Locke and his associates initiate their latest scheme, however, than they find themselves at the mercy of the mysterious Gray King, who intends to use them as pawns in his bid to take over the city-state's underworld. As the Gray King's diabolical plan unfolds, Locke finds his skills tested as never before as he struggles not only for his own survival, but also for the survival of his friends and Camorr itself.

In this scintillating debut novel, Scott Lynch establishes himself as a rising star of fantasy fiction. Like Patrick Rothfuss, Lynch is a natural storyteller with a keen intellect and a gift for richly detailed, ... Read More

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I picked up Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora with high hopes because I've really got a thing for stories about confidence men. I don't know why. I have plenty of faults, but lying and stealing are not sins I commit or condone, and I greatly dislike people who do those things. In fact, I avoid them entirely. So, why I like to read or watch films about conmen, I can't say, but I guess that's something to philosophize about another time...

I did like Locke Lamora. Lynch has created a unique and fascinating world full of wonderful creations such as a crime boss who rules his empire from a houseboat, his little daughter who sits on his lap drinking ale and kicking subordinates with her steel-toed boots, a blind priest who begs for alms and eats gourmet meals off fine plates... Read More

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

If you travel to the canal city of Camorr, be warned that it's a city thick with thieves and gangs. And the cleverest of them all is Locke Lamora and the Gentlemen Bastards, but their schemes go very badly awry when the mysterious Gray King and his sorcerous companion move in on the ruling crime boss.

The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of the best and most unique fantasy stories I've read. It's a grand swashbuckling tale of adventure and revenge. Think Thieves' World in Venice with Don Corleone as boss of the crime syndicate, and Farhd and the Grey Mouser as the resident trouble-makers. Read More

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

I don't know what it is about rogues that we fantasy readers love, but Mr. Lynch has given us a new twist to the charismatic thief with his Gentleman Bastard series.

Blessed by the Crooked Warden, Locke and Jean continue their dedicated service to that Nameless Thirteenth, and being a priest and servant of the Thiefwatcher, the Benefactor, Father of Necessary Pretexts, definitely has its fringe benefits. These guys couldn't go to church without snatching the offering plate. But don't let their shenanigans fool you — cross these boys from Camorr, and you'll get a lesson in what vengeance means.

This being only the second book by Scott Lynch, his writing can be just a tad clumsy at times. The story has its lulls but I'm not sure if it's really that it has slow parts or just seems that way in between the parts of intense intrigue and action... Read More

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

Red Seas Under Red Skies is Scott Lynch’s follow-up to his debut fantasy The Lies of Locke Lamora, and the second in the planned Gentlemen Bastard sequence.  The first book asked the question: what would happen if all the guys from Ocean 11 were teleported into the usual fantasy setting? Red Seas Under Red Skies asks: what would Brad Pitt and George Clooney do if the rest of Oceans 11 were killed off in movie one?

The answer, of course, is they’d continue to steal. And that’s what happens here. The analogs to Pitt and Clooney are Locke Lamora himself (the title character of book one) and his best friend/partner in crime Jean. The two of them, after suitable mourning of their friends from book one, are now involved in trying to rob the famed Sinsp... Read More

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword & Sorcery edited by Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword & Sorcery is a book I’ve been eagerly anticipating ever since it was first announced in 2009. I was particularly excited about the anthology’s impressive list of contributors which includes several authors I enjoy reading like Glen Cook, Greg Keyes, Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Garth Nix, Tim Lebbon, Read More

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword & Sorcery edited by Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery is an excellent new anthology of original short fantasy fiction, featuring an impressive mixture of established genre masters and newer, highly talented authors. The book’s introduction, by editors Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan, does an excellent job defining the sword & sorcery sub-genre and placing it in its historical context. This is an interesting read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the genre and doesn’t have a copy of John Clute and John Grant’s The Encyclopedia of Fantasy handy, but the main... Read More

Swords and Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders

As the title suggests, Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders have gathered seventeen new and original sword & sorcery tales in this anthology. The stories are written by a variety of successful authors, bringing to play a broad range of styles and themes. I’m a huge fan of sword & sorcery (it’s what got me into fantasy). So I was extremely eager to get my hands on this book.

I did find Swords and Dark Magic to be heavier on the “sorcery” than the “sword,” more so than is my preference. (Like the greatest S&S hero, Conan the Cimmerian, I subscribe to the belief that when the gods breathed life into mankind, we were gi... Read More