The Lies of Locke Lamora

, #1

Mass Market Paperback, 719 pages

English language

Published July 25, 2007 by Spectra.

ISBN:
978-0-553-58894-1
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
153611139

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (166 reviews)

In this stunning debut, author Scott Lynch delivers the wonderfully thrilling tale of an audacious criminal and his band of confidence tricksters.

Set in a fantastic city pulsing with the lives of decadent nobles and daring thieves, here is a story of adventure, loyalty, and survival that is one part Robin Hood, one part Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling. . . .

An orphan's life is harsh—and often short—in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains—a man who is neither blind nor a priest. A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected "family" of orphans—a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards.

Under his tutelage, …

4 editions

reviewed The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (Gentlemen Bastards, #1)

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A rip roaring, entertaining read. I loved the complete lack of focus on worldbuilding, nothing of the wider world is fleshed out, or plays a part in the story, instead it's all just a cool setting for a fun heist and revenge tale.

I will say the playful tone left me unprepared for the violence when it arrived, and there is no way that halfway through the book I would've expected the body count to reach what it does by the end. This tone discrepancy robs the dramatic moments of some of their emotional heft but it definitely keeps things thoroughly engaging.

If you're looking for a good old fashioned fun time with a book, this is a great option.

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It's a cool book for a number of reasons. The prose is awesome. It walks the spectrum from vulgar to pretentious and back to paint the city of Camorr and its people that walk the same spectrum. Scott Lynch has a talent for words. The text evokes the smells and moods and it is helped by the wonderful names.

For me the made-up names are important. I value the names that are not cliche fantasy names, that feel like they have logic and history behind them, and that sound good in the end. Camorr, Talisham, Emberlain, Capa Barsavi, Don Lorenzo Salvara, Doña Sofia, Lukas Fehrwight, etc. Great names! They have a basis in real-world languages, and they are more evocative for that.

The world that's built has a strong original atmosphere, but functionally it's mostly a generic dark medieval fantasy. There's a lot of detail about geography and cuisine and …

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

An incredibly fun read. I was immediately grabbed, though it took a while to get used to every other chapter being an interlude. Engaging setting and characters and delightfully convoluted schemes.

My biggest issue was the writing of women characters - there are only a few, and most of them have no personality beyond being a daughter/wife/etc of a male lead, and/or dying. (The second book is a vast improvement in this regard)

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Extremely fun. Great characters. Filled with suspense. The interludes killed the flow somewhat and their foreshadowing unfortunately allowed me to see a lot of twists in advance. Well written with often brilliant dialog. I frequently laughed out loud, often felt disgusted and always wanted to pick the book back up immediately when taken away from it.

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This series is classified under Fantasy, and while that originally got my attention, the book was more Epic Heist than anything and the story of Locke Lamora kept me reading. Right from the opening chapter I knew this book would be special. The strange names in a place that could be Venice, the aggressive language and all of it around a mischievous boy named Lamora drew me in.

I don't read heist or con stories, my exposure to them in films is the "Ocean's" Trilogy and "Catch Me If You Can", so I had no preconceived notions of what should or shouldn't be in a story and I loved it all. There were cons on top of cons, witty dialogue, and the story kept me guessing right until the very end. The relationships between the characters was well executed with the current and past perspectives and each character was wonderful …

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A swashbuckling, rollicking page-turner. Locke Lamora is the unlikely hero, a principled rogue who routinely applies his talents in areas where they usually wouldn't apply. Then there's the setting of the city of Camorr, which is as much a character in the tale as anyone else. This is the best fantasy novel I've read in a long, long time.

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Review from October 2012:
I liked this one despite the confusing structure with the interludes - there was at least one instance where the timing was very much not "in order". Locke is an interesting character and I had fun following his exploits. I downloaded the second book right after finishing this one, a good sign I'd say.

Review from 2016:
This is a fantasy book about a thief named Locke Lamora - obviously - and his gang. The story is set in a city named Camora and begins as they are in the early stages of the execution of the biggest heist they have ever planned. It's somewhat complicated and rather daring and features a few early "oops" moments that made me smile. But then the ante is upped when the Grey King makes his first off-stage appearance killing other gang leaders - colleagues of Locke's. From there on …

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Great characters, interesting world. I VERY MUCH like the introduction of the world through short stories, flashbacks, etc. Beats the heck out of Robert Jordan-style ponderous histories and 10-page-long expositions. It's not a real world, people! I shouldn't have to learn a full dynastic succession to appreciate your story.

Review of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I grabbed this book after reading Scott Lynch's story "A Year and a Day In Old Theradane" from the [b:Rogues|20168816|Rogues|George R.R. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404616147s/20168816.jpg|27565413] collection. Lies is described as a bit of Ocean's Eleven and Robin Hood, or (as Nataliya put it) the love child of Ocean's Eleven and The Godfather. That's a good start, but leaves out the fantasy aspect!

The fantasy element here had a similar feel to that of Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Revelations series. There are some interesting creatures, and some types of magic are relatively common. The camaraderie between Locke and Jean also reminded me of the Riyria books. Hadrian and Royce had a similar dynamic.

One thing I did not expect is that as the first book of a series, it manages to stand alone quite well. I want to read the next book because I love the world and the characters, not because …

avatar for PineappleButtonUp

rated it

5 stars
avatar for wayward

rated it

5 stars
avatar for selykg

rated it

4 stars
avatar for samullen

rated it

4 stars
avatar for unsquare

rated it

5 stars
avatar for cjhubbs

rated it

5 stars
avatar for solcita

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Manzabar

rated it

3 stars
avatar for acdha

rated it

4 stars
avatar for AndyB

rated it

4 stars
avatar for rpearce

rated it

4 stars
avatar for karlhungus

rated it

4 stars
avatar for kiri_nezu

rated it

3 stars
avatar for s3raphic

rated it

4 stars
avatar for BrewerSeth

rated it

5 stars
avatar for theconfusedyeti

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jnyrose

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Snorpy

rated it

4 stars
avatar for james

rated it

5 stars
avatar for buu709

rated it

4 stars
avatar for mckmak

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Azuredusk10

rated it

5 stars
avatar for kergoth

rated it

5 stars
avatar for betolima

rated it

4 stars
avatar for sir_diesalot

rated it

5 stars
avatar for kimkarma66

rated it

2 stars
avatar for Keeh

rated it

5 stars
avatar for spideyj

rated it

4 stars
avatar for anndra

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jumpinggrendel

rated it

4 stars
avatar for tmarsh1024

rated it

5 stars
avatar for clayferris

rated it

5 stars
avatar for sajattack

rated it

5 stars
avatar for brlockwood

rated it

4 stars
avatar for the_lirazel

rated it

4 stars
avatar for joeyh

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Solysto

rated it

5 stars
avatar for cheapshot

rated it

5 stars
avatar for cwhitfield

rated it

5 stars
avatar for 73pctGeek

rated it

4 stars
avatar for chrismaler

rated it

5 stars
avatar for xorn

rated it

5 stars
avatar for kevlar

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jfflak

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Realgnomidad

rated it

4 stars
avatar for LindseyB

rated it

4 stars
avatar for tremain

rated it

4 stars
avatar for LeadAnew

rated it

5 stars
avatar for JohSny

rated it

4 stars
avatar for johnke

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Wyatt

rated it

5 stars
avatar for satyajit

rated it

3 stars
avatar for bhargav

rated it

4 stars
avatar for cerieshunter

rated it

4 stars
avatar for turmacar

rated it

5 stars
avatar for TimmyMac

rated it

5 stars
avatar for boomboxnation

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Ghalidrim

rated it

4 stars
avatar for slowline

rated it

3 stars
avatar for oox

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Hyzie

rated it

4 stars
avatar for wicud

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Manzabar

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Shack70

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Angzarr

rated it

5 stars
avatar for gtco

rated it

4 stars
avatar for casocial

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Turtle4233

rated it

4 stars
avatar for JuniperusVox

rated it

4 stars
avatar for bachya

rated it

2 stars
avatar for Silent-Rob

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Cmot_Dibbler

rated it

4 stars
avatar for iamd3vil

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Jorn

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jamesbrooks

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Jaldert

rated it

4 stars
avatar for piotr

rated it

5 stars
avatar for clnaanderson

rated it

4 stars
avatar for princeofspace

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jmc142

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ntavish

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Nikita

rated it

5 stars
avatar for tsukikage

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Eyeshine

rated it

5 stars
avatar for grislyeye

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Nachtfalke

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Psvensson

rated it

4 stars
avatar for tcgoetz

rated it

3 stars
avatar for dpendolino

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jhaase

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Shtakser

rated it

3 stars
avatar for BillieCodes

rated it

5 stars
avatar for CharlesCrow

rated it

4 stars
avatar for pdrbstmnt

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jolson

rated it

4 stars
avatar for cargide

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Avarla

rated it

4 stars
avatar for VerinEmpire

rated it

5 stars
avatar for johnnycastrup

rated it

5 stars
avatar for recri

rated it

4 stars
avatar for veganmashuu

rated it

5 stars
avatar for flatlined

rated it

5 stars
avatar for flatlined

rated it

5 stars
avatar for flatlined

rated it

5 stars
avatar for shawn

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Njdevils95

rated it

4 stars
avatar for madklowns

rated it

5 stars
avatar for MatthiasvW

rated it

4 stars
avatar for sciatrix

rated it

5 stars
avatar for abon

rated it

5 stars
avatar for kaleon666

rated it

5 stars
avatar for stombeur

rated it

5 stars
avatar for aguwumon

rated it

4 stars
avatar for matthewmincher

rated it

4 stars
avatar for bread

rated it

4 stars
avatar for rspavel

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jameswynn

rated it

4 stars
avatar for QuietCat

rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Science Fiction
  • Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Epic

Lists