The Lies of Locke Lamora

Author: Scott Lynch

This story takes place almost entirely within the walls of a city which has echoes in half a dozen other fantasy worlds that all seem poised on the brink of collapse from the extent of cultural detritus built up to overlap after uncounted generations of corruption and moral decay. Locke Lamora is yet another character in the Robin Hood tradition of iconoclast leaders. However, while many similar heroes come endowed with exceptional abilities that allow them to frequently escape their fates, Locke Lamora takes a different approach by repeatedly using himself as victem to distract antagonists until someone can arrive to save him and turn the situation around. In the meantime, he seems to repeatedly take a beating from his opponents in just about any physical confrontation. On the other hand, Locke's schemes and scams for conning nobility out of their coinage include very interesting twists which put to shame the catburglary and theft more typical of this scenario in other stories. While not overly epic in scale (something I typically look for in a good fantasy book) this is still a great read.