Books On Sale

Awesome Book on Sale: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

 Book The Lies of Locke LamoraEarlier today I posted about The Lies of Locke Lamora as one of today's books on sale. This isn't a romance, but it seems like this is one special book.

Since the post went live, many people on Twitter and on Facebook have been telling me how amazingly good this book is, and how it's a steal at .99c. The praise was so universally positive, I wanted to learn more about the book – and I didn't want anyone to miss out on an excellent opportunity.

I asked Darlene Marshall, who was most effusive about the book, to tell us more about why this book is so extraordinary, and here's what she had to say about it: 

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, is an amazing 2006 debut fantasy. It's like Sabatini and Stevenson and Lieber (author of Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser) and Dumas and maybe even a little Twain all rolled up into one exciting package.

Young Locke Lamora is an orphan thief surviving by his wits and cunning, but he's no Robin Hood. He pits his skills and the skills of his brothers-in-larceny against the merchants, underworld and aristocracy of a decadent society awash with magic, danger and intrigue.

This is a bromance rather than a romance, with the friendship between Locke and one other boy (who I won’t name because, spoiler) the strongest relationship. If you like over the top swashbuckling and Ocean’s 11 style cons then this is the book you want, but be warned: The Lies of Locke Lamora is not for the faint of heart. Some truly bad and disgusting things happen in this novel, but if you can stomach them, you’re going to have a hell of a ride and you’ll be turning pages late into the night to get to the breathless and spectacular finish.

The second book in the Gentleman Bastard series is Red Seas under Red Skies (it has pirates!) and the long-awaited third novel, The Republic of Thieves, will be out this year.

 

So if you like epic fantasy with excellent writing (Darlene agrees with my suggestion that it may appeal to Game of Thrones fans who also like humor), this book is a terrific deal at .99c. I mean, just the fact that it's 700+ pages and has 4+ stars on GoodReads and Amazon AND it's .99c make this a good deal, but from the comments online and from Darlene's review, this price sounds like an extraordinary deal.

Have you read this book? What did you think? 

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  1. Jessica says:

    Agree with everything in this post!  Lies of Locke Lamora was my favorite debut of the last decade, and the two follow up books are equally enjoyable.  Like Game of Thrones, it’s a fantasy world, without a ton of magic.  I also really enjoy the completely urban setting that’s more Renaissance era Italy than generic medieval Europe.  Yes it’s violent, and sometimes disturbing (and there is a LOT of swearing) but it works for this book, this world and these characters.  It never, IMO, feels over the top or unnecessary.

  2. (Bringing this over from Twitter.) I adore this series. When it came out, it was billed as “Ocean’s Eleven in fantasyland,” and I was like, “Well, SOLD.” It was better than I could have hoped. For starters, it isn’t set in a generic fantasyland; as the author points out, you need a more sophisticated society to support a gang of thieves and con artists, and so the setting is closer to Renaissance Venice. It’s also hysterically funny. Locke and his crew are foul-mouthed smartasses.

    If you are not yet sold, I point out Lynch’s epic response to a troll who complained that the black, middle-aged woman pirate captain in the second book was “unrealistic.” Seriously, if that doesn’t make your day, your day is going a hell of a lot better than mine. This also serves as a pretty good sample of his writing. It’s pretty much like that all the time.

    Locke’s love interest has been kept offstage for the first two books, but will finally make her appearance in the third, which comes out next month after a very long delay. (Depression sucks.) Now’s a pretty good time to start the series, in other words. Those of us who’ve been sweating the cliffhanger for six years reserve the right to give you dirty looks.

  3. kkw says:

    This is one of my favorite current fantasy series (along with yes, Game of Thrones and Kingkiller Chronicals and god what would I give for more Jonathan Stange and Mr. Norrell books). I don’t generally bother with fantasy anymore, but good stories trump genre considerations, and unless you actively dislike fantasy, and maybe even then, I’d recommend this book.
    It is not a romance, and this one has practically no female characters at all. It is uneven, and the beginning in particular I found rugged, but when it’s good it’s delightful, and overall it’s a definite win. I begged everyone I knew to read it when I finished. I didn’t notice any swearing, but that’s probably more about me. I also am not bothered by violence, but I am completely chickenshit when it comes to horror, and this book was nightmare free, for whatever that’s worth.

  4. DonnaMarie says:

    Wait, a black middle aged woman pirate is unrealistic in a SCI-FI/FANTASY novel?  That one would expect such a novel to conform to some conservative antiquated ideal of the fifties is what’s unrealistic. I hope Lynch’s response sent him crawling back into his mother’s basement. It certainly put it on my reserve list. Thanks!!

  5. Sue V says:

    I listened to the first book as an audiobook and was captivated by the end of chapter 1, which isn’t normal for me reading fantasy stories nowadays.  I immediately put the second book’s audio version on hold at the library and it was just as good.

    As I’m military, I never felt the swearing was overdone, but I can see how others might feel it was excessive.  I just laughed my way through it and said, “F—k yeah!”

    I am eagerly awaiting the third book like so man others, and have recommended the series to several friends.

  6. Tam B. says:

    @ Stephanie Leary
    Thank you for posting the link to that epic smack down – if I hadn’t just bought the book that would have totally sold me. 

    And to think on Monday I was considering emailing Sarah and begging her to ask the Bitchery for book recommendations as I had nothing to read from now until the start of November when the next round of new releases are due to hit.

    Instead, I’ve now blown what remained of my book budget and have some great books to dive in to.  Thank you!

  7. Meaghan B says:

    Though “The Lies of Locke Lamora” may be light in the number of females roles (as Darlene Marshall said, this is more of a bromance story), the females who are in the book are amazing characters.  These women don’t stand on the sideline looking pretty or need to be rescued; they have an intergral role to play in their society and that is reflected with the Gentlemen Bastards interactions with them.

  8. Rebecca (another one) says:

    When you buy the amazon kindle version, it lets you buy the audio book for $3.99 using whisper sync voice.  But I’m not sure if you need a kindle app to play it.

  9. Wench says:

    I’ve seen this come up a few times here, so I finally bought it, and OH MY MAUDE, SO GLAD I BOUGHT IT. I read it straight through, no breaks, and then immediately went and bought the sequel.

    It’s violent and vulgar and clever and witty and hilarious and emotional and just a wonderful, wonderful fast-paced ride through Venice-ish in the past (or perhaps far future) and just SO much fun.

    If you’re at all tempted by the description in the post, BUY IT.

  10. Kilian Metcalf says:

    Saw the offer and bought it. 752 pages? check. Setting inspired by Renaissance Venice? check. Picaresque characters? check. Lots of swearing like what real people do? check.

    PS: In the latest book MaddAdamby the highest of the high literary writer, Booker Prize winner, bestselling author Margaret Atwood, Toby teaches the Crakers (simple, peaceful, GMO people) that ‘Fuck’ is God. The Crakers are wondering because the non-GMO humans use the word so much that the Crakers had become curious.

  11. Heather S says:

    I read part of the sample of this book and was unimpressed. I didn’t care for the language – and I’m ex-Army AND spent six months living on a COP in Afghanistan with a bunch of infantry dudes. I found that I really didn’t like the writing style – I felt like it was awkward and choppy. It failed to grab me, so I didn’t get this one.

  12. ohhellsyeah says:

    I really hope I like this book because it is not on sale in Canada.  After all the rave reviews I decided to pick it up for $6.70 anyways.

  13. Rachel says:

    Oh, this is one of my favourite books! I love the story and the world, but most of all I love the characters, and the relationships between them, and the way Lynch writes them. SO MUCH FUN. I can’t wait for the 3rd book to come out.

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