Finished The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

This is a fantasy book that I bought for Wheezley because he likes a good epic fantasy tale — and I knew that I’d get to read it after he was done. 😉

The book focuses on Locke Lamora, a charming thief, grifter, and all-around con man who’s the leader of the Gentlemen Bastards, a group of like-minded individuals in the city of Camorr. Locke and his merry band of men are working on their next big score when they get involved in a war between the mysterious Gray King and the current head of the underworld in Camorr. Tragedy follows, along with the biggest scam of them all …

This is basically an epic fantasy heist book — kind of like Ocean’s Eleven with swords. There’s not a lot of magic, but the world building is impressive. Camorr is basically a sea city, and one of the spectator sports is watching people fight sharks and other sea monsters, if that tells you anything.

Both Wheezley and I loved this book — so much so that we’re still quoting lines from it. Locke and his men are just fun characters to read, and the twists and turns in the plot will keep you guessing. This is easily the best epic fantasy that I’ve read in the last few years, and I’ve been raving about it to everyone. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel — after Wheezley gets done with it, of course. 🙂

Big thumbs up.

Up next: What A Scoundrel Wants by Carrie Lofty.

Books in my TBR pile: About 25.