David Gemmell Legend Award nominee 2014, Locus Award nominee 2014.
“A bright new voice in the fantasy genre” (George R. R. Martin), acclaimed author Scott Lynch continues to astound and entertain with
his thrillingly inventive, wickedly funny, suspense-filled adventures
featuring con artist extraordinaire Locke Lamora. And The Republic of Thieves is his most captivating novel yet.
With what should have been the greatest heist of their career gone
spectacularly sour, Locke and his trusted partner, Jean, have barely
escaped with their lives. Or at least Jean has. But Locke is slowly
succumbing to a deadly poison that no alchemist or physiker can cure.
Yet just as the end is near, a mysterious Bondsmage offers Locke an
opportunity that will either save him or finish him off once and for
all.
Magi political elections are imminent, and the factions
are in need of a pawn. If Locke agrees to play the role, sorcery will be used to purge the venom from his body — though the process will be so
excruciating he may well wish for death. Locke is opposed, but two
factors cause his will to crumble: Jean’s imploring — and the Bondsmage’s
mention of a woman from Locke’s past: Sabetha. She is the love of his
life, his equal in skill and wit, and now, his greatest rival.
Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow orphan and thief-in-training. But after a tumultuous courtship,
Sabetha broke away. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke
must choose whether to fight Sabetha — or to woo her. It is a decision on
which both their lives may depend.
