

Together their domain is the city of Camorr. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards. He steals from the rich - they're the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. They say he's part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game - or die trying.They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight.

Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi's most trusted men - and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr's underworld. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful - and more ambitious - than Locke has yet imagined. Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld's most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. 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. 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.

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