The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards , Book 1 )
Book 1 of 3: Gentleman Bastard | by Scott Lynch | Jun 27, 2006
752pp Spectra
Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastards , Book 2)
Book 2 of 3: Gentleman Bastard | by Scott Lynch | Jul 31, 2007
578 pp Del Rey
The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastards , Book 3)
Book 3 of 3: Gentleman Bastard | by Scott Lynch | Oct 8, 2013
609 pp Del Rey
Back some 50-odd years ago, Science Fiction legend Samuel R. Delaney wrote a short story/novella, “Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones.” It was a first-person narration by a chameleon thief, a criminal who employed a wide variety of disguises and identities. Delaney made it relatively simple to identify the narrator, who always used the initials “HCE” for his identities, whether it be Hank Culafroy Eckles or Henrietta, Countess of Effingham. It was original and entertaining, and subsequently won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It remains one of my very favorite SF shorts. If you can find it, by all means enjoy it. It has aged well.
Caper stories are always fun, and ones that involve imaginative and multi-talented main characters like Delaney’s HCE just add to the fun. But they are extraordinarily demanding to write, and it takes brilliant narration and strong characterization in order not to overwhelm the reader in the complexity and plot twists.
Scott Lynch has penned an extraordinary set of novels, collectively known as “The Gentlemen Bastard.” Spanning some 1,900 pages, the trilogy features a clever and versatile false-face conman, whose central personage is Locke Lamora.
The story begins with Locke, an orphan about 8 years old, under the “tutelage” of a Faginesque character self-styled “The Thiefmaker.” He teaches/terrorizes his young charges in the arts of purse-cutting, distractions, street cons and other assorted crimes. Locke is extremely adept at this: indeed, overly so. His schemes are spectacular, and highly lucrative, but tend to have side effects such as setting entire neighborhoods on fire. The medieval Venice-like city they inhabit, Camorra, has a cruel dictator and a vicious police force known as the Yellowjackets, and order is maintained by a tacit agreement that criminals are somewhat tolerated so long as they leave the nobility and the police alone. For the children who do get caught violating that agreement, hanging is the most frequent outcome. Sensing that Locke may be a possible liability and more than he can handle, the Thiefmaker presents the boy to Father Chains, an apparently blind, chained and destitute street beggar who specializes in wild talents like Locke. Father Chains is a prelate in the church of the nameless 13th God, the Crooked Warden, god of thieves and liars.
Father Chains takes Locke’s measure quickly, telling him at one point, “Someday, Locke Lamora, someday, you’re going to fuck up so magnificently, so ambitiously, so overwhelmingly that the sky will light up and the moons will spin and the gods themselves will shit comets with glee. And I just hope I’m still around to see it.”
Under Chains’ tutelage, he grows into the superb con artist and thief Chains imagined, and is a master of disguise and false identity. Upon Chains’ death, he takes over as the leader of the church of the Crooked Warden, and Camorra lies open to him, legs spread, awaiting his predations.
Scott Lynch has written a fantastically complex and convoluted trilogy (at least four more books are planned). Not only do they include all the detailed planning and narration needed for a really good set of heist/caper stories, but many of the characters assume a wide variety of personas. Locke himself is, at various times and in various places, The Thorn of Camorr, Leocanto Kosta, Orrin Ravelle, Lucas Fehrwright, Mordavi Fehrwight, Sebastian Lazari, Lamor Acanthus, and Pel Acanthus. Sometimes simultaneously. Further, the narration slips back and forth in time. (The first such switch has Locke as an adult, planning a major heist. My reaction was, “Aw, I wanted to read more about how Locke grew under Father Chains.” Not to worry; Lynch does go back to that.
The world of Locke Lamora is like our world, but clearly isn’t. Two moons, just for starters. Humanity aren’t the first residents here: a previous civilization (dubbed “The Eldren” have left structures of a transparent and indestructible material called Elderglass that can in various forms glow, absorb blood, and form a edifice for extraordinary buildings. There is alchemy that can provide light and super-strong cement/glue. There is also magic, reserved to a secretive and sinister group known as The Bondsmagi. The stage of civilization equates roughly to that of 15th century Europe.
It’s a testament to Lynch’s extraordinary writing skills that the reader doesn’t get lost in a labyrinthine and incomprehensible mess. The characters are vivid (Lynch shares Stephen King’s skill at both character development and plotting) and the omnipresent third-party narrations shifts tone and style just enough that any reasonably alert reader will have no trouble discerning which facet of what character he is following.
This is very much an author’s book. By that, I mean this is a must-read for anyone who writes, or wants to write. Lynch provides a master class in plotting, pacing, world-building, and character structure. Writing a straightforward novel with a linear plot and a small assortment of straightforward characters is hard work; what Lynch has so successfully done here leaves me absolutely gobsmacked. The writing, in a word, is brilliant, and meets the challenges of an incredibly demanding plot.