Tell me why why'd you have to lie

If not for the fact that perusing Sky Mall was my alternative, I might have put down the Lies of Locke Lamora. Set in fantasy version of Venice at the height of its wealth and power, the main characters are the jolly sort of thieves who steal for the sheer love of it and shout out things like "What! Ho! The merry chase begins!" I normally find happy go lucky thieves intensely tiresome, but the story is so good , that my reservations were quickly overwhelmed.

At first the story appears to be a serious of capers in which our intrepid anti-heroes rather handily relieve the wealthy of their goods. The story becomes one of political intrigue in which the gang, named the Gentlemen Bastards, find themselves in between the city's crime boss, the spy master and a rising star in the criminal firmament. The tone changes to become less light hearted and more violent, although never at the level of the grimmer fantasy writers, like Martin, Mieville or Erikson.

The novel has an odd structure. It alternates between the main story and the past history of Locke Lamora and the Gentleman Bastards. Normally, I would expect this past story line to set up some confrontation or revelation, but it really just exists to show how the criminals became so adept at theft. Perhaps realizing that the main story line is more interesting, the past story chapters get shorter and shorter as the story progresses.

This is a minor complaint though, the story's plot takes such fun and interesting turns that this is a must for fantasy turns. Take a break from the grim and try this one.