20 February 2026

This book is pure, gleeful fun in a way fantasy doesn't always let itself be, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Locke Lamora runs a crew of elaborate con artists in a canal city that feels like Venice reimagined with alchemy and organized crime, and the plot unfolds in two timelines, young Locke being trained into his talents, and adult Locke pulling off a scheme so audacious it should be impossible even for him. Scott Lynch writes banter better than almost anyone in the genre, the crew's loyalty to each other crackles off the page, and just when you think you've got the con figured out, the book yanks the rug out and reminds you it was three steps ahead the whole time. This is one of the best fantasy books to reach for when you want something fast, clever, and a little wicked, less about saving the world and more about surviving a city that would eat you alive without a good plan and better friends. I read this during a slump when nothing else was holding my attention, and it snapped me right out of it within a chapter. Read it when you want heist-movie energy in novel form, when you're in the mood for characters who lie beautifully but love fiercely underneath it. Fair warning, it gets genuinely dark in places, the stakes are real and the losses land hard, but that's exactly what makes the victories feel earned rather than easy.