Locke and company remain among the most engaging protagonists in fantasy.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Fast paced, fun, and impossible to put down. It is a decision on which both their lives may depend. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke must choose whether to fight Sabetha-or to woo her. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills.

But after a tumultuous courtship, Sabetha broke away. Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow orphan and thief-in-training. She is the love of his life, his equal in skill and wit, and now, his greatest rival. 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. 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. Magi political elections are imminent, and the factions are in need of a pawn. 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. But Locke is slowly succumbing to a deadly poison that no alchemist or physiker can cure. 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. NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE And The Republic of Thieves is his most captivating novel yet. 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. “A bright new voice in the fantasy genre” (George R.

The republic of thieves