Locke Lamora's life was going well. He and his team of gentleman bastards had successfully pulled off many a heist while avoiding the watchful eyes of the dreaded Capa Barsavi and those of the yellowjackets, the city authorities. Their stockpile of gold was growing exponentially by the day. Suddenly, however, all of Locke's work is undone as he is dragged into a political turmoil involving the mysterious "Grey King" in a thrilling battle of cunning and deceit. The once comfortably rich thieves are thrown into the deep end, struggling merely to survive. On top of all that, Locke suddenly has an impulse to do good in a world where the most cruel rules.

I enjoyed this book greatly because it was, at long last, a book where the main character was more of an antagonist than a protagonist, and the story had a dynamic political element that I often struggle to find in other books. The characters were well developed and the plot leaves space for the sequel, Red Seas under Red Skies

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book with an evil main character, as well as anyone who enjoys fantasy politics. If you like books that include main characters that are antagonists or aren't very heroic, I would highly recommend the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance.