The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Book One of The Gentleman Bastard Sequence
The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a friend to the poor, a ghost that walks through walls.
Slightly built and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves: The Gentlemen Bastards.
The capricious, colourful underworld of the ancient city of Camorr is the only home they've ever known. But now a clandestine war is threatening to tear it apart. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends are suddenly struggling just to stay alive...
I just finished reading this book and alsdkjfalweh. It is amazing. I love it--I finally have an official "favourite book". That's right, it has wormed it's way to the number one spot in my fav books list. XD
The characters are wonderful, I love the Gentlemen Bastards to death (well, something like that, anyway XD). Even the antagonists and minor characters were nicely done. And omg, PLOT. ♥ Granted, at times you can guess where things are going but even then it's still very exciting. Eee, and this universe! I really want to start rereading it again--as in right now (so soon! D:)--just so I can make more sense of this world and absorb all of the little details better...
*sigh* I ♥ this book. I want to squee and cry over this but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. D: *looks at the GBS fandom* camorr has 4/5 members. That's... that's so sad. T_T HAHAHAHA. I demand this book get pimped out so the fandom can grooow. It deserves to be squeed about in excess amounts.
(And hey, what do you know! scott_lynch has an LJ! But I won't stalk him because it's kind of weird and embarrassing. XD)
EDIT: Spoilers in comments. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! :O!