The Locksmith's Apprentice (Ziggur't Book 1)

It's Sorcerers Versus Thieves!

Thieves, wizards, and lords plot and maneuver in Ziggur't, the City of Five Thrones. It's a difficult time: The war against the Kun lizardman goes poorly, and one of the five pentarchs who rule the city has been assassinated, leaving a power vacuum that could endanger the very city.

Meanwhile, in the deepest and most miserable prison pit in the City of Tiers, Rivek the Pick, lockpicker and burglar, sits in chains, not realizing that he will soon become a pawn in the struggle going on in the shadows. On the other end of the city, Rafelda, a young sorceress destined for power, seeks to hunt down the Claw Cult that threatens the aristocracy.

The Locksmith's Apprentice is an exciting and gritty adventure in the same vein as Michael Shea's Nifft the Lean, Fritz Leiber's Nehwon books, and Michael Moorcock's epic fantasies.