It's by Scott Lynch, and his first novel. Apparently six or seven other books in the series are planned. I bought it because I read a good review and the premise appealed to me - a thief/trickster/conman hero in a Venice-inspired setting. I really wanted to like it, and there's some interesting worldbuilding in spots, but the characters never made that leap from the page to the place where I actually care whether they live or die. (That I was cheering on the woman who stabbed Our Hero in the neck is, I think, a bad sign...)

And yes, some of us would be more than happy to read Empire of Ivory, but some of us have to wait another week. :stares accusingly at you:

Hey, I went all the way to Amsterdam for that! And paid twelve euros for the paperback instead of $6.99 as it says on the back! So there. You could come over and borrow it from me, though. ;-)