Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2)

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Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard #2)

by Scott Lynch (Goodreads Author)

4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 · rating details · 16,033 ratings · 954 reviews

In his highly acclaimed debut, The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch took us on an adrenaline-fueled adventure with a band of daring thieves led by con artist extraordinaire Locke Lamora. Now Lynch brings back his outrageous hero for a caper so death-defying, nothing short of a miracle will pull it off.

After a brutal battle with the underworld that nearly destroyed him, L

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Hardcover, 558 pages

Published July 31st 2007 by Spectra (first published 2007)

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Apr 27, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-and-scifi, fiction, wits-and-fools, owned

Although I was prepared to bite my thumb at anyone who had a problem with this book up to about 200 pages in, over the course of the 500 pages after that, I began to slowly, reluctantly and finally in complete exasperation, change my mind.

Scott Lynch begins his novel at the same level of quality as his fabulous first novel, The Lies of Locke Lamora. His characters are dealing with the events of the previous novel, in a mostly believable fashion, in a believable time period- its kept from becomin...more
Although I was prepared to bite my thumb at anyone who had a problem with this book up to about 200 pages in, over the course of the 500 pages after that, I began to slowly, reluctantly and finally in complete exasperation, change my mind.

Scott Lynch begins his novel at the same level of quality as his fabulous first novel, The Lies of Locke Lamora. His characters are dealing with the events of the previous novel, in a mostly believable fashion, in a believable time period- its kept from becoming episodic, or his characters from seeming hollow. I very much enjoyed the first 200 pages as they both try to move on and deal with the past- and the explanation of how they got where they are when the novel opens- two years on from the events of Lies. A+ character development, A+ banter, A+ action sequences, A+ for inventiveness, loved the relationship between Locke and Jean, and it had mostly well done plot development, as Locke and Jean embroil themselves in yet another high flying Oceans Eleven style con.

However. And this is a big however- it felt like Scott Lynch suddenly changed his mind completely about what he wanted to write, and had a big Screw It moment, and decided to be completely self-indulgent. Which I'm sure was a lot of fun for him, but for the reader, it is a very confusing, ridiculous sharp disappointment. Somewhere along the way, he decided he wanted to write Pirates of the Carribean fanfiction, stealing plot details (which kind of sucked even in the movies), settings, near direct quotes, and even little moments of action in battle sequences. His other influences were starkly obvious as well- there were strong, strong nods to The Princess Bride, moments out of the movie they made of Zorro, even. His characters fell victim to the most overdone of fantasy genre stereotypes (the fact that they didn't do this was one of my favorite parts of the first book), his plot was increasingly unlikely, and also became a ridiculous soap opera, and the quality of his writing went from laugh out loud to roll my eyes so loud you can hear me across the room.

I also felt that this book got incredibly preachy at points- which is kind of a killjoy for a novel that has two thieves for heroes. Lynch decided that he needed to push some kind of Robin Hood, working class agenda to make his heroes seem morally superior to everyone else. Nobody is reading this book for justice for the lower classes, Lynch.

It wasn't all bad- I appreciated the Lynch inserts women into professions all throughout his world mostly without preachy comment, I liked the character of the pirate Zamira, I enjoyed that Jean (who is still mostly wonderful) got his own independent storyline, I enjoyed how good his descriptive powers can be, and like I said, I enjoyed the first 200 pages.

But come on, this could have been much better.(less)

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Apr 18, 2012 J.P. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Keep an eye on your valuables for here is the return of liar, thief and bullshit artist extraordinaire Locke Lamora. I have to say I really enjoyed this, but a bit less than the first book. Partially due I'm sure to the bar being set so high to begin with. In The Lies of Locke Lamora, Locke gets himself into and out of a series of jams. In this book he works on one main scheme for the most part, so there's a shade less action as there are fewer dilemmas to get out of. Also at least in the beginn...more

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Nataliya "Also at least in the beginning, he's less prone to be a menace to society. He talks to a man with a walking stick who is increasingly annoying him. H...more
18. April, 19:18 Uhr

J.P. You've got a valid point. I didn't consider it from that angle. I tend to go nuts over a great book by an author I've never read before because I have...more
18. April, 19:30 Uhr

Nataliya I read somewhere that the author apparently struggled with depression of his own. Which explains the believable and really sympathetic portrayal of Lo...more
18. April, 19:35 Uhr

Feb 17, 2013 Ridley marked it as to-buy-big-publisher · review of another edition

After reading a Tumblr post Where Lynch responded to a reader's complaints about "political correctness" in this novel, I am intrigued.

Why shouldn’t middle-aged mothers get a wish-fulfillment character, you sad little bigot? Everyone else does. H.L. Mencken once wrote that “Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” I can’t think of anyone to whom that applies more than my own mom, and the mothers on my friends list, with th

...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Callista rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-adult, four-star-novels, favourite-authors, favourite-characters, kick-six-heroines

Definitely a good book with lots of twists and turns. The dialogue is fantastic; Locke and Jean can be hilarious, but other characters get good lines, too. Lynch has a gift for description; his words come alive in brilliant colour in my mind's eye. I like Lynch's way with naming characters and places, using a mix of Italian, French, English, and Spanish influences. It all seems slightly exotic yet comfortably familiar; nothing is too hard to pronounce or remember. The part of the book featuring...more Definitely a good book with lots of twists and turns. The dialogue is fantastic; Locke and Jean can be hilarious, but other characters get good lines, too. Lynch has a gift for description; his words come alive in brilliant colour in my mind's eye. I like Lynch's way with naming characters and places, using a mix of Italian, French, English, and Spanish influences. It all seems slightly exotic yet comfortably familiar; nothing is too hard to pronounce or remember. The part of the book featuring pirates is great. With so much going on and things described in context, I didn't get bogged down by the nautical vocabulary. The battles are super.
Locke continues to be a fascinating character, so full of schemes, so quick with a lie or a sarcastic remark, intelligent but oh-so-flawed. He's capable of real feeling, too; and I liked the earlier portions of the book in which he's wallowing in guilt over what happened to his friends in the previous scheme. Jean is steadfast and loyal to a fault, but quirky in his own way. It's great that this huge bruiser of a man loves books and needs reading optics. Lynch does a really nice job with the female characters, too. The pirates Zamira Drakasha and Ezri Delmastro are a nifty addition to Locke and Jean's world. Requin (and his damaged beloved Selendri) and Stragos are formidable villains.
I do have to say, though, that this book didn't do quite as much for me as The Lies of Locke Lamora. I really enjoyed that book's flashbacks of Locke and Jean growing up interspersed with the 'current timeline' schemes. Even though some of the plot developments were literally jaw-dropping (in an oh-no-you-didn't!/where's-my-Kleenex? way), the entire package of the first book added up to five stars. This one doesn't quite measure up somehow. (I'm listing the following in vague terms because I don't want to post spoilers.) I knew that a particular character was doomed to die…but this person went down in such a spectacular, horrific, and heroic way and the reaction to this person's death was so poignant, it got to me in spite of myself. It still would've been nice if a different fate had been in store. A few of the other plot turns struck me as a little bit flawed. There was a method of poisoning I was rather surprised the perpetrator got away with. There was a somewhat dubious situation in which another character allowed Locke to forget an item deemed critical for their journey, and the fate of that character seemed a touch contrived. The business toward the end of the book involving Salon Corbeau fell somewhat flat, given the earlier depiction of Locke's feelings about the place.
As for the ending--well, damn. Appropriate in some ways and maddening in others.
I still salute Lynch's talent. I hope the mysterious delay in getting the third book out is over soon.
(I actually went out and bought this shortly after reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, but when I learned that the publication date for The Republic of Thieves and The Bastards and the Knives had been pushed back, I decided to wait awhile because I didn't want to be left in limbo too long.)
[Later: Thanks to a kind Goodreads member, I found out the reason for the delay of #3. I would've known why had I checked Lynch's blog. But I overdosed on writer blogs a while back, so I haven't been reading much of that kind of thing. Oh well.](less)

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Jun 16, 2009 Josh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This is a surprisingly worthy followup, albeit a tad frustrating, at least at first. After reading all of the negative or mediaocre reviews, I was expecting to find a lesser book than Lies. I didn't find that at all. The quality of writing, the sympathetic characters, the sharp and funny dialogue, the action: it's all here. I think the reason people are turned off by it is because it's a very different book than the first one.

Red Seas wastes no time as it starts off. We begin with Locke and Jea...more This is a surprisingly worthy followup, albeit a tad frustrating, at least at first. After reading all of the negative or mediaocre reviews, I was expecting to find a lesser book than Lies. I didn't find that at all. The quality of writing, the sympathetic characters, the sharp and funny dialogue, the action: it's all here. I think the reason people are turned off by it is because it's a very different book than the first one.

Red Seas wastes no time as it starts off. We begin with Locke and Jean pulling a scheme on the most successful chance house in Tel Verrar, the Sinspire, to rob from the owner itself. The book continues with a pace similar to the first book with every other chapter interluding to a past segment, in this case, filling the 2 year gap between Lies and the present day timeline. Locke and Jean are obviously present, but most everything else has changed. Obviously they've fled Camorr so the environment is completely new, though no less captivating. Lynch continues showing his skills in world building, creating a city with a rich history and realistic environments that jump out of the page. Even with the change of scenery, the theives seem right at home in their new setting. They're pulling tricks, being stalked by cut-throats and even the Bondmagi have made it known that they've not forgotten about their poor Falconer. Where the book takes a radical change however, is when Locke and Jean go pirate.

I don't want to spoil the particulars of this plot thread, but I have to say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. At first it seemed out of place, like a speedbump in the rest of the story. But as the plot moves on I found that it ties in very well and by the end, everything comes full circle. I am not much for nautical books, but it seems that Lynch really did his homework and knows his stuff, at least from the perspective of someone who knows as little as sailing and ships as I do. This section of the book may seem like a sidetrack at first, but really it's the meat and potatos of the story, with the bulk of the new characters and the action. Drakasha and Ezri are wonderful additions and seeing their relationships with Locke and Jean go from borderline enemy to comerade is amazing. As I've said, Lynch is a master of character development.

Even though this book ends with a slight cliff hanger and the plot threads don't wrap up as nicely as they do in Lies (one in particular... argh!), I can recommend Red Seas to anyone who has read the first book and enjoyed it. I won't say it's as good as The Lies of Locke Lamora, because it isn't, but I enjoyed the hell out of it anyways. Bring on Republic of Theives! (less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Penny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, series, favourites

Wonderful characters with brilliant wit (and a good dose of crazy) scheme to rob the unrobbable and generally outsmart everyone everywhere. I laughed, I cried and I prayed to the Crooked Warden to protect my beloved Gentlemen Bastards.

The last few pages left me a tad dissatisfied but overall I loved it! The various cities were a bit over-described (as in the first instalment) and some parts took a bit longer than necessary, but these are both minor complaints that didn't even dent the bubble of...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, group-read

2.5

I read this for a group I'm in, and I wrote a big long post about it, so now I'm sort of talked out. Maybe I'll do a proper review in the future. For now...

There's a lot of set-up and info-dumping. The pacing is terrible - for hundreds of pages things are drawn out in labored detail, and then the ending is all rush, rush, and things that could've and should've been drawn out more weren't. Some things were wrapped up nicely, some were sort of a kick in the teeth.

I never really felt overly inve...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Ben Babcock rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, 2009-read, fantasy, urban-fantasy, pirates

(Since this book features pirates, I'm using that as flimsy excuse to present my review entirely in "piratical" dialect, courtesy of this handy translator. Apologies to those who were expecting a sobre critique of literature in grammatical, precise English. Ye scallywag.)

I read this hot on th' heels o' me second readin' o' Th' Lies o' Locke Lamora, about which I positively gushed in ever' way possible.

Goin' into this sequel, I be excited. I anticipated another brilliant adventure o' Locke Lamora...more

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Apr 27, 2013 D.G. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, audiobook, favorites, reviewed, great-narrator

**4.5 stars**

If I learned something by reading this book was to never, EVER, cross a Camorri.

Crooked Warden! But there was some action in this book: pirate raids, fights at sea, prison breaks, a mutiny, vengeance, rappelling down cliffs and buildings, fights to the death, cheating at cards, double crossings, deceptions, schemes and everything you would expect out of the Gentlemen Bastards, all spiced with a healthy dose of humor, staggering violence and lots of style. Plus we got to see the dept...more **4.5 stars**

If I learned something by reading this book was to never, EVER, cross a Camorri.

Crooked Warden! But there was some action in this book: pirate raids, fights at sea, prison breaks, a mutiny, vengeance, rappelling down cliffs and buildings, fights to the death, cheating at cards, double crossings, deceptions, schemes and everything you would expect out of the Gentlemen Bastards, all spiced with a healthy dose of humor, staggering violence and lots of style. Plus we got to see the depths of Locke’s and Jean’s relationship and how much they mean to each other. If it weren’t for a few minor details, this book could have been a solid 5-star for me.

There was so much danger that at every turn I feared Locke would be embraced by the Lady of the Long Silence but alas, Jean was at his back to break necks and take care of business. One of the things I like most about this series is that Locke is not a good fighter. In a fantasy world full of monsters and REALLY SCARY PEOPLE, Locke wins the day with his brain, resourcefulness, glib tongue and amazing acting skills. Not that they got everything they wanted at the end. Like the last book, there was some loss and heartbreak.

There aren’t many women in this series but the few ones that show up are just FRIGHTENING. Women are not dismissed because of their gender and there’s a great feeling of equality because they are treated like any man; they are portrayed as competent, tough, and just overall badasses. I would be scared to death to meet any of these women in a dark alley.

As can be expected in a story about thieves and pirates, there is A LOT of cursing (there are 232 mentions of the word “fuck” and its variations.) However, the swearing is so creative that it’s downright funny. Some of my favorites:

I hope a shark tries to suck your cock!

Bloody fucking limp-cocked witless laggard pirates!

I’ll fuckin’ kill you later, you cabbage-brained pig-rapist!

(Yup, cock is another much used word. :)

I had few problems with the story. First, I really hoped we would learn more about the business with Sabetha. I think at this point we need to know why Locke is so hang-up on her that he lives like a monk. (ETA: I just read the description of the 3rd book and it seems that Sabetha will play an important part there.) Second, I would have thought that Drakasha needed more proof to follow along with Locke’s schemes given the danger and lastly, I was really disappointed with one of the things that didn’t work out at the end. I know they should be happy to alive with all their limbs but after all that trouble!

Something important that drives the story is not resolved (don't read the description of book #3 if you don't want to know what it is.) That didn’t bother me but some people may consider it a cliffhanger. (ETA: OMG!! Finally! The Republic of Thieves is coming out in Oct 2013!)

Michael Page was simply masterful with the narration. It took me a while to get used to his voice in the first book but as the series is full of men, his gravely voice is really an asset. It’s amazing how he has such two different voices for Locke and Jean, and how he’s able to portray Locke’s emotions when he’s really feeling them and when he’s pretending. He has this panache even pronouncing the section numbers that tells you that you can’t wait to hear what’s coming up next. I really, really hope he continues narrating the series when we finally get the rest of the books.(less)

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Sep 23, 2007 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an enjoyable follow-up to The Lies of Locke Lamora. It is a little worrisome in its similarity though.

The last one was a fun caper involving high-stakes thieving scams intertwined with personal vendettas and manipulating kingpins. This one is essentially the same thing in a new city with different names. It's still enjoyable, but if the next one in the series does the same thing, it'll be quitting time. Luckily, the publisher says that's not the case. The first two were self-contained e...more This is an enjoyable follow-up to The Lies of Locke Lamora. It is a little worrisome in its similarity though.

The last one was a fun caper involving high-stakes thieving scams intertwined with personal vendettas and manipulating kingpins. This one is essentially the same thing in a new city with different names. It's still enjoyable, but if the next one in the series does the same thing, it'll be quitting time. Luckily, the publisher says that's not the case. The first two were self-contained episodes for the most part, but in the next one the story goes broader and a larger plot takes hold. That'll be nice. I knew the first one was supposed to be a self-contained episode, but I thought the publisher said the broadness would start with the second one. Ah well.

As with the first book, this one lays down a handful of hints at the larger plot of the series, even more in fact. As you read it you think you're just reading an episode, and you keep waiting for these little hints to be resolved within the story, and then the book ends. That's when you realize you've been given a glimpse of things to come in later books. The hints from the first book are still hanging out there too, and together with these they offer a tantalizing preview for us to theorize on and anticipate.

I liked the early parts of this book for the same reasons I liked the early parts of the last one. The witty banter between the two main characters is just so fun and clever and light. It's fun to see them deceiving people so adroitly and pleasantly. It makes for some bubbly chortles. As with the last one, however, things take multiple dangerous turns after a while and the tone changes. That's necessary, of course, to create a substantial story and does bring with it excitement, but I still love the lighter parts best.

This story heads out to the high seas for a while for everybody's favorite thing, pirates! Who doesn't like pirates? So that's nice. Good battle scenes, lots of satisfying nautical terminology, entertaining and gritty portraits of shipboard life.

As with the last book, there are complex layers of intrigue, scams upon scams, false identities upon false identities, and last minute scrapes upon last minute scrapes. There were a couple points of logic in these convoluted schemes that didn't entirely make sense, or rather were a bit forced. They are minimal enough to overlook, to the degree that I can't even remember what they were. They temporarily pierce the veil of suspension of disbelief but are a minor annoyance.

There are also a few turns of events that are noticeably too convenient and clean. That seems like a weakness in the author's ability to tell a mature story, but at the same time satisfies that part of you that wants every story or movie to turn out right. For that reason, I'd say these books lean slightly back from full adult fiction and cast a slight shadow onto young adult fiction. Still enjoyable for adults, but somewhat lighter.

If we could do half stars, I'd give it 3.5, between "I liked it" and "I really liked it" to account for a bit of tiredness from recycling story structure and plot devices from the first one.(less)

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Apr 17, 2008 Joe Moley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sadly enough, this is a piss poor follow up to a fantastic first novel.

The author suffered major A.D.D. with his storyline and flops around several times between plots that lead nowhere. It's almost as if he had two completely different ideas for novels but couldn't quite fill in the gaps to make them stand on their own. Instead, he decided to combine them in to one long book but does a poor job connecting the two.

I found myself slogging through it just to get to the end. Unfortunately, it was...more

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May 28, 2012 Nicole rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books, fiction

So this book suffered a little from the issues of the first book in the series, but all in all I like the way that the plots always pick up speed and tension at the end and lead to some unexpected results. It is the unexpected that is so delightful in these books. It is nice to read a fantasy series that doesn't follow the standard plot prototype.

Slightly sad that I can't read the next few books in the series yet because they aren't done. I'm not sure if I'll come back to this series if I have t...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Meg M rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The thing about The Lies of Locke Lamora, the first book in this series, is that I loved all the characters. Even the assholes.

The thing about Red Seas Under Red Skies is I got exasperated fairly quickly with the characters I'd come to love in the first book, and found myself rolling my eyes at new characters who could have been much better than what they were. I only know they could have been much better because Lynch showed his wonderful character-building abilities in Lies of Locke Lamora.

T...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of rogues

Shelves: fantasy, time-period-fantasy, action, male-lead

Four stars, with reservations

A bit of a slog in the beginning--guess I haven't been in the mood for the great con. Locke Lamora is still at the heart of the narrative, and I don't think he could get from bed to breakfast without hatching or implementing a Rube Goldberg of a plot. It remains a sort of "Oceans Eleven" caper at the beginning, with multiple steps and a long, convoluted plan of attack on the owner of an elaborate and elite gambling facility. However, in true Oceans fashion, even as t...more Four stars, with reservations

A bit of a slog in the beginning--guess I haven't been in the mood for the great con. Locke Lamora is still at the heart of the narrative, and I don't think he could get from bed to breakfast without hatching or implementing a Rube Goldberg of a plot. It remains a sort of "Oceans Eleven" caper at the beginning, with multiple steps and a long, convoluted plan of attack on the owner of an elaborate and elite gambling facility. However, in true Oceans fashion, even as the con is planned and developed, Lynch keeps surprise elements in reserve.

Locke is more than just a bit of a rogue, and has few principles to guide him. I haven't been in the mood to read rogue, but this has been sitting on my shelf for two months and needed to be read. I stuck with it and am pleased to see Locke's ethical compass developing.

What Locke still hasn't comprehended is that the cost of revenge is very, very dear, and might cost everything. We see him early on wallowing in self pity, then acting and saying things to Jean about their old life, apologizing for mistakes made and missing their friends. And yet they are right back in it with their con, and the worst part is, Locke still hasn't realized that his opponents have even fewer scruples than he. There's some tender touches midway through for Jean, which is a redeeming moment of happiness in a generally grim book. I also like the fact that Locke has to "come clean" and enlist the help of others if he is to survive. As always, I appreciate and enjoy the close friendship between Locke and Jean, finding it both believable and redemptive.

Lynch also does a fabulous job envisioning his world and all it's different political structures and terrains. As usual for me, it usually reminds me of the city-states of Renaissance/pre-Ren Italy. The language he uses is fun and complex, with just the right amount of detail, although for those that objected to swearing in the first, it's still here--especially when Locke and Jean head to sea. There are few fantastical elements--the most fantastical thing is probably the mysterious sea creatures and a passage through a haunted channel. For it's genre, I'd almost call it steampunk style, with a heavy reliance on alchemy and "artificers." Again, reminds me of Leonardo di Vinci's Italy.

Narrative continues the back-and forth between events shortly after the end of the last book and a fast forward two years in the future. It works fairly well at the beginning and helps make the transformation back to the normal Locke tolerable. I do give Lynch lots of credit for the very likeable and noble female pirate character Zamira.

A great book, if you feel like devious plotting, rogue heroes and a smattering of casual violence and swearing. And lady pirates.

(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 Tsvetelina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, mystery, favorite, humor, adventure

След много дълго време на протакане и мъчителни откази да прочета книгата, което е нещо необичайно за мен, ето, че я завърших... за добро или зло...

Втората част от поредицата "Джентълмените копелета" отново ни среща с добрите ни стари познайници - Локи и Джийн, които този път са решили да ошушкат Кулата на греха в Тал Верар само заради твърдението, че да мамиш там е равносилно на сигурна смърт. А нима дръзкият Локи би устоял на такава грандиозна покана? Но понеже не всичко трябва да мине по план...more След много дълго време на протакане и мъчителни откази да прочета книгата, което е нещо необичайно за мен, ето, че я завърших... за добро или зло...

Втората част от поредицата "Джентълмените копелета" отново ни среща с добрите ни стари познайници - Локи и Джийн, които този път са решили да ошушкат Кулата на греха в Тал Верар само заради твърдението, че да мамиш там е равносилно на сигурна смърт. А нима дръзкият Локи би устоял на такава грандиозна покана? Но понеже не всичко трябва да мине по плановете на нашите крадци, Архонтът на Тал Верар разкрива малката им игричка и ги обвързва със своите планове, които не са особено изгодни за другата страна, като се има предвид бавнодействащата отрова, спотайваща се в кръвта им. След една много "приятна" среща с Архонта те вече са се нагърбили и със задачата да подкладат бунт сред пиратите в морето, които да бъдат така добри, че да нападнат града, за да може Архонтът да ги смаже с войските си и да утвърди разклатените си позиции в обществото. И ако вече си мислите, че вече е достатъчно сложно, почакайте да видите какво ще последва, защото нищо не е такова, каквото изглежда на пръв поглед.

"Червени морета под червени небета" отново ни кара да будуваме по нощите само и само да научим какво става по-нататък. Въпреки че това е едва втората му книга, на Скот Линч му се отдава да пише подобен тип творби. С една нетипична лекота е описано действието и героите, че те увлича и просто не можеш да спреш и да си поемеш дъх, та камо ли да спреш да четеш. Освен това авторът избягва типичните клишета за фентъзи жанра - каквито и да е магически създания и раси, но пък за сметка на това се насочва към:
- изграждането на колоритни образи
- пресъздаването на още по-колоритната им реч
- вмъкването на алхимията
- описанието на един интересен свят
- а във втората книга и умелото боравене с мореплавателския жаргон, специално приспособен за нуждите на творбата

Скот Линч умело успява да борави с живота на своите герои, като ги подлага безпощадно на много изпитания и мъчения. Въпреки това се забелязва симпатията, която изпитва към Локи, но във втората книга това е прикрито доста по-умело. При все това авторът успява да ни разсмее, да ни разплаче и дори да ни накара да искаме да цапардосаме някой по дебелата чутура.

А сега просто не мога да не изкажа няколко думи и за Локи. Локи Ламора или Трънът на Камор, или Леоканто Коста, или мастер Де Фера, или пък Лукас Феруайт, или както там реши да се нарича, защото нито едно от тези имена не е истинското му. Той притежава остър като бръснач ум, огромна дързост, никакви задръжки, несъизмеримо самочувствие в способностите си и луд късмет, на име Джийн Танен, който го спасява от всяка опасност. Със склонността си да забърква велики каши и след това се измъква от тях, като измисля някой налудничав и въпреки това сполучлив план, читателят няма друг избор освен да се влюби в самонадеяния Локи, въпреки всичките му недостатъци. От друга страна Джийн Танен, неговият бодигард и верен до гроб приятел, е по-разумният, по-спокойният, по-силният и по-начетеният от двамата. Той поддържа баланса и винаги е готов да понатупа най-добрия си приятел, когато обстоятелствата налагат бързо наливане на акъл в неразбраната му глава. А като добавим към картинката куп стиснати и самоуверени благородници, желаещи власт и готови да се избият един друг заради това, откачени пирати с цветущия им речник, на които само им дай да оплячкосат някой и друг търговски кораб и преизпълнени с желание да си отмъстят на Архонта, книгата се превръща в една сложна плетеница от събития, която просто не можеш да оставиш за по-късно. А щом наред с всички измами и битки, се заражда и любов между крадец и пират, работата става повече от напечена.

И в заключение бих казала, че тази книга би се харесала на всеки, който обича да чете книги за крадци, интриги и заплетени сюжети, защото в много аспекти "Червени морета под червени небета" поднася изненади на читателите. Направо нямам търпение да прочета следващата книга, затова ще се моля на Тринайсетия тя да излезе по-бързо и без повече отлагания.(less)

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Apr 17, 2011 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, own-kindle

Unlike many reviewers, I thought this book was as good as the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora. Of course, what I liked the most from that book can be found in this book also -- the lavish descriptions of setting, costumes, and the pirate boat itself. Mr. Lynch makes note in the book that he is no sailor and that many aspects of the pirate scenes may not be wholly accurate, so I give him a pass if he misses the mark on the pirate boats. Since I don't read much nautical-oriented fiction (or n...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2011

Before you start this book, be warned. The beginning is slow. It takes patience and persistence to push through it, but it's worth it.

If I were rating this book on the first half alone, it would probably be two stars. Info dumps galore, long plodding seemingly meaningless side tracks... It just wasn't very good at all. But lucky for you (or maybe lucky for me), it got better in the second half! In fact, it got so much better that the rating somehow managed to climb back up to four stars. If the...more

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Jan 07, 2008 sage rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: glbt-interest, reviewed, sff, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, that took ages to read, but was ultimately worth it.

yay: I love the 'verse (hell, I requested fic in this 'verse for Yuletide) and all of its characters. It's fantastic to see a sexually egalitarian society. Male heroes, female heroes, male villains, female villains; gay, bi, straight, celibate; and sex roles as much a non-issue as they possibly can be. Likewise with people of all colors and sizes. Long-overdue and nicely done.

As a very tiny woman, I'm also delighted to see a very tiny wom...more Wow, that took ages to read, but was ultimately worth it.

yay: I love the 'verse (hell, I requested fic in this 'verse for Yuletide) and all of its characters. It's fantastic to see a sexually egalitarian society. Male heroes, female heroes, male villains, female villains; gay, bi, straight, celibate; and sex roles as much a non-issue as they possibly can be. Likewise with people of all colors and sizes. Long-overdue and nicely done.

As a very tiny woman, I'm also delighted to see a very tiny woman kicking ass and being respected for it. No jokes about how cute she is. No demeaning comments about her being hot and feisty. She is what she is *at face value*, without any of that annoying (male) commentary pointing out an author's supposed concessions to feminism.

Fantastically played death-scene, too. No, I'm not happy that Ezri died, obviously, but I knew in this 'verse someone had to and it was most likely to be her. Thing is, I'm content with it and even proud of her. (Why yes, I do self-identify. :P)

The byzantine plots are cool, but then I enjoy Hammett-/Chandler-style convoluted backstabbing. *g*

boo: This book took me more than a month to read and it's only 558 pages long. Like TLOLL, it's *too* dense. And in the case of RSURS, the ending (post-battle against the Sovereign) feels wildly uneven...as if Lynch were three weeks from his manuscript deadline and had to tie up two primary plots and ten subplots in forty pages. Which, hello, is hard. To me, it reads like there ought to be another ninety pages instead of forty. It makes me wonder what he cut out to get under word-count, or else what other scenes he had outlined but failed to get written.

yay: But for all that, the book is a wild ride, a crazy emotional roller coaster, vividly cinematic, and just damned exciting. Trouble is having to stop and process between chapters, otherwise you lose track of who scammed whom and are lost when it comes to matter later.

sum: This book is better-written than Lynch's last, which is awesome, since this is his second novel. I'm looking forward to the third and to the rest of the series. It'll be awesome to see what his style is like ten years from now. :)(less)

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Sep 03, 2007 Beth (moonivy) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Locke and Robin Hood fans.

Read 9/1-9/2/07
Red Seas Under Red Skies is the next book in Lynch's The Gentleman Bastards sequence, following the marvelous The Lies of Locke Lamora. In this volume,Locke and Jean Tannen have landed in Tal Verrar and are plotting a typically
grandiose casino heist. But as is the normal course of Locke's life, not all is what it seems and complications abound. Red Seas Under Red Skies is a rollicking adventure of honour and dishonour among thieves, set in a fantasy world of alchemy and sleight of...more

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May 11, 2011 Coligne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nord, bastardi, galantuomini, biblioteca, fantasy, sfida, dei, mattonazzi, 2010, my, favorite

Secondo volume della sua saga dei Bastardi Galantuomini, stavolta l'azione si sposta dalla terraferma al mare. Infatti, come si può intuire dal titolo, Locke e Jean si danno alla pirateria (anche se non per loro volontà). Locke non è certo un pirata, e sfigura di fronte ai veri pirati; però, in ogni caso, lui non deve essere un pirata, deve fingere di esserlo, e quella è la cosa che gli riesce meglio.
Non sarà all'altezza le primo libro di Lynch, forse, non avendo sfruttato appieno le potenzialit...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Kai rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Locke Lamora non è bello, non è forte, non sa tirare di scherma e non è dotato di poteri magici. Locke Lamora è una canaglia, un truffatore e un ladro dalla moralità incerta e dalla lingua tagliente, eppure è uno dei personaggi della letteratura fantasy - ma non solo - più azzeccati degli ultimi anni. Gli inganni di Locke Lamora (Nord, pp. 605, € 19,60) e il recente I pirati dell’Oceano Rosso (Nord, pp. 710, € 19,60) di Scott Lynch rimescolano del tutto, barando se possibile, le carte sul tavolo...more

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Jan 09, 2011 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Feb 03, 2009 Stefan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Book was read in english, but review is in german. Sorry to those who cannot comprehend it... ;o)

»Oceans Eleven meets Pirates Of The Caribbean«
(Tarantino Style)

Bei diesem Roman handelt es sich um den zweiten Band der »Gentleman Bastard Sequence« des Autoren, dessen Erstlingsroman »The Lies Of Locke Lamora« an anderer Stelle besprochen wurde. Nachdem mir dieser ausgesprochen gut gefallen hatte, war ich verständlicherweise überaus gespannt auf die Fortsetzung – und ich wurde nicht enttäuscht.

Locke...more

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Jan 01, 2009 Brownbetty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pretty much exactly like the first, The Lies of Locke Lamora. In fact, enough so that at one point I got annoyed; Locke and Jean are in the middle of a splendid con when they get involved in another scheme against their will, soon are out of their depth and struggling desperately not to salvage their con but stay alive. However, Locke, and the writing, remain witty enough that I stayed up late to finish it, so formulaic though it is, it's executed well. Locke remains charming even when he's not...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Lightreads rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

Sequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora. Locke and Jean have moved on to a new game, robbing the most heavily guarded gambling house in all the land. And in the process becoming entangled in the political reorganization of their new city, which in turn forces them out to sea to the piratical life.

Hmm. Right, okay, here’s the thing. I really liked The Lies of Locke Lamora -- it was funny and clever and a pleasant read. But what interested me was that it was the first in a series of seven. I love serie...more

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May 14, 2013 Dongxie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm just gonna keep this simple. If you liked the first book, you'll probably like this one as well. THE END

but for those unsatisfied with that review....granted as suggested by many other fellow reviewers, gentleman bastard #2 does take a sudden veer into foreign and somewhat cliched waters but I personally found that it didn't make it anywhere near less enjoyable as other reviewers made it out to be. On the contrary it was still hugely enjoyable and fun to read as cause due to a combination of...more

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May 10, 2013 Jefferson Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fantasy

Lock and Jean, stalwart buddy thieves, continue their high stakes, high risk lifestyles in this adventurous sequel. While the first book was a widely scoped "family of thieves" tale, this time out, were focusing on just the two friends, and by my lights, the book suffers for that change.

What I liked most about Book 1 was the inside look at a den of cultured thieves. It was a twist that gave the story some originality and charm. But this time out, I don't see anything new. It just seems to be a s...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Locke & Jean are at it again. Picking up the broken pieces of their old lives in Camorr, they've moved on to Tal Verrar, where the great gambling house, the Sinspire, is located. There, they are planning to break into the unbreakable vaults beneath the great tower of iniquity. Their plans come to a screeching halt, however, when the Bondsmages of Karthain drop them into the lap (figuratively speaking) of the Archon, the military dictator of all Tal Verrar. The Archon's power is waning in rel...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Paul Schulzetenberg rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is two halves of a book. The first half is a dull regurgitation of the first book, with a plot that is portrays the main characters at their least interesting. After I whipped through the first book, I immediately began this one, but I found my interest waned quickly. I put this down for a monthlong hiatus before I came back to it out a sense of duty.

Luckily, when I picked it up again, I was rewarded. The second half is as dynamic as the first half is plodding. The most interesting ch...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Glenj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Lynch's debut and first entry into the Gentlemen Bastard series is one of my favorite books ever. The follow-up does fall short of such high praise but is still extremely enjoyable leaving me eagerly anticipating the next chapter in Locke & Jean's adventures. There were a few flaws in this second installment for me. I thought Locke took on too much of a Jack Sparrow persona, especially once the pirate-story kicked in. The grand weaving of Locke's lies are getting a bit old. Lynch needs to mi...more

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About Scott Lynch

I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 2, 1978, the first of three brothers. I've lived in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area my entire life; currently, just across the border in Wisconsin, about half an hour east of the Twin Cities.

The Lies of Locke Lamora, my first novel, was bought by Simon Spanton at Orion Books in August, 2004. Prior to that I had just about every job you usually see in this s...more

More about Scott Lynch...

Books by Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)

The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3)

The Bastards and the Knives (Gentleman Bastard, #0)

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Quotes from Red Seas Under Red Skies

“That's a sweet piece," said Jean, briefly forgetting to be aggravated. "You didn't snatch that off a street."

"No," said Locke, before taking another deep draught of the warm water in the decanter. "I got it from the neck of the governor's mistress."

"You can't be serious."

"In the governor's manor."

"Of all the -"

"In the governor's bed."

"Damned lunatic!"

"With the governor sleeping next to her."

The night quiet was broken by the high, distant trill of a whistle, the traditional swarming noise of city watches everywhere. Several other whistles joined in a few moments later.

"It is possible," said Locke with a sheepish grin, "that I have been slightly too bold.” — 53 people liked it

“Worst of all, the inner vault is guarded by a live dragon, attended by fifty naked women armed with poisoned spears, each of them sworn to die in Requin's service. All redheads.
-You're just making that up, Jean.” — 43 people liked it

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Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard #2)

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