Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2) in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Sep 16, 2009 Chris Haught rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-owned-paperback

Well, seldom has a book made me waver so much on how I felt about it. High hopes and an exquisite prologue had me psyched for a hell of a good time. I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, and at first taste, the sequel seemed that it would be just as much a favorite.

But then it bogged down. No big deal. Some books do that, especially when they have so many layers of plot and counter-plot twists. There did seem to be a large number of info-dump sections, that got tedious. But I trusted these to work t Well, seldom has a book made me waver so much on how I felt about it. High hopes and an exquisite prologue had me psyched for a hell of a good time. I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, and at first taste, the sequel seemed that it would be just as much a favorite.

But then it bogged down. No big deal. Some books do that, especially when they have so many layers of plot and counter-plot twists. There did seem to be a large number of info-dump sections, that got tedious. But I trusted these to work themselves out, and at first they were rather short. Then, they got longer. And longer. And then the pace of the story bogged down. It was a struggle to get through about 100 pages there.

But then it all seemed to fall into place. The info-dumps and tedious details gave way to a story. A real story. And guess what? It was freakin' fantastic!

Lynch retained the skills of characterization and dialogue he'd shown in the first book. Once he had everything in place, it all came together to give an adventure, a hell-ride on the seas. He managed to introduce new characters that worked perfectly alongside the Gentlemen Bastards we already loved from the first book. Not only that, but characters we could fall in love with right along with them.

Action, adventure, a touch of romance, a caper within a caper, some double-crossing, raw emotion. Pirates. This has everything.

So why not 5-stars? Truthfully, the buildup was too long and tedious for the book as a whole to earn the highest score. Forgivable in the grand context of the whole novel, yes. But not enough to rate alongside the first book. Not quite.

And the ending. Well, while the book's issues were brought to a satisfying close, the last 50 pages or so felt rather rushed. New characters seemed to pop up in the end, having too much of a stake in the final outcome for people we'd never heard of before. Much of that just seemed convenient. Still, the overall experience was satisfying...

Except for one tiny little unresolved detail. One little bitty thing that doesn't just hint towards a sequel, but demands it. One little almost trivial detail which is purposely left unanswered to leave a reader hanging.

Hanging indefinitely, it seems. As there is no projection or clue upon when (or if) the next book will see the light of day. Except for that, I'd call this book a stand-alone. As it is now, it pushes The Republic of Thieves to the top of the "must read" pile, where it will rest until...who knows? ...more

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Oct 20, 2013 Karl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: subterranean-own

This is copy 400 of 500 signed and numbered by Scott Lynch.

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Jan 17, 2013 Kevin Xu rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

The one consistent thing that I always hear from people about this book is that it is not as good as the first book, which I myself would agree with that.

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Mar 20, 2015 SFReader rated it it was amazing

The swashbuckling con games and escapades continue!

Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen, the two badly beaten and shocked, weary remnants of The Gentlemen Bastards, continue their picaresque fantastical escapades in fine form!

After a somewhat hollow victory at the conclusion of The Lies of Locke Lamora in the light of their continuing difficulties at the hands of the cruelly vindictive Bonds Magi, a battered Locke and Jean take refuge on the shores of Val Terrar. With their strength and wits at long las ...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Andrew rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sword-sorcery

Mr. Lynch has a delightful way with gender roles. Supremely competent women of all types pervade this book. Make way, gentlemen, for pirates, gamblers, thugs, scholars, warriors, poisoners, thieves, spies and alchemists of the female persuasion. And you know what the best part is? Nobody ever says anything about it. It's never a _thing_ that they are women.

Here's to many more like this one. ...more

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Jul 15, 2011 J.M. (Joe) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best-sellers, fantasy, nautical-fiction

Brilliant. The depths of Lynch's characters are bottomless in this fantasy epic of nautical adventures and roguish intricacies. The tapestry of RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES is woven with such colorful complexity I often found myself reading with eyes "locked" to the page (sorry), my mind completely enveloped in the fortunes and, more often than not, misfortunes of Locke and Jean. I also can recall very few authors whose antagonists and supporting cast are also so incredibly developed. Needless to sa ...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Chompa rated it really liked it

I stayed up much too late last night to finish this book.

I'll admit, the book started out kind of slow for me. After Locke and Jean were forced to become pirates, it really picked up. Then picked up again. And again.

Before finishing this book, I had decided to take a break from the Gentleman Bastards and read something else after this book. Not sure if I'll stick to that or not. I kind of need to find out what happens next.

There seemed to be some fairly heavy-handed foreshadowing toward the e ...more

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