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

Jun 05, 2013 Frank rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

No Spoilers here.
A truly strong follow up to The Lies of Locke Lamora. I must say that I was first disappointed with the beginning of the book, with it's slow start, thinking that it was going to be a repeat of the first book type of typical caper story, without the flashbacks. However, once Scott Lynch shifted the story and settings, again we meet such a great range of different characters. I have never been a big fan of fantasy on the high seas, but I enjoyed it with this great cast of charact ...more

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May 19, 2014 Filip rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy, 4-stars

While I must admit that I didn't like it as much as the previous volume, it was still a more than enjoyable read, with great plotting, twists and fewer flashbacks - which weren't my favourite part of the first novel. While the background characters were better than in the previous book, I missed Bug and the Twins very, very much, especially as no character rose to take their place.

The ending came a bit too quickly but otherwise it was quite good, though I can't help but wonder if the main "vill ...more

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Sep 29, 2016 Daniel Millard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It took me a long time to get through this one, but it certainly wasn't for lack of interest in the story.

I felt that "Red Seas Under Red Skies" was a small but noticeable step up from the first Gentleman Bastard novel in a number of ways, and I definitely enjoyed it more. Lynch really settles in on Locke and Jean as the main characters, making less of an attempt to spend much POV time with other characters, and I feel that this helped character development IMMENSELY. Locke, while still a slimeb It took me a long time to get through this one, but it certainly wasn't for lack of interest in the story.

I felt that "Red Seas Under Red Skies" was a small but noticeable step up from the first Gentleman Bastard novel in a number of ways, and I definitely enjoyed it more. Lynch really settles in on Locke and Jean as the main characters, making less of an attempt to spend much POV time with other characters, and I feel that this helped character development IMMENSELY. Locke, while still a slimebag and having some weirdly conflicting values, is more likable and dynamic this time around, and Jean gets a few emotional sucker punches that really open him up as well. I liked the way that Lynch played up the conflicts between the two and built this up as a plot element early on. While the two are debatably closer than brothers, there remains a lingering doubt about their loyalties to the end of the story, which fuels drama in (finally!) a good way.

I was a little frustrated with the deus ex machina use of the Archon's mysterious female henchwoman, both in her fouling of Locke's plot and her *poof* disappearance practically reminiscent of the cackling bad guy teleporting away from danger in a tabletop RPG when he's on the ropes.

I loved that Lynch built up Tel Verrar as a setting and yet simultaneously established a number of other interesting locales - and the world seemed much more open and interesting than the first novel because of this. I also love me a good nautical adventure, and enjoyed some of the time spent at sea. However, by all outside appearances, Lynch suddenly seemed to say "you know what my book needs? PIRATES. LOTS OF PIRATES" about halfway through. This would be all well and good, except then he proceeded to both rip off Pirates of the Caribbean while simultaneously beginning to trip over genre cliches all over the place (something largely avoided in the first book).

I don't have a problem with any particular ideological agenda that Lynch tries to push in this book, though they are getting more prominent (this doesn't bode well for book three, but here's hoping...). I am still weary of his need for unnecessarily over-the-top profanity, but even this is a bit improved from "The Lies of Locke Lamora".

What was great about this book was the coming together of all its plotlines at the end. Lynch has a gift for creating convoluted, intrigue-laden schemes, and then using third-party scenes and after-the-fact revelations to shed light on how everything came together. I know I had a couple of fun "aha!" moments at the ending of the story, and to be honest, I think I liked the book all the more for Locke and Jean's misfortune at the end. ...more

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Mar 12, 2017 Ian rated it it was amazing

What I like most about this series is the optimism that the main characters exhibit. No matter how hard things look, no matter how far down they are, Jean or Locke always has a wave forward. A scheme, a scam, a cheat. The characters always move forward as if they are coming out on top.

This book was a nice departure from the first book. The navel aspects gave the book a different feel from the first one. The layered schemes and different factions to best reflect a much higher game they are runnin ...more

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Apr 18, 2020 Lawrence Caldwell rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This one surprised me. Locke and Jean spent a lot of time working on a particular activity, and then there's a huge plot turn. Lynch eventually gets back to it and it all connects, which is great, I love that. There was only one part in the book where I might say it was a bit slow, it's during a section when Locke and Jean are getting a lot of sailing instruction. But as always, the dialogue is great, and there's a lot of conflict. There's a lot of sailing terminology which might sound like tech ...more

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