Red Seas Under Red Skies / Overall Discussion / ***SPOILERS***

[Roger, Knight Radiant]

I read this book quite a while ago and I have to say that after Lies Of Locke Lamora I was incredibly underwhelmed. With only Jean and Locke it's just not as entertaining. I definitely missed the other characters who didn't make it through the last book. (I wasn't really impressed with the next book either and don't plan on continuing with the series)

[Maximum]

I enjoyed the first book more also, but I didn't totally hate book two. I think it's another case of the author having created something really good and then having to try and match it, with all his future works being compared against it - much like Any Weir and The Martian.

[Hayley]

I listened to this series a few years ago on audio book and I think that helped me enjoy it more, its really well read. I actually really loved both book 1 and 2 but I agree that book 3 wasn't so good.

I think I just love the humour and the banter between Locke and Jean and the story with all its how are they going to get out of that one twists kind of reminds me of the tv show Hustle (just with a bit more blood and torture). I liked the pirate theme too. Its strange though, the book is very sweary and I'm really not a sweary person but I don't mind reading books with bad language, I think it adds to the characterisation.

[Cupcakes & Machetes, Hybrid Creature]

I would agree with Roger on this one. I didn't mind this book but it definitely wasn't as good as the first. (I haven't read the third one yet.)

[Lisa]

The first quarter of the book was entertaining, but the pirate plot dragged for me. A lot of the action felt very contrived, particularly the section with Locke & Jean on the Red Messenger. I probably would have enjoyed a book with Drakasha as the lead, but instead I spent most of the book waiting for the resolution to the Sinspire heist. I'm also not a fan of the prologue - I don't think the pay off was worth it.

[Sandy]

I think the author tried to tie in other characters to expand the people you care about but it didn't come off well. I found just the two of them very short on character building. I did like the banter and I liked the prologue but I think the story dragged on too much after that. The author should have tied up more before the scene so the rest of the book would be shorter. Then it has more punch.

I liked the pirate crew but what was the point of the fight between the pirates? Did the story really need that?

I found the scene when they are hanging on ropes to be pretty amusing almost slapstick. It was a nice break from all the twists and turns and trying to keep all the crossing and doublecrossing straight.

I too liked the first book more...

[Oleksandr]

I finished it yesterday and while it was an easy read, I also liked it less than the first book. Not only I wasn't as emotionally invested so that the death gave me no emotional backlash. The banter is fun.

One other thing that irked me was anachronism, if the term can be applied to fantasy: all those crossbows used as guns, carriages as cars and so on. The same goes for the stolen goods at the end