Red Seas Under Red Skies (Scott Lynch)

The only problem with a masterpiece like "The Lies of Locke Lamora" is that you can never tell whether the sequel is going to be a worthy successor or not. In this case, the answer is 'sort of'. "Lies" succeeded because it worked on two levels. On the one hand, it was a daring caper flick (on paper) about a gang of thieves who manage to sucker-punch the idle rich against all odds. On the other hand, it was a literary exploration of young people crash against the harsh reality of their own world. "Red Seas under Red Skies" has no ambitions for such two-tiered success. It only aspires to entertainment, and on that score it succeeds quite well. Those looking for a repeat of the original's depth will be disappointed, but those looking for an afteroon of high adventure will find it to be money well-spent. Months after they fled from the burning remnant of their former lives, Locke and Jean have arrived at a new city and found a new target: the Sinspire, a six-story tower that ho... Read more

I know there are numerous problems with this book; the pacing (oh god-the pacing!), the inconsistencies in all the characters, the ridiculous holes in the plot, the two dimensional secondary characters, the wonky, ill-conceived flashbacks - need I go on? All that said, I drug this book around with me everywhere and couldn't put it down. I love Locke and Jean and can't get enough of them. I can't wait for The Republic of Thieves (GollanczF.). And yes, I know I'm a hypocrite, I would rant about any other author who committed such sins.

I cannot believe that the same man wrote this and the book that preceded it. This book drags on and on. Jean and Locke and never in any peril. The storyline is convuluted and the characters routinely escape difficult situations through luck, which makes the whole thing unbelievable. There are multiple storylines, but the interesting ones are abruptly dropped midstory. The ending feels rushed, while the main story seems to continue on and on. I read some of the bad reviews and wouldn't believe them. Even if you liked the first, as I did, leave this one alone. It's awful.

Lynch's first book catipulted its way into my top five fantasy books of all time, the others being, A Storm of Swords-Martin, To Green Angel Tower-Williams, Kings Dragon-Elliott, and The Dragon Reborn-Jordan. Red Seas Under Red Skies just aint as good as Lynch's Lies. That being said, this novel is still better than 95% of the fantasy crap that is being published today. Lynch is a great writer, and his story is well told and fast paced, and the banter between the two main characters is every bit as clever and witty and fun to read as it is in the first novel. In the first novel though you really got the sense that no character was safe from being killed off, and that lead to some very intense scenes. In this novel however, you kind of get the feeling that no matter what fix the characters get themselves into, all will be okay. Also, i loved the idea of the inpenatratable spire and could our two main hero's cheat there way to the top of it. But Lynch sets that story up and th... Read more

The ending seemed rush, with new characters popping out of nowhere at the last minute. The plot was overambitious. The schemes that they pulled off were unbelievable, they were too lucky to believe. Also, it became clear that Jean & Locke weren't gonna die...there's no suspense if they keep ending up in near-death situations & miraculously escape them everytime. And yeah, Lynch really bored me with every page at sea. I liked the first one though.