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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Although I loved the first one, this one felt weaker. About 100 pages in, the main cast stops driving the story. They survive out of pure luck and continue to do so until the very end. They lost any bit of control they had in the first book and we don't really get to see them be the Gentleman Bastards we love until the very end of the book. It's infuriating to no end how the world around them dictate everything they do to the point that whatever they might try will simply never work. They are constantly stuck at the mercy of other characters that they can't influence or events that they can't predict. The pirate arc is really nice, but the Dark Fantasy archetypes seems, once again, to only strike the main cast. They have to suffer and have to go through unimaginable things, as opposed to the first book where it seemed everyone in that world went through it. The world around them seems less lively and it's focused a lot more on the main cast.
Despite all of this, it was a really fun read and would still recommend it to anyone who read the first one.
Despite all of this, it was a really fun read and would still recommend it to anyone who read the first one.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pros:
Red Seas Under Red Skies does a great job of giving the reader plenty of mysteries to chew on throughout. One of the longer ones is the one given at the very start of the book, whereJean (supposedly) betrays Locke. You start wondering about how their relationship got to the point where they would turn against each other. Especially when it's made clear how close they are. As you're reading, you have a seed of doubt in your mind about how it could play out. This is strengthened when Ezri is introduced and causes more tension between the two . When you reach the scene near the end of the book, it still seems somewhat plausible with all the time that Locke and Jean spent apart and the grievances they had with each other. But then it is revealed to be merely a miscommunication where Locke missed Jean's signal. Normally, subverting a plot point built up throughout the entire book with a comically low-stakes plot twist like that would be annoying, but not in this case. That's because it is actually the opposite, where the book is making it obvious that there isn't a chance that Jean would betray Locke, but the reader has been biased to look at the situation from only a certain angle. They're looking for the small molehill of clues that could prove Jean's betrayal while missing the mountain that says the opposite.
Outside ofthis bigger misdirection , the book leaves the reader wondering in a multitude of aspects. In the first half, it's how Locke and Jean ended up in Tal Verrar , which is incrementally revealed through the reminiscences. Then it's how the various aspects of the plan to rob the Sinsprise, such as the chairs, playing cards and climbing gear, fit into the scheme. Some mysteries are left unrevealed, such as who Merrain was truly working for . I'm fine with that since there are only a couple of those and it is made clear that they will be addressed in a later book.
The book's dialogue also has a certain amount of interest to it, it was always exciting to see how Locke could worm his way out of a difficult situation using mainly words. The book wasn't a smooth ride either, there were multiple moments where I had no idea what would happen next and even when things were going according to plan, there was always another twist around the corner to shake things up.
Neutral:
Red Seas Under Red Skies does a great job of giving the reader plenty of mysteries to chew on throughout. One of the longer ones is the one given at the very start of the book, where
Outside of
The book's dialogue also has a certain amount of interest to it, it was always exciting to see how Locke could worm his way out of a difficult situation using mainly words. The book wasn't a smooth ride either, there were multiple moments where I had no idea what would happen next and even when things were going according to plan, there was always another twist around the corner to shake things up.
Neutral:
I felt that Locke's mistake in missing Jean's hand signal during the crucial scene could've been foreshadowed a bit, since it is the only time that Locke makes such a mistake. He does make mistakes as captain of the Red Messenger, but that's because he has very limited nautical experience and was given little time to learn. Locke is a good schemer, and when things go wrong, it's because of outside factors, which in some scenarios, he's already accounted for ahead of time, so making a minor mistake like missing a hand signal seems a bit out of character.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really fun one. I had put off continuing the series for a while and about as soon as I picked it up I was kicking myself for the error in judgement.
Locke and Jean are a constant, hilarious delight. I love the way they complement each other: Locke as the basket case with the quick wit and a scheme always cooking, Jean as the level-headed, dependable and academic heart. That feels really one-sided now that I’ve said it, and it’s hard to articulate why Locke is still a compelling character I love. He is an absolute basket case, as I said. But maybe in an intentional mirror of Jean’s feelings, he’s *my* basket case.
The structure was weird, I’ll say that. About halfway through it stops being Ocean’s Eleven and starts being Pirates of the Caribbean. I don’t mind it, quite the opposite, but it was disorienting. The pirates were so vibrant, compelling, and frankly hot that I quickly forgot I ever cared about the Ocean’s Eleven half of the book. I did have a resurgence of the feeling I got from the first book in the series: “there are only 200 pages left and I feel like a whole book still needs to happen!” It was unsettling, but I think Lynch pulled it off really well. Only the slightest bit rushed.
The knowledge of a third book (and a presumed eventual fourth) make the ending fall a little flat for me (iykyk) but I love the way it caps the recurring theme of Locke and Jean’s trust. The central question for the protagonists is “Can they trust each other?” The answer is less easy and obvious to find than you’d expect.
My last little nitpick is that Lynch spends so little time inside characters’ heads that when he does dive in there you’ve forgotten he can. So much of the book is dialogue (and it’s *great* dialogue) that the introspection comes out of left field.
Locke and Jean are a constant, hilarious delight. I love the way they complement each other: Locke as the basket case with the quick wit and a scheme always cooking, Jean as the level-headed, dependable and academic heart. That feels really one-sided now that I’ve said it, and it’s hard to articulate why Locke is still a compelling character I love. He is an absolute basket case, as I said. But maybe in an intentional mirror of Jean’s feelings, he’s *my* basket case.
The structure was weird, I’ll say that. About halfway through it stops being Ocean’s Eleven and starts being Pirates of the Caribbean. I don’t mind it, quite the opposite, but it was disorienting. The pirates were so vibrant, compelling, and frankly hot that I quickly forgot I ever cared about the Ocean’s Eleven half of the book. I did have a resurgence of the feeling I got from the first book in the series: “there are only 200 pages left and I feel like a whole book still needs to happen!” It was unsettling, but I think Lynch pulled it off really well. Only the slightest bit rushed.
The knowledge of a third book (and a presumed eventual fourth) make the ending fall a little flat for me (iykyk) but I love the way it caps the recurring theme of Locke and Jean’s trust. The central question for the protagonists is “Can they trust each other?” The answer is less easy and obvious to find than you’d expect.
My last little nitpick is that Lynch spends so little time inside characters’ heads that when he does dive in there you’ve forgotten he can. So much of the book is dialogue (and it’s *great* dialogue) that the introspection comes out of left field.
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A colossal disappointment when compared to the first in this series. I want to make it clear at the start that I absolutely adored book 1, and I desperately wanted more of that. I would honestly recommend reading book 1 as a standalone and leaving it at that.
Perhaps Book 3 will bring it back around but it will be a while before I'm willing to sit down and try.
From an enjoyment standpoint, pacing was extremely inconsistent. It took me an incredibly long time to get through because the middle third was a complete slog.
I can't explain what really bothered me without spoilers, so here we go:
1. The bondsmagi are hyped up to be a huge threat, which is never delivered on.
2. Merrain subverts Stragos repeatedly which doesn't ever meaningfully matter, and only serves to set up book 3
3. The Red Messenger section could have been like 3 pages but takes up a huge amount of the middle of the book.
At one point, Jean points a crossbow at Locke and there's a big deal made out of the fact that he never gives the "I'm faking this" signal, so Locke thinks he's for real. This sets up the idea that Jean was really threatening Locke and although they discuss it and the air is cleared, this is clumsy and feels like a Chekhov's gun that is never delivered on.
Ezri and Jean's relationship is comically passionate and perfect. It felt like it was straight out of a pulpy romance novel. Because of this, the reader is forced into the conclusion that she's either going to betray them or be killed, which of course happens, since Lynch has decided Locke and Jean must suffer constantly in this book.
Book 1 was successful in a large part because of the intricate, many-layered heist. The "heist" in this book was underwhelming and also unnecessary. They talk so often about the two years of prep to steal from the Sinspire, but the only thing they really needed was to be in the office, and to incapacitate Requin and Selendri, which could have happened during any of their many meetings with them.
At the end of the day, the heist doesn't even work. Lynch seems determined to make Locke and Jean suffer throughout the book, likely to prep us for maximum angst in book 3. The emotional impact of Ezri's death and facing their mortality would honestly have hit harder if they had the money, but couldn't enjoy it due to lost friends etc. Depriving them of that was cheap and useless.
This book felt like sitting in my AP Literature class reading Moby Dick. It was long, boring as hell, there was way too much discussion of obscure nautical terminology, but I was still having an OK time because Mrs. Stops was a fun teacher
Overall, this book felt more like an extended prequel to book 3 than a good, standalone story, and I haven't even read book 3. Whatever Lynch is trying to set up for the next book, could have been done twice as enjoyably in half the time.
I'm being harsh and I know it, but I feel justified because I know what Lynch can do. The Lies of Locke Lamora was such an incredible story, in such an exciting world, it made my top 10 list of all time, and to come crashing down to here is so disappointing. It's not a terrible book all things considered, but it's nowhere near as good as the first.
Perhaps Book 3 will bring it back around but it will be a while before I'm willing to sit down and try.
From an enjoyment standpoint, pacing was extremely inconsistent. It took me an incredibly long time to get through because the middle third was a complete slog.
I can't explain what really bothered me without spoilers, so here we go:
Spoiler
Some rapid fire issues:1. The bondsmagi are hyped up to be a huge threat, which is never delivered on.
2. Merrain subverts Stragos repeatedly which doesn't ever meaningfully matter, and only serves to set up book 3
3. The Red Messenger section could have been like 3 pages but takes up a huge amount of the middle of the book.
At one point, Jean points a crossbow at Locke and there's a big deal made out of the fact that he never gives the "I'm faking this" signal, so Locke thinks he's for real. This sets up the idea that Jean was really threatening Locke and although they discuss it and the air is cleared, this is clumsy and feels like a Chekhov's gun that is never delivered on.
Ezri and Jean's relationship is comically passionate and perfect. It felt like it was straight out of a pulpy romance novel. Because of this, the reader is forced into the conclusion that she's either going to betray them or be killed, which of course happens, since Lynch has decided Locke and Jean must suffer constantly in this book.
Book 1 was successful in a large part because of the intricate, many-layered heist. The "heist" in this book was underwhelming and also unnecessary. They talk so often about the two years of prep to steal from the Sinspire, but the only thing they really needed was to be in the office, and to incapacitate Requin and Selendri, which could have happened during any of their many meetings with them.
At the end of the day, the heist doesn't even work. Lynch seems determined to make Locke and Jean suffer throughout the book, likely to prep us for maximum angst in book 3. The emotional impact of Ezri's death and facing their mortality would honestly have hit harder if they had the money, but couldn't enjoy it due to lost friends etc. Depriving them of that was cheap and useless.
This book felt like sitting in my AP Literature class reading Moby Dick. It was long, boring as hell, there was way too much discussion of obscure nautical terminology, but I was still having an OK time because Mrs. Stops was a fun teacher
Overall, this book felt more like an extended prequel to book 3 than a good, standalone story, and I haven't even read book 3. Whatever Lynch is trying to set up for the next book, could have been done twice as enjoyably in half the time.
I'm being harsh and I know it, but I feel justified because I know what Lynch can do. The Lies of Locke Lamora was such an incredible story, in such an exciting world, it made my top 10 list of all time, and to come crashing down to here is so disappointing. It's not a terrible book all things considered, but it's nowhere near as good as the first.