Red Seas Under Red Skies

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book! Not surprising though, because so much of it mirrors the good aspects of The Lies of Locke Lamora. There are the characters we know and love, the familiar template of big con underway when the main characters are coerced into working for someone else (who will probably kill them), the chapters devoted to learning how to false-face and blend in, the chapters that switch back and forth in time, and all the witty banter and awesome insults you could want.

With all these similarities the book could feel stale, but it manages to avoid this trap by changing the surface elements in ways that make you ooh and ahh. For starters, Locke and Jean are in a new city with new wonders to behold. The sinspire casino is the scene for the big con, and it is so richly described- familiar turf (because yeah, it's a casino) but embelished with interesting people, cool new games, and exotic animals- that you feel like you are there. Other scenes such as the archon's garden and the wealthy vacation city are so well described it's like they are real.

Now let's talk about pirates. The book takes a sharp turn before the casino con is through, and Locke and Jean are pushed into the middle of Tal Verrar's most nasty political battle. For reasons too complicated to go into here, Locke and Jean find themselves becoming pirates. This is the real meat of the book, where our favorite criminals go through the equivalent of pirate boot camp, captain a ship, lose a ship, find love, lose almost everything, and (with some help) save the day. I had heard about the pirate thing before I read the book and was skeptical to say the least. But the pirate life turns out to be such a good fit for Locke and Jean! It was a really inspired move by writer Scott Lynch.

But despite all the awesome-ness of the book there are some problems. For one, the transition between casino heist to pirate bay is a little jarring. I couldn't make the mental transition between the two plots very well, and it took a while for me to realize that the pirate story was now primary. And it was a little sad, because casino cons are fun!

Other readers have rightly pointed out some pacing issues as well. The book is pretty long (554 pages on my nook) but only the last 50 pages were concerned with the endgame. It felt very rushed, and kind of disappointing. I wish that more space had been given to really fleshing out their last night in Tal Verrar, the way that space and time are given to events at sea that don't matter as much to the plot.

Last, there are some nagging minor details that I can't get off my mind. Like how tidy it was that Locke could just wipe out the whole city that he hated (with the exception of the furniture maker, of course). Also, what's with that crazy fog that tries to convince the crew to commit suicide?

These problems are small in comparison to how great the book is. Read The Lies of Locke Lamora first, and then get on Red Seas Under Red Skies!

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