R. Nicholson wrote on April 7, 2010

Less impressive than the first book (”The Lies of Locke Lamora”)

I had looked forward to this second in the Locke Lamora series by Scott Lynch. But I found myself less and less enthralled by this effort as I read on; mainly because of three perceived shortcomings. . . let me clarify.

1. )My first concern with this novel was with the characters themselves. I found a number of them had very similar personality traits (with some exceptions); most were thieves (and I’ve no complaints with that), but all were nice, all were reasonable and all were honestly well educated. It seemed to me, that having all these same type of pleasant, courteous individuals just didn’t seem realistic for a fantasy/pirate tale.

2. )Profanity. . . as with the first book, was an ongoing issue for me; profanity used continually and indiscriminately made me feel as if I was listening in on a group of 13-14 year olds trying to impress one another with their ‘grown up’ attitude. And what made me more concerned was that every one in this novel spoke this way, not just one or two individuals. To me realism in a novel is an vital part of making a tale somewhat believable (even for fantasy); I just found the profanity usage here was unrealistic and thus tended to make the entire tale somewhat unbelievable. Makes me wonder what the editors and proof readers were doing.

3. )No map; maybe this book was not as confusing geographically as the first book, but it’s hard to reckon of why a map would not have been included in this book/series.

On the positive side, this is a excellent tale that is well written and fascinating; also, it was sprinkled with spots of excellent humor. . . but, these redeeming traits could not make up for its shortcomings. 2 to 2 1/2 Stars.

R. Nicholson
Rating: 2 / 5

eric wrote on April 7, 2010

Author spends a long time setting the scene. Plot becomes very convoluted. And everything unravels with incredible ease within the last 50 pages or so.

The pirate adventure is a miserable disgression which does not add anything to the plot. Long and uselessly descriptive. If I want to learn sailing, I will buy another type of book.
Rating: 1 / 5

Russ on the Bus wrote on April 7, 2010

If you liked The Lies of Locke Lamora you will not be disappointed here. The plot is complex but that’s what you expect with these tales. Overall, very nice follow up to a fantastic debut book. Can’t wait for the next one.
Rating: 5 / 5

J. Mead wrote on April 7, 2010

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 hard situations through luck, which makes the whole thing unbelievable. There are multiple storylines, but the fascinating ones are abruptly dropped midstory. The ending feels rushed, while the main tale seems to continue on and on.

I read some of the terrible reviews and wouldn’t believe them. Even if you liked the first, as I did, leave this one alone. It’s dreadful.
Rating: 1 / 5

C. Gruver wrote on April 8, 2010

Locke Lamora and his pal Jean are now in Tel Verrar hoping to pull off the theft of their dreams. The two of them are thieves. While Locke is the brains, Jean is certainly the brawn. Their goal, to get inside the famed vault of the Sinspire, the richest gaming hall in all of Tel Verrar. They’ve place two years into this plot finally making it to the fifth level in the Sinspire. After so much hard work and thought, they don’t intend to let anything interfere with their plans. Not, that is, until the Archon of Tel Verrar decides they will be the perfect pawns to use to regain his power and gives them a slow-acting poison to ensure their cooperation. As long as they do his bidding, the Archon will give them the antidote–not enough to cure them, only to keep them healthy for a time.

Meanwhile, Locke has already place his plot into action by going to the owner of the Sinspire and telling the man he is being paid to get into the safe. So now, Locke is working for not only this man, but also the Archon.

How are Locke and Jean going to satisfy both masters? Can they? Will they live long enough to do so, or will the poison take effect? Will they remain as puppets of the Archon for the rest of their lives?

RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES is one of those books hard to set down. The action starts on the first page and continues throughout. Of course, plans go awry for Locke and Jean and it’s incredible just how quickly they adapt to their new circumstances. Somehow, they always manage to land on their feet. The dialogue is particularly witty in this tale and I like the way Jean kept quoting from one of the fantastic writers in their time with his like interest. This tale will make you laugh; it will make you weep and it will certainly keep you turning pages. And I certainly plot on picking up a copy of THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA and reading it as soon as I possibly can, along with anything else this author writes.

Rating: 5 / 5