Title: Red Seas Under Red Skies
Series: Gentleman Bastard #2
Author: Scott Lynch
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 31, 2007
Source: Bought
After a brutal battle with the underworld that nearly destroyed him, Locke Lamora and his trusted sidekick, Jean, fled the island city of their birth and landed on the exotic shores of Tal Verrar to nurse their wounds. But even at this westernmost edge of civilization, they can't rest for long---and they are soon back doing what they do best: stealing from the undeserving rich and pocketing the proceeds for themselves.
This time, however, they have targeted the grandest prize of all: the Sinspire, the most exclusive and heavily guarded gambling house in the world. Its nine floors attract the wealthiest clientele - and to rise to the top, one must impress with good credit, amusing behavior...and excruciatingly impeccable play. For there is one cardinal rule, enforced by Requin, the house's cold-blooded master: it is death to cheat at any game at the Sinspire.Brazenly undeterred, Locke and Jean have orchestrated an elaborate plan to lie, trick, and swindle their way up the nine floors...straight to Requin's teeming vault. Under the cloak of false identities, they meticulously make their climb - until they are closer to the spoils than ever.
But someone in Tal Verrar has uncovered the duo's secret. Someone from their past who has every intention of making the impudent criminals pay for their sins. Now it will take every ounce of cunning to save their mercenary souls. And even that may not be enough.
I'm so in love with this series. I can't get enough of it. I've always been fairly hit or miss with adult fantasy but these books check all of my boxes and make me just want more and more. The Gentleman Bastard series is such a great mix of adventure, danger, humor, and amazing found family. I can't get enough of Locke and Jean and I'm already eager to continue on reading the third book!
This book is so massive and full of so many twists and turns, it's honestly a little hard to know what to talk about first. So, I'll just start with my absolute favorite part of this series: Locke and Jean. I love these two so much! Their entire history and relationship is so complex and layered and complicated and it's a pleasure to learn more about them throughout each book. I also loved that they stood by each other even when they absolutely wanted to rip each other's heads off. Jean and Locke definitely do not have the easiest relationship but they love each other fiercely and it just absolutely made the book for me.
The world that Scott Lynch created is so vivid and expansive -- as a writer myself, I know how difficult it can be to world build and he has gone above and beyond. I can totally see the setting and I understand the customs. It's detailed and explained without being overwhelming or shoved in the reader's face. Honestly, I was taking notes on how to improve my own worldbuilding while reading because his is amazing. It was initially really exciting in this second book to see more of the world but so much of Red Seas Under Red Skies takes place on a boat in the middle of the ocean and I found myself missing the land and especially missing Camorr.
On the boat, it began to feel a bit repetitive. I mean, don't get me wrong, a lot of really big and exciting things happen but, the thing is, it's such a long book that bit and exciting things can only take up so much of it. And so when they were stuck on a little boat, there just wasn't as many potential outside conflicts that could come in and spice things up. So a lot of the middle bit of the book was Jean and Locke getting used to sea life and doing chores on the boat. It was interesting at first but after a while, I just wanted back on dry land (much like Locke and Jean).
But this was my only complaint about this book and it's a little one. For the most part, I absolutely enjoyed this. I loved jumping back into this world with Locke and Jean. It left me desperate for more and I've already started reading the third book (which is the last one currently published. PLEASE PUT OUT MORE!)
“Difficult" and "impossible" are cousins often mistaken for one another, with very little in common.”
Four out of Five Teapots
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