I haven't finished it yet.......
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..although I started it weeks ago, but fact is I keep putting it down and not picking it up again. I've read at least a dozen fiction books (including fantasy of a very similar genre) and several non fiction books in the interim and even a management text book in preference to this. Is almost hard to pin down why, as it has some good ideas, vividly drawn, with some effective touches of black humour; so much so that the side plots and subsidiary characters are rather more compelling than the main story. I think it is the two chief protagonists, as much as anything - for some reason I just frankly don't give damn if they live or die, which undermines dramatic tension somewhat. File under 'heroic failures' and read something else
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Enjoy the ride!
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book, sure the technical side of the sea-set sections of the book may not have been spot on but so what, it doesn't detract from the story line. I loved the way the story moved back and forward in the first section between the set up of the plan its execution and the whole thing romped along with never a dull moment from beginning to end. A cracking read.
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(still) "Smarter and richer than everyone else!!"
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I've reluctantly given this book 4 stars as I need to distinguish it from TLoLL which, I believe, is ever so slighty the more superior of the two. In TLoLL, Lynch gave us such great novel to introduce Locke's world and the charcters that inhabit them that it has enabled him to spend more time spinning some thoroughly enjoyable and twisted stories in Red Skies. Red Skies builds on Locke's world and expands upon the characters, clans and races. However after reading Red Skies I felt that Lynch achieved less in this book than in TLoLL.
The story shoots along at a hell of a pace and at times the shear wealth of possible sub-stiories can be bewildering. I can only hope that Lynch plans to release a similar companion to this book in the same vain as The Bastards and the Knives: The Mad Baron's Mechanical Attic and The Choir of Knives: An Omnibus: The Gentleman Bastard - The Prequel, is for TLoLL due out in Nov 2008.
Red Skies does stutter in places and although I enjoyed every bit of the story at times I began to think "Where the hell did that come from??"
If you enjoyed TLoLL then Red Skies is a must, its just too damn good to pass up. For those who haven't got into the Gentleman Bastard Sequence then give it a shot with TLoLL and go from there. In my opinion RSURS continues to deliver sharp, witty, and downright fun story-telling by using engrossing characters and fantastic settings, it simply cannot fail to entertain.
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brilliant second novel - this series is the best around!
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Absolutely cracking new novel from Scott Lynch, Red Seas Under Red Skies is the follow up to the jaw droppingly good Lies of Locke Lamora.
Locke and Jean are back in a tale of ocean's eleven-like cons in huge medieval casinos and a Pirates of the Caribbean-like adventure is in store for them, testing their false-facing skills and inventive talents to the limit.
The book is intricately plotted, has interesting flashback structured chapters and loads of the best dialogue to come fantasy's way since GRRM.
the series features two of the most memorable charaters in fantasy and the books are so well written its hard to find any gripes.
i liked this just as much as Lies but was slightly let down by the not-as-complex-as-rest-of-novel ending. that said it is a brilliant heart felt cliffhanger with plenty of action, conniving and violence.
i was in awe of the plot, in awe of the action and the amazing POTC beating pirates section, the whole thing is a masterclass in fiction writing.
the Gentlemen Bastards sequence is fast becoming a sure fire hit series.
10/10
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Nowhere near as good as The Lies Of Locke Lamora
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I have to agree with many of the reviews here that Red Seas Under Red Skies is not a patch on Locke Lamora. Where Locke Lamora was vivid, innovative and gave readers a wonderful experience, Red Seas, languishes to the point where once the heroes had hit the high seas I was annoyed at having to complete the novel and it felt like a chore rather than a pleasure.
Locke Lamora was a lofty debut to live up to but had Scott Lynch kept some of the mechanics that made the first book special, the flashbacks of Chains, enigmatic characters and intriguing plot twists- this would have lived up to the expectation. I defy the biggest Locke Lamora fan to not skip swathes of text meticulously descrubing the movements of the ships in nautical terminology. Reading three paragraphs of starboard/larboard jargon is NOT fun in my opinion when 'the ship turned left' would have sufficed.
If the final money shot and other plot twists weren't such an anticlimax then I could've recommended it but for now it seems the charming, quick-witted Locek Lamora is lost at sea....disappointing!
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