Book Review: Red Seas Under Red Skies

After spending some time last year introducing myself to Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series, I had to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the detailed and intricate world presented in the first entry; The Lies of Locke Lamora.  It was an exhilarating fantasy adventure story filled to the brim with so many twists and turns rooted in a world brimming with so much life and charm. After having such a memorable experience reading the first book, it felt like a worthy endeavor to dive in and experience the second title in the series; Red Seas Under Red Skies. While I believe the core strengths of Lynch’s world still shines through within this entry, it’s hard to give it comprehensive praise due to a few too many plot points which never stop being introduced right up to the stories end.

Serving as the 2nd entry in the Gentlemen Bastard series, Red Seas Under Red Skies follows Locke Lamora and his ally Jean Tannen two years after they fled the city of Camorr after the events of the prior book. Now residing within the island city of Tal Verrar, the pair are still up to their old tricks of the trade as they plan to steal from one of the cities wealthiest casinos; the Sinspire. Despite fleeing from their past crimes however, the past follows the duo relentlessly as the Bloodmagi of Karthain make their presence known to Locke and Jean and threaten retribution for mutilating one of their own. This retribution comes in the form of the Archon of Tal Verrar, who ends up kidnapping the pair and coercing them forcefully into an elaborate plot for his own gain. This plot will take Locke and Jean out across the vast ocean terrain that is the Sea of Brass and have them dabbling with pirates all in order to meet the sinister plan the Archon has enrolled them in. As the story unfolds we’ll see how Locke and Jean intend to get themselves out of the numerous messes they’ve found themselves in, all the while defining new relationships along the way as their pair of Gentlemen Bastards very friendship is tested upon the high stakes they are up against.

The plot of this book is both one of its most compelling aspects yet also one of its biggest setbacks. I feel the story is hindered constantly because of how often Lynch tries to introduce new plot elements into the narrative. The content in the first third of the story is so plentiful that it could serve as the primary foundation of its own book but Lynch continues to introduce new characters, new settings and new revelations right up to the very end of the story. There’s nothing wrong with doing this if you have the ability to pace it all out coherently and I think Lynch does try his best, but it got so overwhelming by the end that I did find myself not landing too well on the big reveals when they happened at the climax. It’s a narrative of so many functioning parts that it’s a heavy responsibility to keep track of so much of it and it left me feeling a little deflated by the stories end sadly.

Where I will never take away from Lynch when it comes to these books though is his ability to describe. His numerous descriptions of characters, settings and events are packed to the brim with so much detail and insight that you get such a clear impression of the scene he is trying to describe. His vast capability to lay out this unique world with so many intricate details is one of his most defining qualities as a writer. I really enjoyed how much vision he gave to city of Tal Verrar and it’s layered society and politics. His ability to jump from that environment to describing a life upon the sea with realistic ship sailing and functions is so impressive and makes reading this story a lot more enjoyable because of it. The world these stories are set in are brimming with so much life that you feel easily drawn to it’s function and scope, that to me is one of the biggest selling points of these books. 

As far as pacing and tone, it’s a case in which the tone never wavers but the pacing does hit a few rocky patches as the story goes on. Maturity was always a clear aspect of the first book and Lynch continues to excel in giving a great sense of tone to the world and its characters. There’s a great balance in humor and mature content which dresses a lot of the scenes in this book up quite nicely. The ability to switch tracks and get serious when the narrative calls for it never goes un-noticed and Lynch does a fantastic job in making those transitions with utmost ease. His pacing this time however is another weak element associated with the plots needs to introduce so many new elements right up to the end. I often felt things never got a chance to breath in this book despite being over 600 pages long! You were always juggling one plot point or the other and never had the luxury of settling down into any of them before the book either overloaded you with exposition or took you into a completely new setup. It’s a shame the pacing and narrative stumble in unison here because they felt so consistent along with all the other aspects in the first book.

Red Seas Under Red Skies is a great book despite its flaws. It follows a lot of the same conventional positives Lynch presented in the first book of the series for the most part. It’s change of setting to a sea-faring adventure is a refreshing set up and I enjoyed my time with it. Where the book stumbles in regards to too many plot elements and a pacing which never settles, it doesn’t end up feeling like enough to put me off from recommending the book in the end though. There’s just something about these stories which showcase a real unique quality behind Scott Lynch as a writer and I will happily stick with this series, wherever it leads.