Red Seas Under Red Skies

Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch is a fantasy-adventure novel, and the sequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora. I had a quick look at the Wikipedia entry for genres which I could comfortably ascribe to it, and I found none. To be honest, it reads a little bit like an Indiana Jones movie in a fantasy book setting.

The book, of course, had strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, which was indeed its greatest strength: its entertainment value. The setting, like The Lies of Locke Lamora, is a huge asset to the novel, and fans of a fully-realized world will not be disappointed. The new novel brings the protagonists to the different, but no less interesting, city of Tar Valon, which was built on a gigantic flower-shaped set of glass islands, left by the as-yet-unseen race of Elders. As a fan of setting, but having little patience for over-description, I appreciated Lynch's ability to tell me about the city (and the boat, in the second half of the book) without performing an infodump. We also get some very intriguing "past" scenes, where, supposedly, we are learning more about the characters. The past scenes, though, are much better in giving a sense of setting than they are of giving a sense of characterization, in my opinion. The action scenes and the minor political intrigue involved in the novel are both done well. I tend to get lost in the details of both action and politics, and gloss over, trying to get the essential points and move on, but I found here that I was willing and able to read the scenes. Part of this, at least with regards to the action scenes, may have been due to the 'Indiana'-esque nature of them.

What you won't find in this book is anywhere to hang your thoughts on. What I mean to say is that this is not a thinking man's (or woman's) fantasy. There is a few attempts at creating themes (one being the savage nature of man) but they are undeveloped and a little bit awkward and out of place in the otherwise light tone of the novel. The main characters are very likable, but very archetypal; You have the roguish Locke and the faithful Jean, but that is all you sign up for. There was a minor romance which attempted to bring out a little bit more of the character of Jean, but it ultimately fell a bit flat in my opinion. Also, Locke still quietly yearns over his lost love, with no more past given, and to no end. The minor characters were well imagined but ultimately did not develop. The plot is fun, but a little bit unbelievable given the characters. We have two adventurers who the author would have us believe are very cunning, but they show up in a new city just to get swept up in another persons plans, again, and the plot turns and twists are more due to luck and deus ex machina than to their own ability. The shallow characterization, unfortunately, made it hard for me to appreciate the ending (which is all I can say without getting into spoiler territory).

The first two books, unfortunately, are missing an overarching plot. This may be an asset to some people, as I'm fairly certain that one could buy this book and understand without reading the first, but it leaves me wondering how interested I will be in the third book, The Republic of Thieves. Lynch has mentioned that he will be introducing such a plot in this book, and his writing is entertaining enough that I will probably pick it up, but I might wait for the paperback, depending on what else is coming out around that time and how busy I am.

I know other reviewers like to give ratings, but I wanted to try this instead. I will give a quick list of pros and cons and depends on your views.

Pros:

• Unique settings that are well described without infodumping


• A strong sense of fun, and easy to read


• Good action and good political intrigue

Cons:

• Archetypal main characters


• Weak characterization overall


• Relies on a little too much luck and/or deus ex machina

Depends on your view:

• Not a thinking novel


• Episodic nature/no overarching 'series' plot

I welcome your comments and criticism. Am I missing talking about anything that you would like to hear about?