Another Scott Lynch read under my belt with Red Seas Under Red Skies, though it wasn’t so easily accomplished as The Lies of Locke Lamora. That is through no fault of the writing or plot and purely my time management and multiple focuses tearing attention away from my reading. What a read Red Seas Under Red Skies is! There’s thievery, treachery, double-crossing, assassination attempts, convoluted fabrications, and some good ol’ piracy. Who doesn’t love the sound of that?

The imagery and scenery establishment in this book is incredible, as to be expected at this point from Scott Lynch. Scenes are palpable with the sights and smells teasing your senses and the knowledge of some form of underhanded action not far from Locke and Jean’s fingertips keeps the reader engaged with delicious tension and methodical pacing. The action and conflicts are never parted from these two for long, so you can rest assured there will be some exciting plot trajectory, hilarious characters, and intense situations on the horizon at all times. All the better when they’re right in the thick of it.

Locke and Jean continue to develop as characters, and in Red Seas Under Red Skies we see their weaknesses aired out at last. While they have tricked many marks and cheated many more with false names and appearances, they can never let the other’ be harmed ‘s life be put in direct danger for their sake. It’s as respectable as it is tragic, and the novel really hammers in on them as their circumstances shift. I love these two – these brothers in blood and arms and thievery – and I felt every interaction and every wave of their emotions throughout their arduous journey. Poor Jean had me wishing I could reach into the book and give him a much needed hug and Locke certainly needs a reassuring pat on the back more than a few times during the novel. I have been waiting for one thing in particular to happen and it hasn’t happened yet, but I am almost certain it will come to fruition in The Republic of Thieves – bring on the final book!

But before then, I still have some more praises to sing out. Who would’ve thought putting to land rats through their paces to learn to be seafaring pirates would be so entertaining. Not only that, but the fact such enjoyment could carry through well past their luck and follow them throughout their ups and downs on board the Poison Orchid is more than I could ever dream to achieve in my own work. My fantasy manuscript I am rewriting, as some of you will remember me mentioning in this post, is partly set onboard a ship, so seeing the objective laid out in Red Seas Under Red Skies and knowing the benchmark to reach gives me a greater sense of understanding for my work and my plans moving forward with the rewrite. It will be interesting to see how I go about taking inspiration without treading too close to replication.

Red Seas Under Red Skies is a magnificent novel and all fantasy readers , especially those who love a good adult fantasy – even George R.R. Martin has positive things to say about Scott Lynch’s work. If you love a good pirate story or maybe you want to see a written version of Pirates of the Caribbean (but with more swearing and stealing and general piracy) then I implore you to read Red Seas Under Red Skies. Only after you’ve read The Lies of Locke Lamora though. And then finish the trilogy off with The Republic of Thieves for good measure. You will not be disappointed.