Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2) in Fantasy Buddy Reads

Sep 16, 2009 Chris Haught rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-owned-paperback

Well, seldom has a book made me waver so much on how I felt about it. High hopes and an exquisite prologue had me psyched for a hell of a good time. I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, and at first taste, the sequel seemed that it would be just as much a favorite.

But then it bogged down. No big deal. Some books do that, especially when they have so many layers of plot and counter-plot twists. There did seem to be a large number of info-dump sections, that got tedious. But I trusted these to work t Well, seldom has a book made me waver so much on how I felt about it. High hopes and an exquisite prologue had me psyched for a hell of a good time. I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, and at first taste, the sequel seemed that it would be just as much a favorite.

But then it bogged down. No big deal. Some books do that, especially when they have so many layers of plot and counter-plot twists. There did seem to be a large number of info-dump sections, that got tedious. But I trusted these to work themselves out, and at first they were rather short. Then, they got longer. And longer. And then the pace of the story bogged down. It was a struggle to get through about 100 pages there.

But then it all seemed to fall into place. The info-dumps and tedious details gave way to a story. A real story. And guess what? It was freakin' fantastic!

Lynch retained the skills of characterization and dialogue he'd shown in the first book. Once he had everything in place, it all came together to give an adventure, a hell-ride on the seas. He managed to introduce new characters that worked perfectly alongside the Gentlemen Bastards we already loved from the first book. Not only that, but characters we could fall in love with right along with them.

Action, adventure, a touch of romance, a caper within a caper, some double-crossing, raw emotion. Pirates. This has everything.

So why not 5-stars? Truthfully, the buildup was too long and tedious for the book as a whole to earn the highest score. Forgivable in the grand context of the whole novel, yes. But not enough to rate alongside the first book. Not quite.

And the ending. Well, while the book's issues were brought to a satisfying close, the last 50 pages or so felt rather rushed. New characters seemed to pop up in the end, having too much of a stake in the final outcome for people we'd never heard of before. Much of that just seemed convenient. Still, the overall experience was satisfying...

Except for one tiny little unresolved detail. One little bitty thing that doesn't just hint towards a sequel, but demands it. One little almost trivial detail which is purposely left unanswered to leave a reader hanging.

Hanging indefinitely, it seems. As there is no projection or clue upon when (or if) the next book will see the light of day. Except for that, I'd call this book a stand-alone. As it is now, it pushes The Republic of Thieves to the top of the "must read" pile, where it will rest until...who knows? ...more

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Apr 16, 2017 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, teen-titans-jla-challenge-2017

Not going to lie, it took me a bit to get into this book. I think it is because I loved Lies of Locke Lamora so much and this was quite a bit different setting than the first book in the series and for me it took a bit for it to really get going. But, about the half way point everything changed and holy cannoli! Once this book really started going it took off like a shot and there was no stopping after that. It is Ocean's Eleven meet Pirates of the Caribbean. There were so many intricacies and i ...more

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Nov 30, 2014 Silvana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: deep-blue-sea, rotflmao, kindle-google, mine-mine-mine, dick-lit, fyeahfantasy

Even better than the first book. Funny as hell, clever plots and lots of twists, thrilling sea (mis)adventures, and kickass female pirates! I absolutely adore the main characters, Locke, Jean, and most of all, Locke and Jean, now one of my all time favorite bromance, I want a group hug with them. I love how they love each other, a truly wonderful friendship.

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Jan 17, 2013 Kevin Xu rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

The one consistent thing that I always hear from people about this book is that it is not as good as the first book, which I myself would agree with that.

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Dec 30, 2014 mina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When I got to the conclusion of all those two years hard work, I can only say: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???

And the bromance!
"He swims, I swim."

And the last part:
"And what if you..."
"When I do I do," said Locke. "Forgive me."
"Yes," said Jean. "And no. Never."

I need to read Book 3 immediately. ...more

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Jun 17, 2013 C.S. Daley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

Thank goodness the next book is coming out soon,

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Jan 13, 2015 Emanuel Ramos rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2015

The story goes from, "Oh that's interesting.", to, "Wait, where is this going?", to, "Holy crap!"

Great story. We have one of the best bromances in Fantasy fiction right now, with Locke and Jean. Bros till the end.

This read is a trip. It was long, though. It took me a while to get through it, but the climactic scene was riveting.

Recommended. ...more

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