Red seas under red skies

There is always a deep, hollow feeling in your chest when you’ve finished reading a book you’ve longed for and that did, indeed, live up to the expectations. This is exactly what I’m feeling now, that I’m done with Red seas under red skies. A book that I looked forward reading and that I cherished so much that it took me the better part of the month to read it. I wanted to take it nice and slow to make it last longer and it was definitely worth it.

This is the second book by Scott Lynch in the Gentleman Bastard sequence. Con-man, thief and priest of the nameless Thirteenth Locke Lamora and ever so faithful sidekick Jean Tannen has left their home of Camorr to seek new adventures in Tal Verarr. After spending an awful lot of time coming up with a new plan to trick a sack full of golden coins out of people, they get to work at the legendary Sinspire. Though not everything goes exactly according to plans and before they know it, Locke and Jean are captain and first mate of a pirate ship setting sail towards the Ghostwinds. Not quite sure how to get out of that one, Locke and Jean soon realizes that two land lovers like themselves are not made for the sea and that pirates can be a real tricky bunch. Though the biggest problem is still waiting for them back ashore.

As I said, I’ve been waiting and longing for reading this book and I was a little afraid that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. It did, however, and more than that. The world in which Locke and Jean live is so special and amazing, it never stops to amaze me. It is one of those books and one of those stories that most definitely will take you away from reality and to a place where anything and everything is possible. Lynch’s style of writing is excellent in every aspect, it’s witty and fun. The characters are so strong and powerful and even though you’ve gotten to know both Locke and Jean over the past two books, there are still so many secrets yet to be reveled. I feel like all the characters in the stories are great oceans with new things coming up to the surface all the time but there’s still so much hidden down there in the deep. And that makes for wonderful reading.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I started reading Red seas under red skies, I was worried it wouldn’t be as good as I’d hoped and so forth, but it turned out that I didn’t have to worry about that. Though, it did start much like its prequel The lies of Locke Lamora, I can’t say it was stiff, but it certainly was a bit slow. Though then, when I really got into the story, I ended up in a situation where I had to ask myself, Do I want to finish this off in a day or two or do I want to salvage this till the very end? I ended up taking the slow path and I don’t regret that, not at all. Red seas under red skies was worth the read by a mile and Scott Lynch is one amazing writer whom I wish won’t stop letting me and so many others into his head, to see the world that lives in there. Because it truly is something extraordinary.