Con-men and Pirates

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an inventive, clever novel. The plot has more moving parts than any single book should attempt, but the author makes it work. The dialogue is witty and fun. And the world-building is excellent, following up on the first novel in the series.

When I had less time to devote to reading, I got stuck a bit. When I had more time, I read it avidly with a lot of enjoyment. I guess that means I should read more.

Its greatest weakness (I would argue) is evident when you pick it up--it's a big book. Bigger than it needs to be, maybe. Lots of twists and turns and scams and cons and double-crosses and extortions and escapes. Though all fun, they blur a bit. One review I saw suggested that the pirate section in the middle could be removed without harm. I was thinking just the opposite, that the the pirate section made the best part of the book and could have been the whole novel. So there you go--that's what you get when readers give advice! Incoherence.

Even though I thought it was longer than necessary for perfect reading pleasure, I still gave it all five stars because there's so much to enjoy here (especially the aforementioned pirate section). The action is driven by well-drawn characters, eccentric but comprehensible, that I could root for even though they have a very different sort of ethics. Above all, the wry tone with above-average banter carries you through a lot of action and plot twists. If you're a laugh-out-loud type of reader, maybe a John Scalzi fan, this should be your next fantasy series. Lots of good lines.

That is not to say that there is no emotional weight to the novel, because there are many human, affecting moments throughout. Some minor characters make a lasting impression, especially a couple of pirate women, but most of the emotion derives from the protagonists' friendship. The connection between Locke and Jean is genuine and warm, and the arc of their friendship carries us from literally the first page to the last.

Also, there is a delightful kitten.

Finally, and this is not a minor point, I like the author, as a human viewed from the middle distance of conventions and twitter, and judge him to be a good person, so the book is ethically sourced. (If he is not that, it's an excellent scam, and therefore I approve even more.)

Okay, to sum up, an (apparently) good guy wrote another good book, and I liked it. I hope you do too.

I mean, come on! Pirates!

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