Half a Great Book
Feb. 16th, 2012 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtvesselAug 2011
Red Seas under Red Skies - Scott Lynch - Gollancz, 2007
* * * *
"Rollicking" is a wonderful word and there are not nearly enough excuses to use it. So it's good to read something for which it is an entirely appropriate epithet. It's also pleasing to see a follow-up novel where the author has clearly analysed and addressed the issues of the first. Though only in the second half.
Part one is a re-run of The Lies of Locke Lamorra. Our hero and Jean Tannen have ended up in Tal Verrar, a city built on a rose-shaped set of islands located just off the southwest coast of the same continent as Camorr (like the previous book, this one does not have a map which gave me some problems with visualisation until I discovered this handy image on the author’s website). They are pulling another long scam on Requin, owner of a six storey gambling establishment called the Sinspire. However, their efforts have not gone unnoticed, particularly by Stragos, the Archon in charge of the fortified Mon Magisteria and de facto ruler of the city. Who has a plan of his own, in which Locke and Jean become unwilling participants.
Like the previous book, the first half suffers from an excess of detail and an absence of female characters, the only two of note being Requin’s and Stragos’ adjutants Selendri and Merrain. Once again, each chapter ends with a flashback that fills in the gaps between the start of this story and the end of the previous one, but since we already know the characters they feel more like filler. Tal Verrar, though interesting, is a smaller and thinner creation than Camorr, with fewer colourful sights and less intriguing politics.
Up to about half way through, the book feels like a classic disappointing sequel, being essentially a set of minor variations on the formula of the first book. But in part two, things improve enormously. Via a hilarious plot twist, it introduces two characters, Captain Zamira and her lieutenant Ezri, who discuss things other than men and therefore pass the literary Bechdel Test. All the problems with the first book - the lack of romance, the overpowered nature of the magic, the shifts in tone - are handled much better here and the result is fast-paced, engaging and exciting. The resolution of the Sinspire plot is a little off, relying as it does on something that the characters concerned should have thought of, but sets things up nicely for the next book.
According to the author’s website, a seven book series is planned. Normally this would make me blench, but if Lynch can maintain the quality, it will be worth waiting for. Now that he has shown that he can do good women characters, I look forward to the next one.
Red Seas under Red Skies - Scott Lynch - Gollancz, 2007
* * * *
"Rollicking" is a wonderful word and there are not nearly enough excuses to use it. So it's good to read something for which it is an entirely appropriate epithet. It's also pleasing to see a follow-up novel where the author has clearly analysed and addressed the issues of the first. Though only in the second half.
Part one is a re-run of The Lies of Locke Lamorra. Our hero and Jean Tannen have ended up in Tal Verrar, a city built on a rose-shaped set of islands located just off the southwest coast of the same continent as Camorr (like the previous book, this one does not have a map which gave me some problems with visualisation until I discovered this handy image on the author’s website). They are pulling another long scam on Requin, owner of a six storey gambling establishment called the Sinspire. However, their efforts have not gone unnoticed, particularly by Stragos, the Archon in charge of the fortified Mon Magisteria and de facto ruler of the city. Who has a plan of his own, in which Locke and Jean become unwilling participants.
Like the previous book, the first half suffers from an excess of detail and an absence of female characters, the only two of note being Requin’s and Stragos’ adjutants Selendri and Merrain. Once again, each chapter ends with a flashback that fills in the gaps between the start of this story and the end of the previous one, but since we already know the characters they feel more like filler. Tal Verrar, though interesting, is a smaller and thinner creation than Camorr, with fewer colourful sights and less intriguing politics.
Up to about half way through, the book feels like a classic disappointing sequel, being essentially a set of minor variations on the formula of the first book. But in part two, things improve enormously. Via a hilarious plot twist, it introduces two characters, Captain Zamira and her lieutenant Ezri, who discuss things other than men and therefore pass the literary Bechdel Test. All the problems with the first book - the lack of romance, the overpowered nature of the magic, the shifts in tone - are handled much better here and the result is fast-paced, engaging and exciting. The resolution of the Sinspire plot is a little off, relying as it does on something that the characters concerned should have thought of, but sets things up nicely for the next book.
According to the author’s website, a seven book series is planned. Normally this would make me blench, but if Lynch can maintain the quality, it will be worth waiting for. Now that he has shown that he can do good women characters, I look forward to the next one.