Red Seas Under Red Skies read along [third part]

In case you haven't followed the first part of this read along on The Lies of Locke Lamora, let me tell you, you missed something.
But it's not too late!
Here we are again, reading and answering questions about the second part of this awesome series, Red Seas Under Red Skies.
Care to join?
All the details are on the Little Red Reviewer blog, so take a book and join the fun!

Sooo... Sunday again, hu? And I didn't even get my usual funny vulgar quote this time, shame on me. I admit I had to skip over this part really fast due to other obligations... but luckily, I remembered it quite well (and here I though my memory was a piece of Gruyere!), so let's get on with the discussion!


1. Locke and Jean's ability to find themselves at the center of a serious mess seems unparalleled. At this point, do you think that Stragos will get the return he expects on his investment in them?
Oh, I think Stragos with get some return on his investment, but probably not the one he expects! I am always amazed at the sheer bad luck the Gentlemen seem to suffer from. I mean, they come for a game, they get a free trip at sea, then lose the women, then forget the cats, then lose the captain, then end up having to be actual pirates and fighting and... ok, I stop here. But after all that, there is no way Locke will bring Stragos the war he wants without dictating his own terms.


2. Merrain's activities after our boys leave Windward Rock are interesting. What do you think her plans are?
Always said I don't like her. What is wrong with this woman? I know she's afraid Locke and Jean would become too important for Stragos (is she afraid to lose her position?) but killing her own people just "in case of" is just so, so wrong. I don't know what her plans are, but I hope they get canceled by a nice hard blow on the head.


3. Does anyone know why having cats aboard the ship is so important?
The cuteness? The fluffiness? The morning wake-up by a nice little rough tongue on the face?
I have no idea, but what Caldris said about them being proud even wet makes sens. Cats rock, nothing you can do about that!


4. The word "mutiny" creates a lot of mental pictures. Were you surprised? Why or why not?
I think I kinda expected it. As I mentioned above, they went off the wrong foot, with the missing women and cats, Locke's very poor attempts to cover his mess, then losing Caldris... the moment he died, I knew they were good to get thrown off the ship. And mutiny is indeed quite a nasty thing, so I am glad they didn't slash them or anything.
I know I shouldn't, but... getting them naked in front of Ezri and the Poison Orchid's crew was hilarious! Just for that, I'm glad of the mutiny. Plus, Jean must be some kind of eye candy to end up where he will, hu?


5. Ah, the Poison Orchid. So many surprises there, not the least of which were the captain's children. Did you find the young children a natural part of the story?
It's slightly weird, but somehow understandable. I mean, she wouldn't leave her kids on the shore, that would be way more dangerous that keeping them around... of course, you need to be confident enough to believe you'll always be the best pirate and no one will murder them, but I think that's exactly how Zamira is. Don't know if it's good for the kids, but Barsavi's probably weren't worse educated than those ones!


6. Jean is developing more and more as a character as we get further in to the book. Ezri makes the comment to him that "Out here, the past is a currency, Jerome. Sometimes it's the only one we have." I think several interesting possibilities are coming into play regarding Jean and Ezri. What about you?
I really like Jean, I think it takes some time to get used to him but afterwards, you just can't let him go. I love how he's sweet and rough at the same time, and how he gets really angry at Locke when he deserves it, and how they always manage to stick together in the end. Ezri is totally sweet on him (in a bully way) and as we see in the last part, he's not willing to let go either. I know Locke seems to think only of himself but I know he'll get around, he wouldn't let a guy like Stragos mess up with their life and get away with it.


7. As we close down this week's reading, the Thorn of Camorr is back! I love it, even with all the conflict. Several things from their Camorri background have come back up. Do you think we will see more Camorri characters?
Not sure Camorri people will come as far as here... I think that the past is important, like Ezri said, but it's also something which has gone and I picture them more going forward than getting back to old acquaintances. Except maybe some old friends from Karthain, someday...


Alright, things are rolling quite fast on the pirate side now! Check the other reviews from the Little Red Reviewer and let's see next week who's going to betray who!

Posted in: read along,Scott Lynch