Werthead
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- Jul 6, 2006
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This is the second book in The Gentleman Bastard sequence and the sequel to last year's enormously acclaimed, and very successful The Lies of Locke Lamora. The full review is at my blog but a short(er) precis will follow:
The book delivers on much of the promise shown in Lies. The story is better-written and, thanks to modifications and reductions in the number of flashbacks in the story, flows much more smoothly. With the characters of Locke and Jean already established, Lynch is able to get on with telling the story, introduce new characters and show the first, barely-discernable inklings of what the series' over-arcing storyline might become. Red Seas remains a stand-alone novel, however, although reading Lies first is still recommended.
There are a few problems with the book. The story structure is very similar to that of Lies, at least to start off with. Those who have read the first novel may find themselves afflicted with deja vu for the first few chapters, although the story does take off in a totally different direction. There is also an issue with the ending of the novel: Lynch introduces some new characters from way out of left field who come in and help sort everything out. This is even more mystifying when a few paragraphs inserted at the start of the novel could have made this part of the story much more compelling. However, given that Lynch has made such huge strides in other areas of the book (particularly in the prose - which is more confident this time around - and the development of the Locke-Jean friendship as we really get inside their heads and see how reliant they are on one another), these problems can be somewhat disregarded.
In the final analysis, Red Seas is a damn fine, enjoyable read and a worthy follow-up to its acclaimed forebear.
The book delivers on much of the promise shown in Lies. The story is better-written and, thanks to modifications and reductions in the number of flashbacks in the story, flows much more smoothly. With the characters of Locke and Jean already established, Lynch is able to get on with telling the story, introduce new characters and show the first, barely-discernable inklings of what the series' over-arcing storyline might become. Red Seas remains a stand-alone novel, however, although reading Lies first is still recommended.
There are a few problems with the book. The story structure is very similar to that of Lies, at least to start off with. Those who have read the first novel may find themselves afflicted with deja vu for the first few chapters, although the story does take off in a totally different direction. There is also an issue with the ending of the novel: Lynch introduces some new characters from way out of left field who come in and help sort everything out. This is even more mystifying when a few paragraphs inserted at the start of the novel could have made this part of the story much more compelling. However, given that Lynch has made such huge strides in other areas of the book (particularly in the prose - which is more confident this time around - and the development of the Locke-Jean friendship as we really get inside their heads and see how reliant they are on one another), these problems can be somewhat disregarded.
In the final analysis, Red Seas is a damn fine, enjoyable read and a worthy follow-up to its acclaimed forebear.
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