“BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CHAIRS?!” I yell at the book in my hands, shaking it back and forth. The pages rustle and the ink smudges as I run my finger across the words, growing faster and more restless as the lack of chairs continues. Beads of sweat roll down my forehead. “The chairs,” I mutter. “The chairs, the chairs, the chairs.”
I’m reading ‘Red Seas Under Red Skies’, and main character Locke Lamora — a master thief — seems to be failing his current scheme. Like, he-and-everyone-he-cares-about-is-gonna-die levels of failing. But the chairs, my friends, the chairs!
‘Red Seas Under Red Skies’ by Scott Lynch is the second book in the Gentlemen Bastards Sequence, which began with ‘The Lies of Locke Lamora’. It’s nothing less than a superb fantasy series, with immersive and gritty world-building, loveable and flawed characters, and plot-twists that make you throw books at walls. For example, the chairs…
While the first book in the series kept us in the thieves home city where they were safely in their comfort zone, the sequel enslaves our main characters into a mission that takes them somewhere they’ve never been: the ocean. Locke and his faithful friend Jean have to captain a pirate ship when they’ve barely stepped foot on a boat. What ensues is hilarious, chaotic, and exhilarating. There’s no shortage of action and plot-twists, and the emotion that oozes from this silly pirate book is astounding. Locke and Jean’s friendship and devotion to one another is one to rival Frodo and Sam.
But what makes the story so unique and engaging is the way the plot is structured. There are many interludes throughout, where we flick to another character’s POV — one of the antagonists for example — which sometimes seem irrelevant but later you realise the FORESHADOWING. IT ALL COMES TOGETHER. The prime example of this is the CHAIRS. A few times throughout the book, a little interlude will appear of Locke and Jean commissioning a set of fancy chairs with very particular instructions on what features they want included in these chairs. No explanation of what these chairs are for is given to the reader, but surely they must be part of the scheme they’re plotting. And here is the brilliance: you forget. You forget about the chairs. Until the moment they are on the knife’s edge. How could they possibly have planned ahead for this. And then you realise. It’s the chairs. IT MUST BE THE CHAIRS. WHERE ARE THE CHAIRS???
And the chairs do become relevant, though not in the way you expect. Despite the best efforts of Locke and Jean, and my hopes and dreams, the chairs aren’t the life-savers they need. Because that’s another thing this book does well — it doesn’t give the characters plot-armor. They could die at any second and you really feel that. I can’t say Locke and Jean live happily ever after, but … the chairs do pay off. Because of course they do. Nothing is irrelevant in this story.
If you want a good, meaty fantasy story, may I recommend you one of my new all-time favourite series…The Gentlemen Bastards Sequence by Scott Lynch. Just don’t get too attached to the chairs.
My final rating for ‘Red Seas Under Red Skies’ is a thick and satisfying stew with some unexpected spice mixed in out of 10.
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