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#lynchmob This has been a blast reading TLOLL and RSURS along with other bloggers and making new friends as well! The final questions for RSURS have been provided by Lynn at Lynn’s Book Blog. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to organize these readalongs. I hope to see everyone back together when THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES comes out!

1.       Oh my god, such a lot going on I thought the showdown between the Poison Orchid and the Sovereign was brilliantly written and they were holding their own until Utgar and his nasty device turned up.  Well a lot of you had kind of predicted it, and I suppose we’d been let off too easy so far in terms of deaths of well-liked characters  – but come on,  did you expect something like that?  And how on earth will Jean ever recover?

So many people predicted Ezri’s death. I was hoping it wouldn’t happen, but what a way to go! That was certainly something new. This will haunt Jean forever because he was never taken with someone before like he was with Ezri.

2.       The deceit, the betrayal, first Rodanov and then Colvard.  Even now I’m not entirely sure I understand Colvard – Rodanov was never keen on the oath but Colvard seemed okay with it all and yet in this final deceit she was more devious than Rodanov – what do you think was her motive?

I’m pretty sure Jacquelaine Colvard just wants to protect the Ghostwinds area from repercussions that Tal Verrar might bring for pirates terrorizing their waters.  

3.       Merrain – such a puzzle, no real answer, the mysterious tattoo, the determination to kill everyone to keep her identity and that of her master a secret.  Does anybody have any ideas where she’s from and what she’s up to exactly and who the hell is she working for??

We’ll have to wait for the next book to find out these answers. I was so confident her real identity and motives would be revealed in RSURS! Dang! Guess the whole guard slaying wasn’t as big a deal as we thought it would be when Stragos found out about it. Although he did bring it up, there were other more immediate distractions at that meeting! I still can’t figure out what she’s doing and why.

4.       Finally we get to the point of the GB’s latest scheme, all that elaborate planning for two years, fancy chairs, gambling, dust covered cards, abseiling lessons – all for one gigantic bluff. I loved the diversionary tactic here but having finally reached the end of the story and, more to the point, the end result – do you think the GB’s are as clever as they think they are?

Not hardly! They have been fooled almost as much as they have fooled others, which makes for a good story as you never really know what’s going to happen next!

 5.       I must admit that I liked Requin and Selendri – particularly at the end – I don’t think Requin will go after Locke and Jean, he was even sort of cool and composed about it all, in fact he came across as a bit pleased with himself because he had the last laugh.  Plenty of good characters this time which did you enjoy reading most about this time?

Regal the cat. Just kidding. Jean was really interesting this time. I loved when he stopped and stole the book from the library of Cordo! I’m sad that Jean is sad now. There isn’t much anyone can do about it except give him support and time to heal. And then to top it all off – he has to deal with Locke giving him the antidote for the slow poison! I understood his anger at not being able to be part of the decision there.

6.       Finally, a triple barrel question, I know I shouldn’t ask this BUT, on reflection do you have a favourite between LoLL or RSURS??  And why?  Are you going to pick up Republic of Thieves?  And, where do you think Lynch will take us to next??

For me, LOLL edges out RSURS by just a wee bit because in the end of that book they did something that was really great by saving the Amberglass Tower and all of the people in it. In RSURS I don’t feel that they did anything that terrific. On the contrary, they were played more than in LOLL. It seemed they just couldn’t win in RSURS. I’ll definitely read REPUBLIC OF THIEVES (do we have to call it ROT?!) when it comes out. So glad I read these books now instead of when they first came out. The waiting between books would have been intolerable! J As for what will happen in the next book, obviously Sabetha will have to finally appear. Maybe she and Locke will discover their break-up was all over a misunderstanding and they will reconcile and live happily ever after! Maybe Locke and Jean will decide they’re too old to continue what they’re doing and settle down and teach a new group of GB just like Chains did. My hope is that they end up back in Camorr when they do decide to slow down. That’s my favorite place!

RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES, by fantasy writer Scott Lynch, continues the Gentlemen Bastard saga started in his superb THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA.

Lynch is a master at creating exciting, suspenseful scenes. The amount of anticipation he generates due to betrayals, captures, escapes, and outmaneuvers is huge!

This book can be read as a stand-alone but I do recommend reading the first book just because it is so awesome.

The story follows Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen as they try to carry to completion a theft scam that was two-years in the making. As usual, its impossible to guess who the minor characters are really working for, why they are doing the things they do, etc. That’s the hallmark of a Lynch story and what keeps one turning the pages.

Whereas THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA was set on land, this volume features a variety of pirates and ships, two things I love dearly to read about.

Lynch’s book isn’t without a detraction but it isn’t big. Along about page 709 a character comes up who it seems we’re supposed to know but in looking back I found only one brief mention of him on page 133 of THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA as “a merchant in Tal Verrar”. This can be confusing to someone without an exceptional memory, like me.

On the other hand, the strengths in this book far outweigh any detraction; the inventive weapons, the descriptive battle scenes, and the blossoming of Jean’s emotions are what really stood out for me.

One thing that I like about this series and it may be a petty thing to some but it’s a big decision-maker for me as to whether I will buy a fantasy book or not, is the naming of the characters. Here I can actually pronounce the names and they aren’t just a jumble of consonants. Seriously, if I think the names are ridiculous then I won’t even proceed to check out the storyline. But that’s just me.

What YOU should be concerned with is the entertainment value and for that, Scott Lynch’s RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES can’t be beat.

This week’s questions were provided by nrlymrtl at Dark Cargo. #lynchmob

* I was much relieved when Jean and Locke made up, which started with Locke’s gesture of a cup full of honesty with Cpt. Drakasha. Do you think that was hard for Locke? Or was he using this bit of honesty like any other weapon in his arsenal to get what he wants in the end?

It was definitely not what Locke would have preferred to do, but apparently he thought it was the best option at the time. Not exactly a weapon, just the option to take to keep himself and Jean on their path.

* There was an interesting section of the book that started about where Locke assisted Drakasha in selling the Red Messenger; he put on the persona of Leocanto Kosta and used the alias Tavras Callas and then Drakasha was still thinking of him as Ravelle….. Did using all those various aliases in such a short amount of time have your mind spinning a little? Do you think Lynch did this on purpose to give the reader a sense of Locke’s mind?

I had to think hard to keep all the names straight!

* That was a sweet little kiss between Cpt. Zamira and Cpt. Jaffrim at the end of the Captains’ Council. Do you think they have some history, or is it just innocent flirting that’s been going on for some time?

Could be innocent flirting. I didn’t get a sense that there was any romantic history.

* Jean and Ezri. Cue dove-cooing and little winged hearts with sparkles. Do you think Jean will stay with the Poison Orchid or that Ezri will leave her ship to pal around with Jean and Locke?

Since we are back to the incident of the prologue, I haven’t a clue what Jean’s real plans are. Ezri is pretty determined to stay on the ship.

* What is Utgar up to? What are his motivations?

I was surprised to read about the meeting Utgar had with Rodanov. Maybe Utgar has an old grudge against Drakasha? Maybe he’s a spy and part of the Archon’s gang? Archon could easily have slipped someone in with the prisoners that were set free so they could be part of the crew on the ship and be his ears and eyes, so Utgar probably isn’t related to the Archon’s plan. And where does Rodanov fit in?? I want answers now! :)

* So last week we hashed over that Merrain killed some of Stragos’s guards on Windward Rock. But when Jean and Locke visit him, he doesn’t mention it. What is up with that?

Again I was surprised! Why Stragos didn’t mention the killing of the guards is a total mystery. I can’t think of a single reason why Stragos wouldn’t say something. Is this possibly something that Lynch simply dropped the ball on by not returning to the subject?

* This week’s section left us where the book began - Jean pointing a crossbow at Locke’s throat. Do you think Jean knows who sent these crossbowers? Is he on their side? Is it a clever ploy to get him and Locke out of this predicament? Did you find it excruciatingly hard to stop here?

It seems like Jean knows the crossbowers, otherwise how could he not give Locke some kind of signal that he needed to play along? He must be on their side. Doesn’t he know that Locke’s plan with Requin is just a means to an end? Didn’t they discuss it before Locke put the plan in motion? Does Jean think Locke is really throwing him under the bus? I think Locke is in shock by Jean’s behavior.  It was a horrible place to stop in the story!

Other thoughts: This section had lots of surprises and cliffhangers! I have more questions than answers this time! There are so many characters that I’m not sure which side they’re on, or who they’re really working for, or what their motives are. I loved the chapters where Locke and Jean are living the pirate life and the part where they help sell the Red Messenger. When they first sail into the fog-enshrouded area it was spooky, but Lynch could have taken it so much further and made it even spookier! Jean certainly has some explaining to do now. I’m biting my nails in anticipation of the next chapters!

#lynchmob *SPOILERS* This week’s questions provided by Ashley at SF Signal.

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?

Stragos will only get the return on his investment if Locke and Jean can safely make it to their destination and stir up trouble. Keeping Locke and Jean on a leash for months isn’t very nice! I still don’t think the poison Stragos gave them is real.

2. Merrain’s activities after our boys leave Windward Rock are interesting. What do you think her plans are?

Merrain is a mischievous thing isn’t she? I don’t trust her in the least bit. She hasn’t made her ulterior motives known. It’s possible she could be working for Stragos if he plans to double-cross Locke and Jean (which I don’t think is the plan), or the Sinspire, or Sabetha in some kind of revenge plot, or even on her own. I’m dying to know why she’s setting them up for murder charges!

3. Does anyone know why having cats aboard the ship is so important?

My belief is that cats needed to be on ships to take care of any varmints running around who could spoil or poison the food supplies and might also chew through things like ropes making them unsafe.

4. The word “mutiny” creates a lot of mental pictures. Were you surprised? Why or why not?

I wasn’t surprised at all because that’s an occupational hazard of being a pirate, so surely Lynch had to throw that in as yet another obstacle for our ‘heroes’ to overcome.

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?

Having the children on the ship doesn’t seem like a very smart thing to do if you’re a pirate. I don’t see motherhood and piracy being two things that would mesh together very well. I suppose I believe that the children don’t belong in the story.

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?

Absolutely Jean is taken with Ezri. She may well end up joining Jean in his after-pirate escapades. Just because he hasn’t been connected with a woman yet doesn’t mean he can’t be now! I think it more likely that Ezri would leave her pirate life for Jean than him leaving Locke. Because, and don’t slam me for this, but I believe women are just more likely to give things up for love. This is not the right thing to do if it means giving up something you’re passionate about, but I digress…

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?

I don’t anticipate seeing other Camorri characters coming back in this book, but if they do it will add to the experience being that we already know something about them. Maybe the original Spider could make an appearance and help Locke and Jean in some way. She owes Locke bigtime!

Rate: 7/10

I started out not liking LUCKY BASTARD, S.G. Browne’s third novel after BREATHERS and FATED. I couldn’t (and still can’t) stand the sex-obsessed Nick Monday, whose topsy-turvy day of private investigating and ‘luck poaching’ in San Francisco includes every other thought being of a sexual nature. Until things really started running in the story I was feeling that perhaps a somewhat negative review was in the future. Nick turned me off just that much.

But something happened. The book made me start to think. It made me think about consequences, identity, reinventing oneself, the luck of certain people and why they have it. Hidden inside this story of a ‘luck poacher’ are some genuine nuggets of contemplative thoughts. I appreciate that. Any book that gives me the opportunity to consider the what, why, and where of life is ok by me.

Nick Monday is a private investigator who, on the side, poaches good luck from lucky people and then sells it on the black market. Over twenty-four hours his world goes nuts and he has the Chinese Mafia, the U.S. government, two women named Tuesday, a street urchin, an albino, and a mysterious woman on a scooter all interested in him and his activities. Some want to take from him, others want him to take for them, some want him to deliver something to them, others want him to deliver something to someone else.  The pace gets faster through the book until after a while it feels like an episode of the television show, ‘The Amazing Race’! Run here and do this, run there and do that in a race against time!

As I may have mentioned, I did not care for the main character. Seriously, the idea of a 35-year-old man constantly picking up 20-year-old baristas is just a 35-year-old man’s wishful thinking. It would be just plain creepy to the young woman. I should know. I’ve been a 20-year-old woman. Add on another 10 years and yes, I believe a 30-year-old woman would easily date a 45-year-old man. But I digress.

San Francisco itself also plays a part in this story, as street names and landmarks are continually being mentioned, so those familiar with the city can imagine Nick running around from point to point.

The story does a great job of bringing all of the threads together to a satisfying and colorful conclusion and I would recommend LUCKY BASTARD.

Thanks to Andrea at Little Red Reviewer for this week’s questions!

Now that we know a little more about Selendri and Requin, what do you think of them? I worry Locke is suddenly realizing this con might be a bit tougher than he expected.

They’re interesting characters and it sounds like they have more secrets yet to be revealed. Locke doesn’t think he can’t pull this off – he’s had two years to learn everything he needs to know in order to put the game in play. Its just that he has this other inconvenient distraction (the Archon) to deal with. Is it just me, or does this book sound just like TLOLL? An ongoing scam interrupted by a powerful dude that must be put out of the way before Locke and Jean can proceed with the original scam?

Isn’t the Artificers’ Crescent just amazing?  If you could purchase anything there, what would it be?

I would have the glassbenders make me a pendant with glass that changes colors from pink to baby blue to violet and back again and intertwined with an idler wheel and a coil gong.

What did you think of  Salon Corbeau and the goings on that occur there? A bit crueler than a Camorri crime boss, no?

I refuse to believe anyone would actually have the Amusement War game, fictional location or not. That was just sick and unnecessary.

The Archon might be a megalomaniacal military dictator, but he thinks he’s doing right by Tal Verrar: his ultimate goal seems to be to protect them.  What do you think he’s so afraid of?

Perhaps the Archon is afraid the Priori will hire the Bondsmagi to have him eliminated before he makes too much of a fuss about resurrecting the navy. I agree that he thinks he’s doing right but he’s a bit insane, wouldn’t you say? The heat room and the “bottled garden”? Weird.

And who the heck is trying to kill Locke and Jean every few days?  They just almost got poisoned (again!)!

I’ve absolutely no idea who is behind this. What about when Locke and Jean were practicing going down the cliff? Those were some pretty tense moments! They certainly have had their share of getting out of situations just by luck and not by their wits.

Do you really think it’s possibly for a city rat like Locke to fake his way onto a Pirate ship?

Do you really have to ask?

Gordon Gardiner and Alistair Morris, the authors of THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF METAL TOYS: An All-Color Guide to the Art of Collecting International Playthings [Salamander Books, 1984, OOP], put together a nice oversize glossy beginner’s guide to collecting metal toys. It covers metal toys that were made mostly from 1850 through 1970, when plastics were pretty much taking over the toy markets. Current collectors will appreciate the photos of hundreds of toys, which take up two-thirds of most of the 208 pages.

In the Introduction there are useful tips about finding a theme, auctions, values, preservation, condition, etc. Chapters include Mechanical Novelties, Railroad Toys, Automotive Toys, Ships and Boats, Airplanes, Soldiers and Military Toys, Farms and Animals.

Each item pictured has a description including maker, size, approximate years of production, and notes on details.

Although this book was first published in 1984, the information on the toys and collecting is not very dated. These are still the toys that are out there, they’re just getting rarer and rarer!

I found this book to be a good overall view of metal toys, but not without a couple of small weakness. The descriptions sometimes referred to details that were not visible to the naked eye in the photos. A close-up of those particular details would have been appreciated. Also, the content was heavy on British toys. Germany is well represented, as it should be, because they were really the premier producers of quality metal toys.

The chapter near the end of the book with photos of Manufacturer’s Trademarks is extremely helpful and should be studied by anyone endeavoring to begin a metal toy collection.

This volume is a good accompaniment to a collector’s library and fun for non-collectors to browse. 

This week’s #lynchmob questions for RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES by Scott Lynch are from Bryce at My Awful Reviews. They cover from the beginning of the book to the end of chapter 3.

1. The Sinspire. It looks like our heroes (can they really be called that?) find themselves in search of a way into an unbeatable vault. Do you think they have what it takes to make it happen?

Oh surely they will find a way to get to what is inside the vault.

2.  Anyone want to guess how they’re going to make it happen?

They will probably trick someone into getting it for them, because the vault sounds pretty darn secure.

3. It’s a little different this time around, with us just being focused on Locke and Jean. Is anyone else missing the rest of the Bastards as much as I am?

I do miss the rest of the Gentlemen Bastards. It looked like Jean had a new gang formed and then I was surprised that he went on the run without them. Maybe this new gang will catch up with them at some point.

4. I love the section where Jean starts to build a new guild of thieves. It really shows just how well trained and tough he is. Do you think the Bastards will end up training others along the way again like Bug?

I hope Locke and Jean eventually get another gang together. Now that Lynch has had them fighting with each other there is pretty much nothing else to explore in their relationship. They need other close personalities to play off of.

5. For those of you looking for Sabetha, we still haven’t spotted her yet. Anyone else chomping at the bit to see the love of Locke’s life?

Sabetha might be the other personality they need to join them at this point so that we don’t get bored with the Locke and Jean interactions. I hope that horrible bickering between them has ended. Locke just wasn’t himself.

6. It’s early on, but the Bastards are already caught up in plots that they didn’t expect. How do you think their new “employer” is going to make use of them (The Archon, that is)?

Oh my goodness, they have certainly tangled themselves in an extremely complicated situation, haven’t they?!  I’m hoping the poison is fake. How could they have been so careless as to take the drink? Maybe they were so devastated by the heat room that their caution was worn down but I sure saw that one coming. Something inside me said, “Don’t take that drink!”

As a history buff, I found BY GRIT & GRACE: Eleven Women Who Shaped the American West (Fulcrum Publishing) to be informative about the women profiled therein. Each of them in some way influenced the culture of the western United States during the nineteenth century. The book is edited by Glenda Riley and by Richard W. Etulain, who is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of New Mexico. Etulain is also the author and editor of over forty books, including BEYOND THE MISSOURI: The Story of the American West.

While many books about the western frontier focus on the notorious men who were leaders in the formative years, there were many women who independently broke ground and made their voices and leadership known.

The biographies are interesting and have helpful, detailed “Sources and Further Reading” at the end of each of them.  Included are well-known women like Annie Oakley (who was actually an Eastern woman who promoted the ‘concept’ of what a Western woman was like) and now-obscure women like Gertrudis Barceló, the leading monte-bank dealer in the Mexican territory of New Mexico in the 1830s.

Although this is could be considered an introductory type of book for western history and women’s history buffs, with guidance to more detailed studies, I think anyone would find this an enjoyable read.

I was especially interested in Abigail Scott Duniway, a determined woman’s suffragist and after 40 years of campaigning, the first female voter in Oregon in 1914. I plan to use the listed sources to further my knowledge of this courageous woman. Even the profiled women whose convictions are in opposition to mine were helpful in forming an overall understanding of this country during the 1800s.

Recommended!

THE MIGHTY BOOK OF BOOSH is an oversize, full-color collection of mostly the same subject matter as the British comedy television show, ‘The Mighty Boosh’. The show was on between 2004-2007 and featured Julian Barratt as ‘Howard Moon’ and Noel Fielding as ‘Vince Noir’. Theirs was an hallucinatory world, where gorillas and other beasts talked, strange characters lurked in the forests, and conversations were often mind-spinning. There was singing, dancing, and all kinds of antics. They really went all-out on the book – the hardcover is glossy and embossed. They included a detailed list of contents as well as an index and an inserted 16-page comic called THE MIGHTY BOOSH IN BONGO NIHONGO.

Although the show was broadcast on television, this is very much an adult book with much swearing and sexual references.

If you love the show (as I do!) then you will really enjoy this romp through sketches, behind the scenes photos, and those great ‘crimps’!

The book is a hodge-podge of colorful drawings, photos, handwritten lists, and preliminary sketching of designs incorporated into the show. There are a few new stories too. I think every character that was ever on the show is represented in some form, even my favorite: Tony “This Is An Outrage!” Harrison. Besides Howard and Vince of course, there’s Bob Fossil, Naboo the Enigma, Bollo, Ol Gregg, Dixon Bainbridge and his Mutants, etc.

Not all of it works: some of the sizing made a couple of journal pages unreadable (you could use a magnifying glass!) and a small amount of ideas aren’t really interesting, but for 95% of the book I was greatly amused and happy that so much of the show was recalled to mind.

If you consider yourself a fan you should NOT be without this book!