Red Seas Under Red Skies – Wk2 Read Along

I’m a little late this week I didn’t quite realise how long this section was (12 sections in Chapter 6!) and so by Saturday morning I still had over 80 pages left.. whoops! Add social life and Skyrim to that.. 🙂

Anyway this section covers:  “The Lady of the Glass Pylon” through to the end of Chapter 6 and the questions are from Andrea @ The Little Red Reviwer.

1. 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.

Requin is awful!  Cutting out some ones knee caps and…? I shudder just thinking about it. I mean is that really necessary? When Lynch makes nasty characters he really likes to go all out doesn’t he? Locke is really going to have to step very carefully I think Selendri is pretty damn sharp and well Requin is likely to do a horrfic punishment at the slightest provocation.

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

I can imagine those places looking pretty steampunky 🙂  and suggest that they are quite far advance technology wise, but just not that wide spread yet.  I’m not sure what I’d want to purchase but I’d love to walk around there, I imagine the sights, sounds and smells would be amazing!

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

Just… wow. Thats beyond cruel its sadistic. I’m kind of hoping there will be another flash back where L&J go back and do something to tear that place apart. Although seeing as they were in the middle of a big con I’m not sure they’d have had the time? But who knows. And while the Baumondain family seem nice at the same time they just close their eyes to the problem – they could leave and set up their business elsewhere, it might not be as lucrative but  if they’re that good it would come. The same could be said of a lot of the businesses there.

I really hope those nobles get what’s coming to them. The problem is I can’t see how dealing with that relates to the two other major plots of the book, it might be a bit much?

4. 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? 

I’ll admit I kind of like the Archon, assuming he is telling the truth about what his aims are then it’s great. Its nice seeing a military dictator who is trying to improve the people, as opposed to one who is oppressing everyone and would probably be stifling creativity in that respect. I’m not sure what he’s afraid of though, and I’m curious as to who Merrain is referring to when they’re talking at the end of Chapter 5. I’m hoping this isn’t some elaborate Bondsmagi plan, if it isn’t then there’s some other power at play here (perhaps multiple places hoping to gang up against the Bondsmagi?)

However just because I like the Archon doesn’t mean he is a nice person all the time (although he doesn’t strike me as anywhere near as awful as Requin is!)., I was surprised that he poisoned one of his own men as well! (And still we can’t be sure he isn’t lying about that? Its such a conveniently good thing to lie about, as you can’t easily prove it.) When Locke signalled he was lying then I think that’s specifically to do with the Archon saying he’ll pay them whatever they want at the end of this whole escapade. But I suspect he doesn’t much care about L&J’s fates just as long as they do what is needed. Hell I’m also wondering whether the original pirate uprising might not have been caused due to him telling a captain of his to go do just this same job… and look where that got her? But who knows…

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

I was thinking if they had done something to Salon Corbeau then maybe its her? Otherwise I’m not sure, its possible we haven’t even had the hint as to who it is yet?

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

I think so, he’s pretty good at winging it. He knows some stuff and as the Archon pointed out he knows how to show off fake confidence and that sort of bluster can go a long way – as we’ve repeatedly seen.

Other Thoughts:

Also that whole section of them trying to do the rope climbing and almost falling to their doom? Was quite funny, and also highlights that they really need someone to watch out for them! (Like Bug)

Also I love that in order to sail safely on the seas the ships have to have at least one cat and a female officer on board 🙂