Sequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I raved about last year.
A few years after the events of Lies, Locke and his sidekick, Jean, have travelled to Tal Verrar, home of the most opulent gaming houses in the world. The finest of them all is the Sinspire, nine floors of gaming, each more decadent and luxurious than the last, and each accessible only by personal invitation of Requin, the owner. No one dares to cheat the Sinspire, because the only penalty for such behavior is death.
Locke and Jean aren't planning to cheat the Sinspire, exactly, though they aren't averse to it if it helps them reach their larger goal, which is to rob the place. Their plot, of course, is spectacularly intricate, and they are forced to make it even more so when the Archon, who controls the military of Tal Verrar, discovers what they are up to.
The Archon, convinced that the military doesn't get the respect (or the money) it deserves from the city's government, needs an excuse to beef up the military, and forces Locke and Jean to help provide one by sending them to sea as pirates. Locke and Jean have absolutely no experience in piracy, but caught as they are in the middle of the power struggle between Requin and the Archon, they don't have much choice but to go along with the Archon's scheme.
Like the first book in the series, this is top-notch entertainment. The con games are fiendishly clever; the action sequences, including some fine battles at sea, are exciting; and Locke is a tremendously appealing hero, likable and resourceful. I miss some of the characters from Lies who are no longer present, but Locke and Jean on their own are a fine team, bantering and teasing one another, but completely able to rely on each other in a jam.
I wouldn't recommend diving into Red Seas without first reading Lies; there are lots of references to events from the first book. You could probably enjoy the main plot of Red Seas without fully understanding all of those references, but they'll be less distracting if you've read the first book, I think. (Besides, it's a fabulous book.)
Recommended with great enthusiasm.
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