Spoiler warning: This recap reveals the ending of The Lies of Locke Lamora. It covers only the premise of Red Seas Under Red Skies.
Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen leave Camorr alive, but the crew they grew up with is gone. Calo and Galdo Sanza and their apprentice Bug are dead, the Gray King has fallen, and the fortune he stole lies at the bottom of the harbor. If you’re about to start Red Seas Under Red Skies, the most important thing to remember is what Locke and Jean still have after the disaster in Camorr. They have the skills Father Chains taught them, a talent for talking their way into dangerous places, and each other.
Father Chains taught the Gentleman Bastards to rob the rich
Father Chains takes in Locke as a boy and trains him to pass convincingly among people who would never suspect him of being a thief. The lessons go well beyond picking pockets. Locke learns how to dress, speak, and behave in unfamiliar company. By the time he leads the Gentleman Bastards, the crew can build an entire operation around a borrowed identity.
Camorr’s Secret Peace is the reason they keep their biggest jobs hidden. The arrangement between the Duke’s government and the criminal underworld protects the nobility from thieves. Capa Barsavi, who runs that underworld, believes Locke’s crew makes its living from petty crime. In reality, its elaborate cons target wealthy nobles. Rumors attribute those robberies to a figure known as the Thorn of Camorr, giving Locke another identity to hide behind.
The Salvara con gets tangled up in a takeover
Locke poses as Lukas Fehrwight, a merchant from Emberlain, to draw Don Lorenzo Salvara and his wife, Sofia, into a bogus investment. The trick depends on the couple believing they’ve stumbled onto a lucrative opportunity. Meanwhile, the Gray King is killing Barsavi’s lieutenants and knows enough about the Gentleman Bastards to expose them.
The Gray King demands that Locke impersonate him at a meeting with Barsavi. His hired Bondsmage, the Falconer, is supposed to keep Locke safe. Then the Gray King murders Barsavi’s daughter Nazca, and the meeting becomes a chance for Barsavi to avenge her. Barsavi has the disguised Locke beaten and left to drown in a barrel. Jean and Bug rescue him, but the crew’s hideout has already been raided. Calo and Galdo are dead, the gang’s money is gone, and Bug is killed in the ensuing attack.
The real Gray King strikes while Barsavi is celebrating his supposed victory. Barsavi’s own bodyguards, the Berangias sisters, turn on him and kill him and his sons. Their brother claims control of the underworld as Capa Raza.
The Gray King wants revenge for his family
Capa Raza’s real name is Luciano Anatolius. The Berangias sisters are his surviving siblings. Years earlier, Barsavi murdered their parents and younger siblings after their merchant father objected to being left outside the protections of the Secret Peace. Killing Barsavi settles only part of Luciano’s grievance. He also plans to attack Camorr’s nobility at the Duke’s Day of Changes celebration.
The Gray King and Locke both go after people they blame for the deaths of their families. The difference becomes clearest at the celebration. Luciano is willing to destroy people who had no part in Barsavi’s murders. Locke gives up the advantage of escaping quietly and returns to warn people who have every reason to arrest him.
How does The Lies of Locke Lamora end?
Locke and Jean defeat the Falconer. The Bondsmage uses Jean’s true name and blood to control him. He tries the same magic on Locke, but the name he has is an alias. Locke breaks his hold, and the pair interrogate the Falconer. They leave him alive after mutilating him, wary of what killing a Bondsmage could bring down on them.
Locke stops the attack at Raven’s Reach. Four statues contain Wraithstone, the substance used to render animals docile. Released at the celebration, it would permanently damage the minds of the people gathered there. Locke warns Doña Vorchenza, the Duke’s spymaster known as the Spider, and the Salvaras. Sofia uses her expertise as an alchemist to confirm the threat, and the tower is evacuated. Vorchenza lets Locke go on the condition that he leave Camorr for good.
The stolen fortune goes down with the Satisfaction. Locke convinces Vorchenza that the ship poses a plague threat. Camorr’s authorities sink it, unaware that the stolen wealth is aboard. Locke lets the fortune go as an offering to the Crooked Warden for his murdered friends.
Locke kills the Gray King aboard the Floating Grave. Luciano is the better swordsman. Locke bluffs that Jean has arrived, creating an opening to take Luciano’s dagger and stab him. Jean arrives shortly afterward and carries Locke to safety. As they sail away from Camorr, Locke whispers his real name to Jean. The book keeps it from the reader.
What to remember before Red Seas Under Red Skies
| Remember this | Why it matters going into book two |
|---|---|
| Locke and Jean leave Camorr together. | Their partnership is the thread that carries into the sequel. Jean knows how to fight, but he’s also a trained con artist who can work a scheme alongside Locke. |
| Calo, Galdo, and Bug are dead. | The new job comes after the loss of the people who made the old one feel like a family enterprise. |
| Sabetha is alive and away from Camorr during book one. | She’s a fellow Gentleman Bastard from Locke and Jean’s past. Her name comes up in the first book even though she stays offstage. |
| Locke tells Jean his real name. | After seeing how the Falconer uses names against people, Locke shares his with the person he trusts most. |
Red Seas Under Red Skies is the second book in Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard Sequence. It takes Locke and Jean to Tal Verrar, where they target the Sinspire, an exclusive gambling house with a deadly rule against cheating. The new caper is easy to get oriented in. The detail worth taking with you is how the old one ends. Locke’s last trick in Camorr depends on his enemy believing Jean is there. His survival depends on Jean actually coming for him.
For more fantasy built around elaborate schemes, see Best Fantasy Books With Political Intrigue and Clever Schemes.
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- Want to revisit the Salvara con? Find The Lies of Locke Lamora in paperback on Amazon.
- Ready for the Sinspire? Explore Red Seas Under Red Skies on Amazon.
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