GB Readalong: Week 6

Red Seas Under Red Skies continues...

If you're just joining in, check out the intro post for the schedule and other details!

What we're reading this week

Red Seas Under Red Skies | Finish Book 1 (starting with the Reminiscence after Ch4)

Recap from last week

Reminiscence: Jean tries to get Locke to stop wallowing in self-pity, the pair go to Tal Verrar and decide to take on Requin

Present Day:  Two years later, they find themselves between a rock and hard place. Locke confesses to Requin that they're trying to steal from him, and the Archon poisons our heroic duo to get them to do his bidding instead.

Observations/Theories/Questions

Well, I guess we know the answer to that question I asked last week about how the Bondsmagi were going to react to the Falconer being maimed!

I'd forgotten exactly how delicate a situation Jean and Locke landed themselves in at Tal Verrar. It was pretty stressful to read about them trying to please two very terrifying, powerful, and ruthless men while secretly trying to bring down both of them...just thinking about it again makes my head spin!

Is it just me, or did the description of the as yet unnamed poison bring a certain John Green quote to mind?

Food for thought:

• Coping with grief:
  
  First of all, I'm glad that this was even included in the book instead of having Locke and Jean magically feel all better after they got their revenge. It's not often that we see the emotional aftermath of one book in the next.
  
  Jean and Locke have very different ways of dealing with loss. Jean goes out and tries to beat some smaller gangs into shape, taking on a Father Chains role and recreating what he lost. Locke just lies there and wastes away, refusing to acknowledge that he has to move on. Although it seems like Locke's way of coping is worse, in my eyes, Jean's isn't exactly healthy either. I feel like replacing people you lost is almost worse than wallowing in grief because you aren't really dealing with loss as much as trying to run away from it. Any thoughts?
  
• Those Bondsmagi:
  
  So far it looks like the bondsmagi are content to sell information on the gentleman bastards and make life difficult for them instead of intervening directly. Still, they've made life plenty difficult! One wrong move and our thieving duo will either die of a terrible poison or be tortured in some unimaginable way. I honestly would have expected more from these notoriously powerful people, but maybe they don't consider Locke and Jean a big enough threat to deal with personally.
  
• Strat Petit:
  
  This whole section was filled to the brim with strat petits: everyone playing tricks on each other, getting under one another's skin to manipulate and get what they want. I thought it was pretty clever how Locke and Jean took advantage of Izmila's finger-licking haha It was even more clever (and ruthless) how the Archon had Locke and Jean "accidentally" left in the sweltering chamber before he offered them poisoned pear brandy. As for Locke's voice-acting games with Selendri...it seems like everyone has some kind of subterfuge planned against everyone else. It's crazy how Scott Lynch can keep all of these manipulations going! Much respect.

How do you like Red Seas Under Red Skies so far? It's very different from Lies right from the start; do you like the gambling and deceit more, or do you prefer the street cons?