They have a plan to pursue, but they get diverted in different adventures where their original plan becomes a side story to the main plot.

The adventure continues! Like the first book, Red Seas Under Red Skies is full of cons and tricks orchestrated by Locke and John. Lynch, get back to writing (and thank you). The audio narrator is crisp and precise, speaking with a smooth cadence, and does an excellent job with voices and accents, further enriching this atmospheric book. Locke and Jean don't wander from one startling, incredible success to another, and so the journey is never boring. Success is never guaranteed in this series so far, which leaves me sympathizing with the characters own frustration, and keeps the tension strong. The characters are possessed of a strange morality, and are humanized by the situations in which they are conflicted by practical concerns, and their desire to adhere to their own code of ethics. The protagonists are not immune to failure, and the story seems driven more by it's characters, than by an ultimate goal, which makes it a pleasure to listen to. Much as the first book in this series, The Lies of Locke Lamora, this is a heist/fantasy novel. The world isn't about to be destroyed, or thrust into an endless dark age. The stakes are high, but not ridiculously so. In a refreshing departure from many fantasy novels, Scott Lynch's characters are not superhumans possessed of some extraordinary power, but survive on the strength of their own wits. I can't wait to see what is in store for us with book 3. It was clear who was speaking when they were speaking and the voices seemed to match the characters perfectly. He can do many voices amazingly including female characters, which I find is not common. The reader of the book is also one of the best.

I wasn't a big fan of the heavy use of flashbacks in the first book and this one was much better in that regard. I liked this book even more than the first one it seemed to flow much nicer. While reading, I knew this was a book that I would read again, but I felt badly that I would never again get to read it for the first time. The author seemed to always be one step ahead of me, when it came to trying to figure out what would happen next. Many times, I had to focus all my attention on the book because it was so captivating.

There were so many brilliant twists and turns and although the characters had some setbacks, there were moments of triumph too. Book one in the series was good, but this second book was so awesome! Just very cleverly crafted.

Red seas red skies