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Season 5 is starting strong! We're off to Telvarar to hang with Locke and Jean. In this episode of the SideQuest Book Club, we delve into Scott Lynch's Red Seas Under Red Skies, the second book in the Gentlemen Bastard series. The discussion highlights the tension in the prologue, the introduction of the Bonds Magi as a new threat (again!), and the unique approach to magic and alchemy in Lynch's world. We explore the themes of loyalty, ambition, and the challenges faced by the protagonists as they navigate their world filled with heists and schemes. The conversation also highlights the rich world-building and character development that make the series engaging and thought-provoking.
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(00:00) – Introduction to the SideQuest Book Club
(00:00) – Introduction to the SideQuest Book Club
(00:40) – Exploring Scott Lynch’s Career and Works
(06:00) – Summary of Red Seas Under Red Skies
(08:08) – Character Dynamics: Locke and Jean
(10:09) – The Prologue and Its Tension
(20:25) – Chapter One: The Heist Begins
(30:08) – The Bonds Magi: A New Threat
(34:55) – Magic and Alchemy in the World of Locke Lamora
(37:53) – Speculations on the Bonds Magi Guild
(40:21) – Exploring the Magic System
(41:55) – Character Dynamics: Locke and Jean (Revisited)
(45:26) – The Bonds Magi and Their Influence
(49:34) – Plans and Schemes: The Bigger Picture
(55:43) – The Artificers Crescent and New Challenges
Creators and Guests
What is The Side Quest Book Club Podcast?
If you’re a reader looking for something deeper or an indie author working on your book, The Side Quest Book Club is for you. We skip the usual book reviews and ratings. Each episode turns fun side quests into real lessons, so you’ll leave not just entertained, but with a better understanding of why storytelling matters.
SLAVA (00:04.43)
coming to you from the endless library where every book is read and every spoiler discussed. Join us as we dig into the lives of fictional people who cannot defend themselves. This is just a side quest.
this
JONATHAN (00:18.242)
Welcome back to the SideQuest Book Club podcast. Today we're covering Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. Let's push off and set sail for the open sea of brass. Slava, give us a quick rundown of Scott Lynch and his career briefly, and I'll fill in some gaps before we jump into the prologue.
I'll start with this Red Seas Under Red Skies is the second book in Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard sequence, picking up right after the events of The Lies of Locke Lamora. And our story follows the thief partners, Locke Lamora and John Tannen, as they flee their home city of Kimor and set up a new Grand Con in the city-state of Tel-Varar. Their goal?
to infiltrate something called the Synthspire and take the luxurious gaming house for all of its countless riches. But we'll soon learn that the path of true crime rarely runs smooth. And I think you and I would agree based on all our endeavors on this podcast, which is not a crime podcast, but whatever, right?
That'll become one shortly.
tomorrow, it will be a crime podcast.
JONATHAN (01:37.506)
We wake up and go, you smell that in the air? Today's a good day to commit a felony.
I wake up with that thought each day. But then I remember I have a job and a wife to take care of. So no crime for me. And two two dogs. I'll go to dog jail if I'm arrested. So our boy Scott Lynch was born in 1978 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He's the author of The Lies of Locke Lamora, Red Seas Under Red Skies, and The Republic of Thieves with two titles.
Mm-hmm.
SLAVA (02:11.488)
unknown to me at this point, mini stories, novellas that happen in between these books. He has a background in game design and firefighting. On his blog he writes, I am very much your standard issue geek of all trades. I like history, literature, films, base box era, Mac stuff, gaming and game design. I collect old choose your own adventure novels and Infocom text adventure games.
So he's a man after our own hearts. Currently, Scott lives in Massachusetts with his wife, award-winning science fiction novelist Elizabeth Bear, plus four cats, Duncan, Gunnery, Molly, and Farford, F-A-F-H-R-D, you figure that out, and a pair of Icelandic horses, a gelding named Ormer, and a mare named Spola. And if you want to visit his site,
see what else he's doing. He can be found at www.scotlinch.us. Two T's for Scott. That is our boy.
So one more quick thing before you do the summary about Scott Lynch, or a couple quick things, I guess, for those who might be new to his work or have not followed him for as long as I have. Scott Lynch has actually already finished the Thorn of Emberline, which is book four, but he's had a serious bout of depression for the last, I don't even know how many number of years, and so he hasn't published it. The most recent finding I could muster up was May 23, 2019.
He posted a picture of the completed manuscript for the The Thorn of Emberlane, which is book four. He also, you mentioned two novellas. He has written two novellas as well that he says happened between the books, but those also don't have launch dates. Coming anytime soon, we believe
JONATHAN (04:19.03)
as a community that he's on the mend because he's been more active on Twitter. He's also sort of posted updates. Hard to say though, because we don't see any new books or novellas. So we will find out soon enough. These novellas. So the, sorry, the feature solver, is the name of the novellas. The novellas are.
collectively known as The Road to Ember Lane. And that consists of these three titles. And this is from information about 10 months ago. More Than Fools, Phil Graves is novella one. The Mad Baron's Mechanical Attic is novella two. And The Choir of Knives is novella three. Each of the three novels is complete. Roughly 40,000 words is.
meant to be published through subterranean press as limited editions. Hopefully starting this year, we haven't seen anything or I haven't seen anything in terms of news about that since this post. So we will see what happens. And I kind of love this, not kind of, and I love this that these authors are like filling in the gaps between books these days because
We love the characters so much that we want to follow them through all their adventures. So whenever this stuff gets published, I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, that's my little diatribe to keep people up to date on Scott Lynch and his publishings. Slava over to you for a quick summary.
For those who have never even seen or heard of this book, I'm taking this from the bag jacket of the book and I think this is the second printing of the book, so we'll go with it. After a brutal battle with the underworld that nearly destroyed him, Locke and his trusted psychic Jean fled the island city of their birth and landed on the exotic shores of Tel Varar to nurse their wounds. But even at this westernmost edge of civilization,
SLAVA (06:30.498)
they can't rest for long and are soon back to what they do best, stealing from undeserving rich and pocketing the proceeds for themselves. Stealing from the undeserving rich and pocketing the proceeds for themselves. This time, however, they have targeted the grandest prize of all, the Sinspire, the most exclusive and heavily guarded gambling house in the world. It's nine floors.
attract the wealthiest clientele, and to rise to the top one must impress with good credit, amusing behavior, and excruciatingly impeccable play. For there is one cardinal rule enforced by Requin, the house's cold-blooded master. It is death to cheat at any game in the Sinspire. Brazenly undeterred, Locke and John have orchestrated an elaborate plan to lie, trick,
and swindle their way up the nine floors, straight to Requin's teeming vault. Under the cloak of false identities, they meticulously make their climb, until they are closer to the spoils than ever. But someone in Tel-Avarr has uncovered the duo's secret. Someone from their past who has every intention on making the imprudent criminals pay for their sins. Now,
It will take every ounce now. It will take every ounce of cunning to save their mercenary souls. And even that might not be enough. Done, done, done.
Yes, Tal Varar. I remember when I suggested this book, knowing that I'd read all three books, and I was like, I know that Slava's gonna love this book and the characters, and then also the world building, the fact that they go drink, gamble, and con the rich out of their monies and wealth, and they're happy about it. It's a very rogue, cloak and dagger, fun kind of story that I was...
JONATHAN (08:38.114)
Happy to bring you on the journey for
Hell yeah, and I am basically locked without the...
You're a ja. Let's be real.
I am Jean. Please explain to me. May help, but remind me, how am I Jean?
Yeah, I think we talked about that.
JONATHAN (08:51.394)
basically dead parents raised as a merchant from another country came over to, you know, Kim or brutal upbringing. And we'll see more of that in book three of John's like training. You're more like John. I, on the other hand, you're also, I think stronger than I am.
Well, I really, really like Locke. All the sarcasm, his, what's the word for it, outlook on life is very brazen and laissez-faire and all that stuff. So I like that part. And you know me and the audience who's been with us for a while knows me. I attach myself to characters that seem to deal with issues the same way I do. That goes back to Siri.
so they don't.
Yes, Haha. Like Ciri and what's the other one? goodness. Shalon? totally like Ravenna. So Ciri, Shalon, we don't have to rehash it here. And Locke. I like Jon too. This is where, unlike the other books, which is Warbreaker and Stormlight Archives respectively, I liked both characters. I liked all the characters in The Lies of Locke Lamora, from Chains to Bug. And in this book, we're only left with Jon and Locke.
The
SLAVA (10:09.164)
and I can't say I like one over the other. Both of them are very endearing to me. I like both characters. Written well, I love their growth in this book. I love that John gets more play and we see him grow and we see him as an individual with feelings and thoughts and both of them grow from what they were in Lies of La Clamora. They're just more mature in this book or they become more mature in this book.
Unlike Ciri versus Vivanna, Shalon versus others, in this book I'm like rooting for both of them at the same time. But that said, I love Locke's responses to the things they face more than I like Jean's. Right? And if it wasn't for Jean, Locke would be dead. So we need Jean. But Silver Tongue Locke is a fun character to be in a heist with.
Well, he's got a silver tongue.
JONATHAN (11:03.15)
Well, the prologue starts where, and this, the movie style cutting between scenes, I really enjoy. It's entertaining, keeps me guessing. I remember the first time I read this, the tension that you feel and the questioning when the prologue starts and Jean and Locke are at a standoff with two guards with crossbow bolts. They are arguing and then Jean turns on Locke.
No he doesn't. He doesn't turn on him. Anybody who knows Jean and Locke from the first book can see that this is a trick. This is subterfuge. This is Jean making sure he gets an extra bolt to kill the two bastards that have cornered them. Anybody can see this. I saw it. When I read it I was like, I know. Why is Locke being a little bitch about this? Because this is Jean getting the extra bow, cross bolt, cross bow to murder the two idiots who have just attacked them.
seen it.
JONATHAN (12:01.228)
Yes, but the way it is written, and this is my whole point, is he says, Jean isn't giving the hand signals.
I can't see the hand signals because he's too enamored with a bolt in his chest or his neck. I saw it.
Maybe yes, yes, but that's the, that's the point is that's the tension we, which we like, we, I'm not saying that you're wrong. It's just, we like the tension of like, what would have to happen for Jean to turn on Locke. And then Lynch goes right into Locke and I'll have to find the quote here in a second. Locke pretending that he invented grief.
Yeah, that's in the first reminiscence. No, I get it, but I'm reading this and I go, why the hell is Locke upset? John's definitely not betraying him. This is subterfuge. He is trying to get the second crossbow. That's it. That's all he's trying to do. And then it ends and I honestly forgot that that happened because Spencer texts us and he said, now I'm reading the whole book and I don't understand why John would do this and I'm on the edge of my seat thinking.
Is he tricking Is he betraying Locke? Is he... What is he doing? For me, I forgot about this until they were in the seas and I was like, yeah, now they're in the seas. They probably get back to tell Varar and that scene's gonna happen. I wonder how it plays out. I was more surprised that Locke not picking up on what would obviously be a friend trying to get the other weapon away from the enemy.
JONATHAN (13:33.272)
Here's the thing though, they fight and bicker the whole book, very much unresolved. Understandably so, a bunch of their friends die in book one, right? That they were raised with, that they grew up with, that they were committing crimes with, like their little brotherhood, gone. So.
Yeah, still I was surprised at Locke's what seemed like and which was genuine concern about John's loyalty. I never for once thought that John was going to be trained.
He's losing it. Locke's losing it a little.
And I'm not criticizing Lynch for putting the scene in or for making Locke doubt John's loyalty. That's fine. The scene is fine to your point, tension. But as a reader, I'm looking at it going Locke, it's fine. John is not betraying you. If John ended up betraying Locke, if Lynch went that way, I would have been surprised. That would have been a twist that I did not see coming. But from the last sentences of the prologue,
to when this scene picks up later on in chapters 9 through 16, somewhere in between there, in part three.
JONATHAN (14:40.846)
That's very descript, thank you. Yes.
But when it came up, was like, oh, good. Now I will be redeemed and John will take the crossbow and shoot the two assholes. And Locke would be like, what, what, what, what, what happened? We get to the end of this scene and that's exactly what happened.
Yes, but the point is good storytelling, tension, not giving red herring of not giving the full information. We're seeing stuff more from Locke's perspective. And he's like, I don't see the hand signals. Jaune's not joking. And also Locke feels guilty. Yeah. He feels guilty for putting Jaune through this stuff. He feels guilty for Bug and Carlo and- And Galdo. Galdo, thank you. Galdo's death. He is the priest of the crooked warden.
He feels that burden a little bit. And he just frankly believes Jean hasn't forgiven him. But the fact that he keeps bringing it up is what Jean is pissed at. I love this one liner. This is what I wanted to look up. At the end of the first section, if you will, where Jean is so pissed at, and I don't want to skip over the fact that Jean started creating a second gang. You should talk about that in a second.
I can talk about that right now as you're looking it up. Started creating a second gang to make money, not to abandon Locke. And he says as much.
JONATHAN (15:59.706)
That sounds great.
JONATHAN (16:08.046)
Yeah, but Locke doesn't believe him.
Of course, Lock doesn't believe it. That's what I like is being that little bitch in the first part.
Because of this one line that I can't find. Keep going, keep going.
Don't worry about it. Look for the line because lock has been a little bitch about it. And John calls them out understandably and correctly and deservingly. Like that line that you read a little bit earlier, or maybe you said before we started recording, you did not invent grief and John feels the same thing. John feels the same thing. Yeah, I found that. He's not drowning it in the bottle. Right. And I'm not getting unlocked too harshly. I don't think because yeah, he's processing in his own way, but nothing that has happened.
I found
JONATHAN (16:41.036)
No, no.
SLAVA (16:46.83)
in Lies of Laclamora and what we assume happened in between the last word here and the first scene, well the last word in Lies of Laclamora and the first scene here should, now I'm the reader, I'm outside the world, but still, none of it should give Locke the impression that John is leaving him. They haven't argued before? Come on man.
Never not why
I get that Locke is in a pit right now. Totally understand. But there is no reason that Locke should think Jean is betraying him. Now I understand why Locke believes that. But it wouldn't be fun to run this podcast if we just said that and left it.
Right, right. So the line, and I wrote this down word for word because I loved it so much. Wyn'Jon is so pissed. To hell with you, Locke. I didn't save your god's damned life so you could sulk in this god's damned hovel and pretend that you're the man who invented grief. You're not that god's damned special. The one-liners in this book are so much fun. But I love the fact that he restarted the gang. That was brilliant. Cool. We're going to go get some money.
They are. I love them.
JONATHAN (17:57.358)
I kind of wish that they would have come back to that, but that's it. That's like it plays the plot and then it moves forward. Like we never see them again.
and maybe we weren't supposed to see them again. The way I read it, was using those guys as much as he started to like them, sort of, because he saved the one gang from the other gang's attacks, and he showed care in the trade at the very least by training them correctly and getting them trained up to a level where they can do bigger and better heists. There was some care on Jean's part towards these kids, but at the end of the day,
He's just trying to get money for him and Locke to get out of the city they're in and to move on and do better things. Although, as I'm saying that, I also understand that John, unlike Locke, thought that this little charade, if you want to call it that, with the gang would last longer. That's totally clear from the reading. But as a plot device, coming back to them, I think would have been fruitless. They served their purpose. They're now better.
thieves for having been with John for a couple of weeks and John and Locke are going towards bigger and better heists.
Well, remind me, because I'm forgetting the details. The gang was not in Tal'Var'ar, right?
SLAVA (19:19.212)
It was outside of Tel Varar, I think even more than outside, about a two day journey.
Right, okay, yeah. So in my mind, for some reason I'm conflating that they were in Tel Varar, which is why I was like, they should have had more play, but I'm just forgetting the details. But it would have been interesting had they sent for one of their minions.
that would have been interesting if this happened just outside of Tell of RR or it was in some of the sub-neighborhoods, whatever you want to call it. That would have been interesting because I'm sure the Priori and Requin would have known these guys. So it's all of a sudden little thieves that have been causing trouble or somehow know and even on the periphery to the two main antagonist.
Yep.
SLAVA (20:08.588)
That would have thrown such an awesome wrench into the action and Locke would have to come up with more lies and more lies and seeing him squirm in those situations is so awesome. It's just so satisfying. That would have been cool. Point to you. would have been a great side plot or whatever.
time.
Yeah. So we get into chapter one, Lynch is showing us the grief that both men are feeling. One of them is proactive to try to like take action to forget. one of them is sulking in piss poor women.
But that's in the reminiscence. So chapter one, we start off with them in mid con. So we don't get to see the sulking and the pit that lock is in and how Sean is trying to get him out of the pit. Chapter one starts out with them in the sin spire conning two women, one of them who is fat. And that is stated explicitly. And she likes to eat, which is her downfall, literally.
Yeah, I'm getting ahead of myself. So continue on with Tel Varar and the Rose of Gods.
SLAVA (21:17.036)
Yeah, the Rose of Gods. It's the westernmost edge of civilized society of this planet. One quick note, Tel Varar, according to interviews collected by fans, it seems to be 2000 miles away from Khmer. So these guys are far away from home. It's a couple of months into their scheme, maybe even a year or so at this point, because they spent two years in Tel Varar and they are
on what the second floor of the synth spire because each floor gets more and more hairy and more and more intense.
They're on the fifth because they get invited to the sixth finally.
So they are playing an equivalent of Texas Hold'em or something, you know, a murderous Texas Hold'em because there's a, well, this is not murderous in the sense of somebody dies if they lose.
Texas Hold'em meets a drinking game meets a last man standing.
SLAVA (22:16.216)
Forget the murder thing, the murder thing's in a different scene. But they're playing Texas Hold'em on steroids. But the fact that you know they're in the fifth floor, they've been here for a year and a half or so, closer to two maybe, and the amount of detail that Locke and John go into or put in to their schemes is fantastic. This immediately took me back to what they were doing in the lies of Locke.
LAMORRA.
I have a favor to ask you. If you like what we're doing, the simplest way to support the show is to hit subscribe. In return, we'll keep leveling up, we'll listen to your feedback, and read authors that you suggest. And of course, we'll take side quests along the way.
So what I love about this scene is we have Locke and John back at it again. Their schemes are intricate. They've been at it for, I think, about two years. Fifth floor of the Sin Spire. They're playing this Texas Hold'em game on steroids. Locke is taking shots. He's on his 11th shot of a very potent alcohol.
He thinks he's about to pass out. And finally, the large woman who has her fingers now thoroughly coated in that poison that they put on the cards keeps licking her fingers after eating the donuts or whatever the heck she's eating. And because she's bigger, she can take more alcohol and process it slower than John and Locke. So they're like, dude, when is this gonna happen? When is she's about to faint? And finally, the last minute, she does faint.
SLAVA (24:02.904)
they win the game, nobody is the wiser to what happened. Although it's a bit slow moving, it's just as intricate as the other schemes we saw in the previous book and we'll see in this book. this is part of a much larger, more intricate scheme. That's what I love about this first chapter is you thrown in and John and Locke are back at it again. And then we get to the reminiscence where
John is in very low place. So we get to see where he has come back from. So all these events and the first book, the Grey King, the Bonds Mage, we see the results, the consequences of all that, the death, specifically the death of all their friends. We see the consequences of that in the reminiscence part of chapter one. But before we get there, we get this action packed scene.
or this tension field scene, it's even a better term for it, tension field scene, the prologue, and then boom, we fast forward to their mid scheme. So you know something's gonna lead up to the prologue, you know that's gonna be revisited, and you see them in full force doing what they do best.
It's almost like Lynch threw a box with a thousand piece puzzle down and you get to see one section from the prologue. get to see another section of like them mid heist, which is another corner. And then the reminiscence of like the outline that you're slowly putting together in a different corner, which is just really fun. You know, this is, he has a similar writing outline, I guess we'll call it to Sanderson where it feels like a movie.
Right. said that is, I think that's part of the, the evolution of reading entertainment these days because we have technology that moves so quickly that you have to keep us jumping around if you will. Yeah.
SLAVA (26:05.28)
Absolutely. That's one of the things we both love about Sanderson. The way these books read are the same way in Lysa Lech Lamora. You got all the backstory information in its version of the Reminiscence, where we see Locke, how he got to where he was in Father Chain's custody, how he grew as a thief, and all the stuff that he was part of. The schemes that were running, how he reacted to the Bonds Mage.
how he dealt with the great king. was fast paced, quick cuts, but while you were in a scene, it didn't end too quickly. You were in the scene and fully immersed in the world and the events that were happening to the main character.
So you know what I'm actually realizing as well in terms of like writing, I guess we'll call it style or writing outline. We're also doing the dual timelines again. And you know, most, I don't feel like most people do it well because it doesn't feel like flashbacks, even though that's what it is. Right? Like it feels so integral of, and seamless in the way that the story is told that you don't even question it because it's a heist book. So of course, like.
Yep.
JONATHAN (27:18.274)
we don't know how the heist was put together, which is where my puzzle analogy comes from.
I think the puzzle analogy is very apt. It's appropriate because you do get that corner filled in, the other corner filled in, you get a little bit of the middle filled in.
a patch over here a patch over there
write a patch over here, a patch over there, and then even before everything ends the way it does, you kind of see the puzzle coming together and you're like, this is gonna be something spectacular. So that's it, man, I loved it. I love the way this book starts.
It's right in the action. it starts in the action. But honestly, I felt like it took a hard shift mid book, right? Where they get thrust out at sea, because the book's called Red Seas Under Red Skies. So like something is going to happen on the ocean. First time I read it, did not see that coming. And you're like, this is a very grand adventure in almost like a tiny bottle, like building a little ship in a bottle. a lot is going on, but also you stay.
SLAVA (27:56.375)
Right in the action.
JONATHAN (28:24.13)
I guess grounded in Tel-Far'ar as well as like that storyline and you don't get lost in, then we went to another city and you have to remember the names of all the people in the second city as well. Cause some books do that and that loses the reader's attention.
Yeah, a hundred percent. I agree with you a hundred percent, but quickly what I wanted to touch on also before we get to the reminiscence part, quickly, we also get a glimpse into who we're dealing with with a Sin Spire, right? It's this shadowy figure that's watching them. And so Locke is like, oh, that's probably Requin. And the view that we have of Requin's
right hand woman. She's dressed sublimely as is described right her face is beautiful but the other side is a brown leathery mask as though she's been burnt which she has and she also has a prosthetic brass hand she has a voice that's very eerie it's not natural for men or women and she tells him you've been welcome to the sixth floor so boom this little scheme
huh.
SLAVA (29:42.836)
As in Slava's mind, it was slow going. Hey, they got what they wanted. And now the, you know, sets up the next stage of events and they leave the Synthspire. And it's something interesting is Locke asks Jean the pessimist, quote unquote, about his plan now. Evidently, you know, we find out why in just a bit. Jean is far more cautious.
Now I think he's far more cautious, not just because of the events from the previous book, but far more cautious because he's still a little bit apprehensive about Locke's mental disposition. That's my view of it. John admits the fact that they are rich and not dead, they're kind of famous, and that he welcomes the fact that we are now going up to the sixth floor.
Yes.
Totally.
SLAVA (30:35.934)
and maybe he was wrong to call Locke's scheme silly. And then Locke goes, haha, yeah, it's not silly at all. I was kind of surprised it worked too. So, typical Locke.
Yeah, always scheming, always trying to go bigger. We haven't yet seen Ja come up with like a master plan of sorts. And maybe that'll happen in the future. I don't know. I don't remember, honestly. Yeah, the master plans and they're always so verbose is the only word that comes to mind. They're just so big and ridiculous that they were going to die or they're going to succeed. And it's going to be just wacky and crazy because they're robbing the richest of the rich.
In modern terms, it's as if you and I said, hey, what if we flew out to Silicon Valley for two years and robbed every VC we could? I like it. That's the equivalent here. Yeah.
But chapter one ends really on a dark note because we are introduced to the Bonds. What are they in plural form? Bonds. There you go. The Bonds Magi. We're introduced again to them and the way this scene is written. Dude, so great. It was fantastic. Yeah, very creepy. Maybe it's because I've learned to predict.
The Bunch May Die.
JONATHAN (31:51.534)
Very creepy children of the corn.
SLAVA (31:58.488)
Fantasy well or predict at least the fantasy that you've read to me when that woman says what does she say? well, she calls out lock by his real name or yes his name when she sells him the pair and I forget the exact line but something something master Lamora, and he's like what and John doesn't hear it. I was like damn it the bonds Magi are back and they're puppeteering these merchants into threatening
Jean and Locke and now Jean and Locke know that the Bonds Magi know where they are. They still know Jean's real name. So this adds a level of intrigue and danger. Hey man, we're back with the gentlemen bastards. What else would you expect? But you got to understand you have the prologue. I'm not threatened by it. Threatened is the wrong word. I'm not shook by it. I'm not like, my gosh, Jean going to betray him or not? So I'm already not.
really hooked by that apart from wanting to know how that scene ends, which I already predict on the first read through in the moment, I'm predicting that John takes the crossbow and shoots the two assholes. Then we get back into the real time and chapter one and they're already mid heist or so I'm like, okay, this is good. This is kind of fun. And then only at the end of chapter one, am I like, well this
This is what I want to see play out. Cause the bonds Magi are after them for, you know, breaking some fingers and cutting some fingers. was a little more than that. Ripping out some tongues, killing a bird.
They, don't even, maimed is not the right, it's not strong enough.
SLAVA (33:43.906)
Well, he called him an asshole. If you know, know. No, he calls him an asshole. Do you remember? I cut out his fingers. cut out his tongue and then I send them back to his shitty bondage made friends. And everybody in the room was like, you did what? And lock is like, yeah. And I called him an asshole. He didn't like that.
Nice bird
JONATHAN (34:04.814)
I don't remember that. just remember the disembowelings also not the right word. What's the right word for like D liming someone torture teaching them a lesson.
Yes, teach them a lesson. said it. You just said it now. Maming, maiming. He maimed him. maiming it? Yeah, yeah, because. Yeah, I think maiming covers anything that is.
Okay
JONATHAN (34:29.944)
I thought it was just like you didn't necessarily take their limbs. It's fine. Let's not get hung up on it. Just how my mind-
He take any limbs. Let's be fair. He took a couple of appendages. So that's not, that's not beat up on lock too much. Sorry. The bottom edge had it coming.
He did though. So what do you think about the use of magic in the world Slava between books one and books two? Not not like physically between but like in inclusive and like
Yeah, I understand. I understand the question. I like that it's a bit more grounded than what Sanderson has. And Sanderson's magic system is great on its own for the world that he's built. But I like the fact that in this world, there's no real magic, quote unquote. There's alchemy and there is a religious system. But apart from that, you don't have things like Stormlight or...
Stormlight, breaths, breaths, thank you, from Warbreaker. You don't have that. You have the Bonds Magi who seem to have some sort of spiritual supernatural power. They control those people, but also in the book, Locke says, I guess they can't read minds. So that cuts off part of their power, or at least in Locke's eyes and in the reader's eyes to an extent. So I'm left thinking, all right, there's something they can do.
JONATHAN (35:35.124)
They controlled those people that you were just
SLAVA (35:52.994)
that is not the medicinal alchemy poison side of the magic system, quote unquote, of this world. There's this one thing and only one particular set of people can do is control other people, pretty much use them as puppets, but that's not explored enough for me to make any grand, you know, statements about it. So I like that part of it. To answer your question finally, I like that part of it.
where the magic is kind of subdued and the only thing that's purely magical or fantastical is this bonds Magi are able to somehow influence people's actions and even speak through them. And I wonder if that has an alchemy answer to it. But that would have to be one hell of an alchemy.
Hmm.
JONATHAN (36:45.4)
So I'll tell you book three involves the Bonds Magi even more than book two does. book three leaves us on a cliffhanger that involves Locke and the Bonds Magi and his origin story. But there's this thing, just to add a little teaser there, right? There's a thing that Requin says, or Straggos, I think it's Requin. Who's the one with the fake, my brain's having trouble this morning.
Okay.
JONATHAN (37:14.978)
Who's the one who has the fake... No, it's the one who sends them out to sea.
Okay, he has that fake like glade, right? Where it's like, it's literally just an artificers dream land. And he says something in there during my reread that I caught. He's like, the bonds Magi can't be fought with their own magic. They can only be fought with mechanical technological advances because if they took that over, then we would revolt. It's something like that. So I speculate because we don't have all seven books.
I speculate that Jean and Locke are going to have to take out the Bonds Magi Guild by book seven completely. That's my speculation through the means of artificing solutions and whatever, because of this one line. Now he could take it a bunch of different directions, but they've already defeated one Bonds Magi, sort of. They disemboweled, they maimed him, whatever. He's not dead. He's going to get play again in book three, sort of.
Which is super, it's just a, this is like why I picked this series, right? Like I know I've talked about this a little bit before, a lot of it before, but it, it's just so much fun. And then you can be frustrated with me, Spencer as well. you can be frustrated with me that we don't have the books yet.
already frustrated. Okay. After I finish a book that I started reading, I want to share it with the audience because I'm really enjoying it. I'm in chapter like five or six. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. It is American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett. It's just a creepy little, uh, little horror story about a house and things that happen in it. So after I finished that, because I've already read Jurassic Park,
SLAVA (39:05.838)
Spoiler alert, that's the next book we're covering. I can read the third book of The Gentlemen Bastards because I am so interested in what happens. Because at the end of the book, and remember, spoiler heavy show guys, at the end of the book, we don't know what's happening to Locke. No. At all.
Nope. know that Lynch wants to make a seven book series. We know that he's written book four, basically. Now the publishers don't think it's good enough. Kind of covered that earlier. We know that he's written a couple novellas, three of them specifically, that go from book three to book four. And I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote some more stuff. He did actually release his newest work, In This World, was released in two parts in a magazine over the last eight months. The final part came out in January.
So it's probably actually more than eight months at this point, because I think the other one came out in October. there's a two-part series, or sorry, two-part story, short story about Locke called like Locke and the, it's Locke, Lamora, and the Bottled Serpent, which is about his teenage years.
Sounds like a Harry Potter novel.
Yeah, a little bit. Anyway, I got us derailed here a little bit with my question about the Magi. Well, you made it this far. Rate the show.
SLAVA (40:16.504)
Why not go a step further? It helps more than you think.
I enjoy when someone can contain the magic of their system to be so rare and so sparse that it isn't just the solution all the time.
And I think that's what I was trying to articulate. And it wasn't a snide against Sanderson because his is contained well too, but because it's less, I'm going to use the word fantastical. It's less grand. It's grounded. And I like that more in my fantasy.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. All right, let's keep it moving. We got to cover Get Through Chapter 3 here to call it a show.
Yeah, but reminiscence in between chapters one and two, Locke arrives with John in Vel Verrazzo. It's about two years earlier from what has just happened in the Sin Spire, and he feels that he's better off dead, or he would be better off if he was dead. As they get off, it's obvious that John is already fed up with Locke, who is depressed and he has stopped taking care of himself.
SLAVA (41:29.292)
He's dirty. He hasn't bothered attending to his wounds. He's not practicing any of his hand tricks. And when Locke asked for help getting off the boat, John tells him to just pound salt. Locke needs to exercise and do things for himself. John remarks at this point that the great king's corpse would have been better company than Locke. And then getting off the ship.
was the best thing that could happen to John because he can't wait to get away from Locke. And so they step onto the shores of Vel Verrazo, which is one to 200 miles, if I remember correctly, from Tel-Varar and has a population of about 8,000 people. So it's a tributary of the Varari city, dumb kingdom, whatever you want to call it. After a few days of
trying to tolerate Locke and we talked about this earlier in the episode. goes out to find some work and he creates two gangs essentially that pay him. So he has all these thieves doing work for him and they pay him like 40 % out of everything they make. So he's making money and he's trying to get out of the rut they're in physically financially while Locke is drinking himself into a stupor. But eventually John knocks some sense into Locke.
They leave and Locke immediately says, forget this town. We have to go to tell a televar and go after the big heist because now that he's apparently has been revived and spirit and body, he's ready to go after what they normally do. And John's kind of pissed here because he's like, Hey man, I got a good gig going here. got like 40 fricking thieves or how many kids he has. It would take 40 % of their take. Locke eventually convinces John that.
best course of action is to go for bigger and better and more grandiose and death-defying schemes than getting kids to rob for you.
JONATHAN (43:34.018)
I love the character dynamic here of Locke and when Ja is sticking true with his loyalty and his trust and his friendship in the midst of moral ambiguity of their professions. But Riling Locke's spirit back up because he's full of hubris. Chains even accuses him of this in some of the flashbacks we get in book one, which then we see the fulfillment of when he gets his whole crew killed and
It's not gone, it's still there. Even amidst the grief and the pain, he's still deep down like the same man of hubris. That is part of what the cliffhanger of book three hinges on is locks hubris from his past. So before book one ever starts.
You know what? I think you're right. I think I might be Jean because without sounding like a man full of hubris, I want to say I lack hubris. I'm very confident in who I am and I don't like people with hubris, but I think I do have a sense of loyalty and what attracts me to Locke is his quick-witted responses and his sarcastic asshole quips. So I think you're right. think I might be Jean.
with LASIK and Les Girth.
Perhaps. I mean, we get to see some of Jean's strength in mid-book where he pulls Lachin, their cap door slash assailant, back up from the side of a cliff. We'll get there, we'll get there. But keep us moving here, Slava, unless you have final thoughts on remnants.
SLAVA (45:02.35)
that's a great scene.
SLAVA (45:11.022)
Oh, we're good. We're taking audience suggestions and keeping the chapter summaries topical and shorter so they don't have to listen to us explain the chapter for half an hour. All right. Thank you, YouTube listener, whose name I forget.
Agreed.
JONATHAN (45:23.446)
I'll find it while you're giving us chapter two.
So chapter 2 is the next day after chapter 1, we're back in present day, Tel Varar. They're getting ready, Locke and Jean, and they're starting their day. Until now, they had not been willing to bring up the Bonds Magi from the night before. They finish breakfast and say very little. The most they say is they wish they could afford to hire them all and have them lose themselves. That's the most they'll say about the Bonds Magi.
And I was thinking, and maybe you can chime in on this real quickly, knowing Locke and knowing Jaune, I would imagine at this point, they would be like, all right, the bonds manager are here, they're screwing with our plans, we gotta do something about it. But they seem to want to avoid the conversation altogether. What do you think the reason for that is? Is it because they're just tired from the last adventure that they just had in the of Lac LaMora?
Is it a little bit of fear? Is it because they're afraid? Like legitimately afraid? Is it exhaustion, not just from the adventures of Lies of Lac Lamora, but exhaustion from jumping so quickly into a new scheme that's so fricking elaborate? Is it because they don't want to deal with it and the wounds are too fresh from the events of Lies of Lac Lamora? Combination of both or all three? What do you think it is?
So, is really concerned, like we gotta get into the world building a little bit here, Jean is really concerned that they know his real name. Because we remember from the first book that by knowing Jean's real name, he has compulsion over him, the Bonds Magi did, where he tried to kill Locke through Jean as a means. And so names and words have some sort of power. And so speaking the Bonds Magi, I think triggers their spidey sense, right? Like it sets it off a little bit.
JONATHAN (47:22.316)
I could be misremembering a little bit of the details, but with the way that the magic works. And this is why the note about like, well, they can't read minds is so important. I think because it gives them an insight into, well, how much do they really know versus what do they not know? Because if they're talking about the bonds, magi, and the bonds, magi catch the power, tingly, whatever to know, Hey, these guys are talking about us. They could identify them quicker. That's my.
Okay.
take.
My question springs from what I understand about their characters, their attitudes. I would imagine Locke going, we're gonna kill these mother effers, let's figure it out. I don't think it's necessarily fear. I don't think it's necessarily helplessness. They seem to be able to put together schemes well, survive well in the most extreme situations. We'll see that as they go in the poisoned orchid. And we'll see that as they're playing requin in, what's the guy's name?
Struggles against each other, but I still like the fact that Lynch put this in because whatever the real reason is again in Slava's brain as a reader that question came up, but it also gave us a sense of Mystery because Locke and John whatever their reason is are avoiding talking about him are avoiding even trying to do anything about it They're like we got this thing to do. Let's get rec when the bonds of magi will be
SLAVA (48:50.776)
thing to deal with tomorrow, almost.
Yeah. The other reason I believe that they're probably not addressing it is because they're literally coming off of what they just dealt with with one Bondsmejai. I don't think that they believe that they're strong enough to be able to take out a group of Bondsmejai. They lost three friends conquering one Bondsmejai. And the thing is like they didn't kill him. And in book three, we will realize that they should have, even though we know through the culture of the world, like anyone who kills a Bondsmejai is basically
Fair, very fair.
JONATHAN (49:22.582)
signed their own death warrant. And they were trying to not do that. But instead, I think that they did something actually much worse.
Ooh, excellent. So moving on.
I did find out that one guy's name, or gal, whoever, Coconut Migrating, who commented on our Words of Radiance part five, gave us the feedback to condense chapter summaries by highlighting big events. So thank you to you, your friendly feedback. More is welcome if you guys hear things that you want to see changed. We do this both for fun for ourselves, but we also want more people to chat with about these books.
Yes.
SLAVA (50:00.15)
Yeah, but within reason I'm not doing any go-go dancing try that once and it's gonna work out the way I wanted
What you do on the weekends is what you do on the weekends, Lava.
is the weekend, we're recording in the weekend. silliness aside, and thank you for coconut adventures. Coconut migrating, well if you migrate you could have an adventure. But thank you for your feedback. Moving on, we have Locke, we have Locke back in the sin spire, and he approaches Solendry, the right hand woman of Requin.
Alright, okay.
JONATHAN (50:17.24)
coconut migrating.
JONATHAN (50:27.48)
Back in the spinster chair.
SLAVA (50:37.356)
and tells her straight to her face, Hey, dude, Solandry, we've been cheating that crap out of every single floor, every time, every game we've cheated and everything we've participated in. Solandry asks if Locke knows what he's saying. You want your kneecaps removed? You want to be thrown off the ninth floor? What do you got? What's wrong with you? Locke says that he does know what he's talking about and he would like to speak to Reqwen privately about the details.
Yes.
SLAVA (51:06.05)
Cilandri being Cilandri says, and if you read it, you know what I mean? But Cilandri being Cilandri says she doesn't have a master. Locke knows that she does. Cilandri calls four men who grab Locke and they take him to the ninth floor to Reckwin's office. In Reckwin's office, Locke says, hey, I've been cheating the crap out of you. And Reckwin pretty much parrots what Cilandri says and says, all right, well, you know what happens now. But Locke through his cunning,
Convinces him that hey, I'm only sharing this with you Because I want to work for you and this is all a plot to get on your good side To show you the skills I have with my hands and how I want to be a pit boss pretty much a floor boss somehow this works and the scene where after he's in his like underwear pretty much the equivalent of underwear in this world he keeps pulling out card decks from Wherever he has him hidden
That was a great scene.
and the fact that he's plain dumb, is this your card? No. is this your card? No. is this your card? And finally, he actually shows Reckon his card.
underneath his own bottle of wine. Yes.
SLAVA (52:18.668)
which is fantastic. So this whole scene, I think was well crafted. We see again, just as in the previous book, the intricacy of Locke's plans, the way this man's mind works on 17 different levels, the lies he can come up with on the fly. Dude, this is why I'm Jean, I couldn't do this. As much of a strategist as I am,
And for my professional job, I do digital strategy. So I, I do this for a living, but for me to work on the level that is almost like not avant-garde, why can't I come up with words today? What's the word where somebody's a genius? No, I think it's a word that begins with a V. No, it's an S, savant. Like almost savant level mastery of the environment. And the fact that
polymath?
SLAVA (53:16.108)
while his hand is in some kind of contraption that's gonna either mangle it or take it off, he's able to do the tricks one-handed while coming up with 17 lies. Beautiful, beautiful scene.
much fun. really is. Especially because we get a reminder, and I believe that Father Change told us this in book one, but we get the reminder sort of mid book two here of the purpose of the crooked warden, which we haven't even addressed at the moment.
Yeah, we'll get to it. There's places where he says prayers to him and he's reminded that he's a priest and he has to bury people pretty much, do burial rite prayers. So we'll get to it.
The thing I wanted to bring up though real quick is the Crooked Warden has two statutes that need to be followed. The first is Thieves Prosper. so you look out for other thieves. And the second is the Rich Remember. We get a flashback of that later, which we could talk about, but I love that the world building is both simple and also direct, right? For what these two characters and their whole shtick is. Guiding principles, if you will.
Yeah, absolutely. The simple part, I agree and that's what I like about it. And I think whatever I articulated or try to about the magic system, I think it's simple too. I use the word grounded. I think that's what I like about this world because it's familiar to some degree because it's not on earth, but it's very similar to earth. It's not like a different planet completely. Being a bit of a history buff.
SLAVA (54:59.564)
The fact that it's set in 1500s Venice, I have in my mind's eye a picture of 1500s Venice, because I've read Italian history, and I'm not going to pretend that I'm expert on it, but I read enough of it to have a picture of it in my mind's eye, and so I can get immersed into this world, and everything seems grounded, from magic to religion to other things, easy to follow. So, yeah, absolutely, man.
But I say we get to the second reminiscence and then chapter three.
Let's do it. Hey, it's dangerous to go alone. So don't. You should always side quest with friends. Hit that subscribe button and join the party.
second reminiscence is very simple. Locke is trying to convince Jeanne that he's not gonna break down again. Because Jeanne is apprehensive. Because they're about to do a score. They just left a good gig.
gonna do this again I'm not probably baby
SLAVA (55:58.826)
I swear John, probably me. John just pulled Locke out of a pit while he was doing all the heavy lifting making money for them. They had a good thing going and as soon as Locke is out of his funk, he says, hey, let's go big. And John's like, okay. But John's still kind of apprehensive about Locke losing his shit again. And Locke says that he won't, that he is sorry. He let...
missing Kalo, Galdo and Buck get the better of him and he knows that it is selfish. here we see Locke growing. He grows immensely by the end of the book, maybe not enough to keep him out trouble in book 3 as you tell me, but he grows immensely nonetheless. Suddenly he gets angry and says that he thought they moved past the events in Valverrazo. now we get tension between the two characters again. Jean responds he had forgiven him.
And if he meant it, he should stop bringing up what happened. So again, John is acting like an adult. Yeah. The two decide they need a target. Whatever the scheme was a couple of days ago when Locke magically got out of his funk with the, the Peruvial beating that John gave him. And they need to stop arguing, stop second guessing. And John says that the con they are planning could take a year or two to pull off. It's going to be a big one.
And Locke says they don't have anything else to be doing. Also true, but this is what I like about Locke. Lazafer, like, hey, let's do this thing. And then it has to be big. It has to be totally out of this world. They decide that they will no longer be Kimori. And now they're going to be Telishani, merchant speculators, whatever speculators means in this world, but they're merchant speculators. And they make their way to Tel Varar. And as they do, Locke suggests to Jean that once this con is over,
Also true.
SLAVA (57:52.546)
They can think about buying a property and some titles because apparently you can buy nobility titles in this world, which is great. What she could do in the real world too. I'm reading a book. Nope. I'm not reading the book yet. I just bought it. I'm listening to a podcast on the Titanic and one of the people in the Titanic who's actually a piece of crap because she caused the deaths of a lot of people. She was like a dressmaker who married in and
If I remember correctly, not only did she marry into nobility, like low nobility, but she also was able to purchase in some way. don't want to misconstrue the details, but she was able to somehow buy her way into this circle. So not only was she married to low nobility, but she was able to buy herself into high nobility. The fact that you could buy a title. think it's kind of fun because for people like Locke and John, that only gives them
more access to the people they're trying to rob.
that's just another resource for them you know right
and they're gonna settle down, which I highly, highly do not believe. I doubt it. I highly doubt that they settle down.
JONATHAN (59:01.906)
yeah, no, book three that's, yeah, book three is where they settle down.
Jean and Locke get a couple of...
They get a bed and breakfast and a couple of cats and settle.
I was going say they take over the gilded lily, which is a brothel, and build a harem to settle down.
I was going to like two, two guys that are as close as brothers by a bed and breakfast. Yeah. By a bed and breakfast in a small town and yeah, nobody talks about it, but everybody knows what's going on.
JONATHAN (59:29.73)
Burtner.
JONATHAN (59:35.454)
Mm-hmm. The odd couple.
Yes. But anyway, that's the second reminiscence that gives us a little bit of the picture of how they get to Tel Aviv Arar. Although we don't get a lot of details. If we do get enough, I'm misremembering them now, but they're on their way to Tel Aviv Arar. What their plan is, we will find out. And we're in chapter three then.
keeps the story moving real quick. And we talked about this a little bit earlier with jumping around and things like that. Quick interlude, if you will, for ourselves about some of the book themes between chapters here. Do you think that Jean and Locke have a hidden agenda that we're just not privy to at the moment?
that is an excellent question.
Outside of, yeah, outside of the plot.
SLAVA (01:00:22.354)
That is an excellent question. I want to say no, because if I understand your question correctly, you mean, and tell me if I'm wrong, you mean that it's as grand as their schemes and plots. They are doing these grandiose plots, these intricate plots, in order to achieve something even more grandiose and more intricate and more world-mind.
They need all the money and the whatever to be able to commit even something bigger.
I don't think so based on what we know from the book one, based on what we know about chains. They are priests of the 13th God, the crooked warden, and they're there just to survive and enjoy life to some degree, the way I kind of read the room for lack of a better term. So if they have personal ambitions, yeah, I'm sure they do. And I'm sure some of them.
The Crooked Warden
SLAVA (01:01:23.81)
have not been shared with us yet. But do they have hidden agendas? I don't think so. I don't see that yet.
Do you think that they will develop a larger agenda, not necessarily hidden, but a larger agenda as the books progress?
Yes. And I think they will develop because of the situations they find themselves in, or maybe as characters, they see more opportunities or they see an opportunity. Then yes, but I don't see any evidence currently, not even a hint. Forget evidence. I don't even see a hint of that happening now. They're literally just trying to survive, live day to day. And part of that means
going on these adventures, executing these schemes to get money to be able to have nice drinks and nice houses. I don't think they have an end goal, right? Like any good caper, any good thief, mob movie, you always have a guy who's trying to just do one more scheme, one more job.
more high school and then we're done. Then we got enough to live off of.
SLAVA (01:02:35.936)
Right, I think that's what's going on here.
Okay, interesting. Sounds good. Bring us into chapter three here.
Well, chapter three is where we meet Straggos and they get kidnapped and they think, shit, it's the Magi, the bonds magic coming for us. turns out that it's the Archon, the master of arms, Straggos and his right-hand woman. They get kidnapped. They get pitted against each other, but their loyalty prevails, which again, this is why even later in the book, my
assumption is proven correct when I'm like, why is Locke worried about John when John hears, you know, here and on the ship says, I'm not going anywhere without Locke. We are brothers. And it says in different ways in different situations, but John proves his loyalty to Locke in front of other people.
over and over and over and over again.
SLAVA (01:03:34.392)
Thank you. And so they get poisoned. Yep. They get poisoned and they're told you're now my, my slaves. You do what I tell you to do and you get fed the antidote slowly so you won't die. And the Arkham tells them that they need to.
Just like you Slava.
JONATHAN (01:03:52.384)
Yeah. And for those who are reading it or have already read it, we also learned later that this is just like, this is his move. You know, we see these things in dating movies and stuff where it's like, that's his move. This is, this is this guy's move. He's like, I'm going to have people drink poison. And the thing is it might not even be real. You don't know. So you just do what he says. Right.
find this out in more detail later I'll just front load it here they are going to go and create some havoc on the seas so the Archon can use that as an excuse to take out the Priory or at the very least show dominance keep his power over the priority or exude more power so he's trying to create a false flag with the pirates so the pirates are going to attack ships and they're gonna attack ships because Locke and John
are going to go and rabble-rous the pirates to do and so, Straggos will respond just like he did in the war a couple decades ago. He will get the power he needs, he'll get the army he needs, and then the people of Tel Varar will get behind him and he'll either hold the power that he thinks is slipping from his hands or he'll get more power. What's most interesting is that Straggos has a file from the Bonds Mage
on Jean and Locke and he even knows their names because they're now currently under a new identity but he knows their fake names, their fake real names and he pretty much explains to them they have no way out and they're gonna do what they're gonna do irrespective of what's going on in their current lives schemes plans with the the guy from the Sin Spire good old Requin and not only that we get a reveal that the Bonds Magi
are the ones who are helping Straggos. When back on mainland, Locke curses the Bonds Magi. Jean realizes that certain details about their current plan with Straggos weren't picked up by the Bonds Magi, showing that they are not all-knowing. The Bonds Magi have told Straggos certain points about their past, but they missed out details, such as chains.
SLAVA (01:06:13.592)
which shows that they're good spies, but they can't actually read minds. Locke says they need to go and rest and they can think about finding an antidote and he wants to work on a plan to get back at Straggos. All he needs, he says, to work it out is whether he does it before or after he breaks into Requin's vault. So Locke is being Locke, revenge and thievery are his heart and soul. That's his bread and butter.
Yes, that is so true. And this is the first time that they meet him and they realize that this guy is not to be trifled with. But they're also trying to, I think you mentioned this earlier, Locke is like spinning up lies as he goes along and he's trying to figure out like, what would be, what would be big enough to keep this guy kind of in the loop. And I'm kind of getting my, out of myself because he does that for Requin as well.
to your point earlier, not they, Locke creates this just very ridiculous plan years in advance. And they make sure to leave the seeds of those things scattered throughout so that when they get thrown off course like this, the original, what's the name when you're going to like target someone? The original plan.
You know, like, it's not bust, it's not target, it's something else.
JONATHAN (01:07:47.586)
Mark. Yes. When you mark someone and you build a whole plan around it, you need to have the seed so that when they research it, it's actually real. Like, they've, they have been working on this, but I see Locke and Jean in like, you know, in some upstairs in with whatever the equivalent of photographs and lines of yarn for Locke, just like, okay, here's what we're going to do. Just sitting there with like a glass of wine and like throwing daggers at the, at the wall or something.
That's not going to work because of a lot like, okay, you're right. But what if we do this instead? So they've got their original mark. They come up with their, their little seedlings, things that they're going to do throughout. But then they can pull this stuff like this, where they're like, this was not part of the plan, but they have to think on their feet. They have to keep going. they have to stay alive, you know, with authors, I don't think there's anything. Well, I can't think of anything more that would have been more motivating than like staying alive.
Right? Like what is bigger than that? I don't think there's anything. Right?
Now, and any well laid plan, you need contingencies for it. There's always things that go wrong. But here we have a well laid plan. We have Locke telling Requiem that, hey, I've been cheating, but it's really because I want to kill Jean and I'm tired of my life and I want to work for you. And then the bonds Magi show up. So that throws a wrench in it and Strago shows up and the
bonds Magi involved somehow, but that throws a third, second, fourth wrench because it's not just straggles is taking them away from their plan, but they're poisoned and they have to go do this false flag thing and they have to train for it as you'll see in upcoming chapters. yeah. And they still have to appease requins. So requin is the thing they're playing him and the way that Locke will, yes, he lies, but the way that Locke works this out.
SLAVA (01:09:47.854)
It's fantastic and that's in the next chapter. So I'll save it for that because that was just a wonderful little
It's almost as if there's a second type of magic that Locke uses. And I'm just kind of being cheeky. He always comes up with these lies and then that is what they work out to make become truth. know, like there's the, there's the bonds Magi and then there's Locke. It's almost two types of magic.
Yeah, exactly it. brings us to our last reminiscence that is part of chapter three. And we get a view of Jean and Locke six months into their exploits in Tel-Varar. Currently, Jean is in a boat heading to a harbor full of other boats from all kinds of places. Their destination is the Artifices Crescent, home of those who turn clockwork mechanics into an industry in this world.
The city is obviously different than Kimor. For starters, those who commit capital crimes are not hung or put in cages, rather they are pushed within the city's rubbish bin or hole or cavern, whatever. And it's called the midden deep. Some say that they never stop falling. Others say they may survive the fall and are stuck down there while still others presume that they just simply
goes splat. Additionally, it's obvious that this place is more cultured and moving into the fallout of the world's industrial revolution. As an example, Jean sees a boat carrying a printing press being attacked by scribes who see the printing press as a threat to their profession. So we also get a glimpse into how diverse this world is. Khmor, Tel-Varar,
SLAVA (01:11:44.046)
the city they found themselves in before, now this new city that's closer to Tel Varar. We see that this world is very, very diverse. And John, now on mainland, heads to the Artificus Crescent. He admires different stalls on the numerous tiers and takes note of a couple of killer birds that are used as an equivalent to a guard dog. So he finds a woman and they seem to have...
researched this woman well. Her name is Geraldine.
Azura Geraldin
Yes. And so he starts talking about vaults and safes and how to break them. And eventually it's revealed that he wants to access Requin's vault. Gerting says, no, not that I'm good. You can take all your money. There's not enough Solari in the world to convince me to help you. And she goes into a story of how Requin was the victim of an assassination plot and it was more of a
It could have killed him, but it was more of a way to hurt and maim him. But because he and Solendry switched costumes for a party, Solendry is the one who got severely burned by the something put inside of the, of the costume. And she lost half her body, an arm and half her face. The wreck one's arms are broken. He tries to save her. And then he went on a killing spree, trying to find the guy who did it. And when they find the guy who did it.
SLAVA (01:13:21.614)
He encases half of him in concrete and then feeds him for a long time until the guy finally dies from poisoning from his body rotting, half his body rotting away. Yeah. So she says, yeah, no, I'm not doing anything. And then like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, she pulls a lever, wrong lever. you know, she, and then he falls out in the street. There's a vendor there who sells beer or the equivalent of beer.
in concrete.
SLAVA (01:13:51.046)
And he says, yep, this happens pretty much twice a week. Somebody comes to her, asks her for work or asks her for a job, whatever they ask her.
Yeah, pretty regularly.
JONATHAN (01:14:02.158)
He says no. something crazy.
Yep. She says no and gets them to look out the window, pulls a lever and they fly out in the contraption elevator of sorts, and they fly out into the street.
Yep. The world building just meshes so well with the plot. And the more I think about it, it's almost as if the artifice-ing is a steampunk-esque, it feels like. Yes. It's not specifically that.
Yeah, but it's close. It's very close. Right? Absolutely.
But it's flavored that way. Yeah, it's just so enjoyable. It's a good read. If you haven't committed to it because you wanted to give this a listen first, highly recommend the heist style story of Red Seas Under Red Skies. But that puts Jean and Locke in quite the predicament and we'll have to tune in next time or you'll have to tune in next time to find out what happens in chapters four through eight.
JONATHAN (01:15:03.827)
as part one reaches its conclusion.
Yeah, I can't wait and I hope you guys join us next time on SideQuest.
Thanks for coming. Be sure to leave us some comments like Coconut Migrating and let us know what you like, what you dislike, and what you think Jean and Locke are planning for Book 3 if you haven't read
JONATHAN (01:15:27.778)
I have a favor to ask you. If you like what we're doing, the simplest way to support the show is to hit subscribe. In return, we'll keep leveling up, we'll listen to your feedback, and read authors that you suggest. And of course, we'll take side quests along the way. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you on the next one.