Red Seas Under Red Skies - Read Along Week 3

Welcome the third week of Little Red Reviewer's read along of Red Seas Under Red Skies. This week's questions come from Ashley at SF Signal. So what do I think this time around as we get right into the meat of this story?

1. Locke and Jean's ability to find themselves at the center of a serious mess seems unparalleled. At this point, do you think that Stragos will get the return he expects on his investment in them?


I'm sure Stragos will get some sort of return from Locke and Jean, whether or not it's what he expects is another matter altogether. Locke and Jean despise people like Stragos and they hate being MADE to do anything. They'll find a way to double cross him, no matter what.
2. Merrain's activities after our boys leave Windward Rock are interesting. What do you think her plans are?


Merrain is a really interesting character. Does anyone else ship her and Selendri? Sorry, that just slipped out. I can just see those two teaming up and creating havoc. I don't think she's dissimilar from Sabetha, well what we know about her. As to what game she's playing, I've got nothing.
3. Does anyone know why having cats aboard the ship is so important?


It's a cool sea going superstition that was in this book. Sailors are notoriously superstitious both in the real world and in this book. Cats bring luck, plus they kill the rats that get aboard ships. Because of this book I associate cats with ships.
4. The word "mutiny" creates a lot of mental pictures. Were you surprised? Why or why not?


Not really. Okay I have read the book before, but I could see it coming a mile off, particularly when their guide died.
5. Ah, the Poison Orchid. So many surprises there, not the least of which were the captain's children. Did you find the young children a natural part of the story?


The kids are a plot device, they give Drakasha a softer side, otherwise she's all hard edges. They're pretty cute too, and I enjoy the interaction between them and the rest of the crew, especially Locke, who is a big kid himself really and seems to long for a proper familial relationship, probably because he never had one until he came to Chains.
6. Jean is developing more and more as a character as we get further in to the book. Ezri makes the comment to him that "Out here, the past is a currency, Jerome. Sometimes it's the only one we have." I think several interesting possibilities are coming into play regarding Jean and Ezri. What about you?


Oh yes, I adored Jean and Ezri together and how they bounced off each other. 
7. As we close down this week's reading, the Thorn of Camorr is back! I love it, even with all the conflict.  Several things from their Camorri background have come back up. Do you think we will see more Camorri characters?


I don't believe any more ghosts from Camorr will pop up. Red Seas Under Red Skies is very much it's own book and is as self contained as The Lies of Locke Lamora was, for that reason you don't want too many Camorr memories. It's a little like when they cast George Lazenby as James Bond and kept referencing Sean Connery's turn as the famous spy. Lazenby failed in part because he was never able to get out from under that shadow. If Lynch keeps referencing Camorr he'd be doing the same thing to Locke and Jean.