I liked Locke meeting Vorchenza and punching her in the nose to get his antidote and then climbing out the window to escape. It felt properly dramatic and seat-of-his-pants-ish. The Falconer does indeed show off his Evil Overlord credentials a bit too much, though in his defense he's used to not having to worry about anyone ever hurting him, both because of his powers and because of the threat of bondsmagi retribution. I liked that Locke's first name is fake too, and I got some vicarious joy out of seeing the Falconer given a taste of his own medicine. I disliked him enough that what they did felt satisfying, even knowing that it's going to come back to haunt them. I hope Locke and Jean get to take down Karthain at some point.

However, rushed endings seem to be a problem that Lynch suffers from — it's an issue in Red Seas as well. I would have much preferred if Locke and Jean had defeated the Falconer and the Grey King using their smarts and some clever plan, rather than getting ridiculously lucky with the one and duking it out with the other.

Locke tricking Vorchenza into sinking the plague ship with all his gold aboard it, both to foil the Grey King and as a death offering for the dead members of his crew, was good, I thought, but you're right that everything surrounding it is less than stellar. He just escaped from the tower, so having him rush back to save the nobility felt off. I don't mean that Locke wouldn't do that, just that it feels off in terms of pacing and plot structure, a too-quick return to place that was already dealth with. And then Locke defeating the Grey King because of his previously established trick with Jean. I was entertained by all of this the first time around, but this time it didn't work as well and I wanted, like you said, more of the audacious scheming by characters who are cleverer than anyone else.

Here's a question. Does anyone think that Locke's parentage might be important at some point? He's hidden his true name from everyone but Jean. Is it just because it's a dumb name, or is it something that people would recognize? He told Chains that he was named Locke after his father, which might be a clue if his father's name has something to do with Locke or locks or similar. But I don't remember if we were told any names in the story that we might be able to connect with this.

It might be one of those things where Lynch is giving himself the opportunity to do it the usual way (ie, here's the main character of mysterious parentage whose ancestry will become important later on), but then will make that aspect completely unimportant and never bring it up again just to buck convention. Or it might be that he really is setting something up for the future. It's hard to say at this point.

Overall I would say that it's an emotionally satisfying book, especially on a first read, but on a re-read it reveals itself to be mentally unsatisfying once it loses its unexpectedness. But I still love Locke and Jean as characters, and can't wait to see what they get up to next.