Retribution Falls

March 7, 2011
This slow-moving but inventive series starter from steampunk author Wooding (The Fade) introduces Darian Frey, captain of the Ketty Jay, and a varied gang of smalltime freebooters. When a routine heist goes horribly wrong, Frey is charged with murder and piracy and must flee from the authorities (and an old flame out for revenge). To make matters worse, Frey's crew owes him no loyalty; he's the captain only because he owns their aerium-fueled aircraft. It's up to Frey to keep them together long enough to figure out who set them up—and why. As their secrets gradually emerge, the characters grow in depth and complexity, especially Crake, the angst-ridden daemonist, and Jez, the taciturn navigator. Beautifully crafted prose and some remarkably imaginative scenes prop up the sluggish plot, and Wooding's sprawling, multifaceted world and rough-and-tumble action will delight steampunk fans.

February 1, 2011

Popular British YA author Wooding (Havoc, 2010, etc.) makes his adult debut with this rollicking, picaresque steampunk fantasy.

On an unnamed but seemingly boundless planet populated chiefly by aristocrats and outcasts—piracy is a popular career choice, perhaps because there's nothing much else to do—Darian Frey is the captain and proud owner of the flying machine Ketty Jay. Such machines fly by the power of a magical gas and feature advanced explosive weapons, yet they don't even have radio. Some devices are powered by demons. If you can swallow all that, read on. The piratical Frey cares only for himself and his ship; his crew are the usual motley bunch of endearing rascals—a reckless pilot, a cowardly pilot, the requisite alcoholic doctor, a "daemonist" and his golem, a taciturn escaped slave and an undead navigator with developing superpowers—though all have well-developed histories. Frey, looking for easy money, accepts a dubious commission to hijack a valuable cargo. Naturally it all goes horribly wrong, Frey finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy, and both sides want him dead. There's plenty of action, derring-do, double-crossing, trickery and gore, though the human settlements the ship drifts through are uniformly drab, tawdry and depressing. The characters grow in the telling. Too bad the whole thing bears such an uncomfortable resemblance to the short-lived but well-regarded TV series Firefly.

Presumably Wooding's past and present YA fans will wish to step up; otherwise, only for readers who don't have a skeptical bone in their bodies.

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March 15, 2011

Darian Frey, captain of the airship Ketty Jay and commander of a dysfunctional crew that specializes in running contraband, smuggling, and other illicit activities, accepts a job that goes awry and results in the pursuit of his ship and crew by the Coalition Navy. Dodging enemies on both sides of the law, the Ketty Jay sets out in search of the legendary haven of Retribution Falls, where the crew hopes to recuperate and, ultimately, prove their innocence, at least regarding their current predicament. YA author Wooding ("Broken Sky" series; The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray) presents his first adult fantasy, a sky pirate adventure that features quirky characters--including a mechanical golem and a bad-tempered cat--witty dialog, and enough fast-paced action to please fans of swashbuckler fantasy. VERDICT Intended as light fantasy with an emphasis on air tactics and swordplay, this should appeal to fans of action-based fantasy.

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