Retribution Falls
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Product Description
Review
Short-listed for the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Award
"If Robert Louis Stevenson and Patrick O'Brian had teamed up to write a rollicking fantasy, Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls would be the result. Pirates, sky-ships, and golems are just the trappings for a far-flung adventure of stunning imagination and brilliant craftsmanship. I've already booked passage for the next flight of the Ketty Jay...long may she sail!"
--James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Altar of Eden
"Beautifully crafted prose and some remarkably imaginative scenes ...and Wooding's sprawling, multifaceted world and rough-and-tumble action will delight steampunk fans." -"Publisher's Weekly, starred review
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""Retribution Falls" picks you up, whisks you swiftly and entertainingly along, and sets you down with a big smile on your face." -Joe Abercrombie, author of "The Last Argument of Kings
""A fast exhilarating read . . . the kind of old fashioned adventure I di
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
A fast, furious, tongue-in-cheek SF romp.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Retribution Falls is the first novel in The Tales of the Ketty Jay, which promises to be a series of semi-stand-alone novels set in the same world and focusing on the crew of the airship Ketty Jay and its crew of miscreants and scoundrels. If I had to provide a quick soundbite for this it would be Firefly meets Crimson Skies, with a dash of Locke Lamora sprinkled on top.
Darian Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, a battered old freighter which he keeps running by the skin of his teeth, by accepting jobs on the dubious side of the law and trying not to get into too much trouble. When Frey is offered the chance of a lifetime - an easy theft in return for a massive fortune - he overrides his common sense and accepts the job. When it goes hideously wrong and a lot of people die, Frey realises he has been set up, and must prove his innocence even though he and his crew are now Public Enemy #1. Frey's quest to redeem himself takes him and his crew through multiple aerial dogfights, double-crosses, high society soirees and lowlife gambling dens. At the same time we get to know his crew, from the troubled new navigator harbouring a dark secret to the former aristocrat-turned-demon-summoner to the alcoholic ship's surgeon to the powerful and dangerous metal thing they keep in the hold...
Occasionally a book comes along which takes the concept of fun and turns it up to 11. Retribution Falls is one such book. The story powers along at a relentless, page-turning pace. The characters are a diverse and fascinating bunch and Wooding uses skillful economy in getting into their backstories and motivations quickly and convincingly without bogging the story down in unnecessary detail. The world of Vardia is a fascinating one as well, with its diverse landmasses, the dark, forbidding storms that wrack the planet, and a wide range of cultures and people. There are certainly a tremendous number of concepts introduced in this book that aren't followed up on, leaving open a large number of possibilities for future adventures with this crew.
What makes the book refreshingly different from so many fantasies is the setting and tech-level. Airships are the primary method of transportation and the cavalry charges and duels of traditional epic fantasy are here replaced by frigate broadsides and intense dogfights. The technology of the airships and how they work is depicted convincingly, and the battles are great fun and a nice change of pace for a fantasy novel.
As I said before, the book is 'FUN' but at the same time it is not lightweight. Some of the characters are carrying real demons around with them and Wooding doesn't wimp out of some the bad things they've done or had done to them. There are also some genuinely unsettling moments (one flashback sequence to an arctic location is pretty disturbing, which is all the more impressive since we know the character involved survives), and hints of greater, darker threats out in the world which could come into play in later books.
Retribution Falls (*****) is an accomplished and enjoyable novel, and hopefully the start of many adventures for this crew. The novel will be published on 18 June 2009 in the UK in hardcover and tradeback, and the tradeback will be available in the USA via Amazon after that date as well.
Darian Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, a battered old freighter which he keeps running by the skin of his teeth, by accepting jobs on the dubious side of the law and trying not to get into too much trouble. When Frey is offered the chance of a lifetime - an easy theft in return for a massive fortune - he overrides his common sense and accepts the job. When it goes hideously wrong and a lot of people die, Frey realises he has been set up, and must prove his innocence even though he and his crew are now Public Enemy #1. Frey's quest to redeem himself takes him and his crew through multiple aerial dogfights, double-crosses, high society soirees and lowlife gambling dens. At the same time we get to know his crew, from the troubled new navigator harbouring a dark secret to the former aristocrat-turned-demon-summoner to the alcoholic ship's surgeon to the powerful and dangerous metal thing they keep in the hold...
Occasionally a book comes along which takes the concept of fun and turns it up to 11. Retribution Falls is one such book. The story powers along at a relentless, page-turning pace. The characters are a diverse and fascinating bunch and Wooding uses skillful economy in getting into their backstories and motivations quickly and convincingly without bogging the story down in unnecessary detail. The world of Vardia is a fascinating one as well, with its diverse landmasses, the dark, forbidding storms that wrack the planet, and a wide range of cultures and people. There are certainly a tremendous number of concepts introduced in this book that aren't followed up on, leaving open a large number of possibilities for future adventures with this crew.
What makes the book refreshingly different from so many fantasies is the setting and tech-level. Airships are the primary method of transportation and the cavalry charges and duels of traditional epic fantasy are here replaced by frigate broadsides and intense dogfights. The technology of the airships and how they work is depicted convincingly, and the battles are great fun and a nice change of pace for a fantasy novel.
As I said before, the book is 'FUN' but at the same time it is not lightweight. Some of the characters are carrying real demons around with them and Wooding doesn't wimp out of some the bad things they've done or had done to them. There are also some genuinely unsettling moments (one flashback sequence to an arctic location is pretty disturbing, which is all the more impressive since we know the character involved survives), and hints of greater, darker threats out in the world which could come into play in later books.
Retribution Falls (*****) is an accomplished and enjoyable novel, and hopefully the start of many adventures for this crew. The novel will be published on 18 June 2009 in the UK in hardcover and tradeback, and the tradeback will be available in the USA via Amazon after that date as well.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is pretty self contained as a story but the first thing I thought of on finishing it was, 'When is the next one coming out?' There's no way I'm finished with the intricate, loveable yet dysfunctional cast of characters, nor with the interesting world of airships and politics and pirates. As a totally entertaining, fast-paced novel that still manages to be thoughtful and very well written, Retribution Falls doesn't fall short in the slightest.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This a futuristic, wild west style mystery much like a caper/heist story with elements of WWII dog fight action thrown in. Fun and games all the way as a disparate gang of rogues set out to put right a wrong or two. With interesting back stories being related on the way and further mysteries still to be revealed you will immediately want to pick up the second volume in this series.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Get past Firefly and enjoy
Yes, like other reviewers I spent several chapters spluttering in outrage at the blatant similarities to Firefly, but persevered and ended up thoroughly enjoying this book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by K. Sawyer
unputdownable!
very enjoyable read and the follow-up books are just as good. Characters developed well in the second and the third books and Wooding has a pacy style. Read more
Published 5 months ago by jay
Fast paced, action packed, loved it
What is there not to love about this book? It's difficult to find another book to compare this too, to give you an idea what to expect, maybe think Star Wars crossed with Pirates... Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. Harding
Good idea, poor execution
I started reading Retribution Falls, but about halfway through I gave up. There are too many characters sketched far too shallowly making it difficult (or impossible) to... Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. Hartwell
A heck of a lot of fun!
I've always loved Chris Wooding's books ever since I first discovered his Broken Sky series in my local library as a child, and his works have just kept getting better and better. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Rebecca
secrets, spies and pirates ayes.
"Its a fantasy version of Firefly" said the friend who loaned me this. The style and setting feel undeniably familiar and I found that at first i was trying to superimpose firefly... Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. J. Ketchin
Restored my faith in 'Steampunk'!
I love the IDEA of steampunk, but for that past year almost everything I've read in the genre has felt dull or disappointing. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Scott
Rollicking good read
When I'm reading this series it's like Firefly meets Deathstalker, it's cracking good stuff that makes you laugh out loud with pleasure. Read more
Published 11 months ago by blackbour
retribution falls
A most enjoyable read. It was a mix of Firefly meets steam punk meets Indiana Jones
Darian Frey is the captain of a ship that doesn't quite operate within the law, he and his... Read more
Darian Frey is the captain of a ship that doesn't quite operate within the law, he and his... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Book Addict
good book.
a good book, the story is ok, kind of what you expect from the blurb; plenty of dodgy characters getting away with stuff by the skin of their teeth. Read more
Published 14 months ago by ross
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