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Book Description
A big slice of non-stop, action-packed, wise-cracking fun from the Ketty Jay, and Captain Darien Frey.
Product Description
Things are finally looking good for Captain Frey and his crew. The Ketty Jay has been fixed up good as new. They've got their first taste of fortune and fame. And, just for once, nobody is trying to kill them. Even Trinica Dracken, Frey's ex-fiancee and long-time nemesis, has given up her quest for revenge. In fact, she's offered them a job - one that will take them deep into the desert heart of Samarla, the land of their ancient enemies. To a place where the secrets of the past lie in wait for the unwary. Secrets that might very well cost Frey everything. Join the crew of the Ketty Jay on their greatest adventure yet: a story of mayhem and mischief, roof-top chases and death-defying races, murderous daemons, psychopathic golems and a particularly cranky cat. The first time was to clear his name. The second time was for money. This time, Frey's in a race against the clock for the ultimate prize: to save his own life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
You know you're gonna have a real good time with a book when it opens with a chase, then has a robbery and then spends the rest of the story trying to `correct' the aforementioned robbery. This is the third adventure featuring the rag tag crew from the Ketty Jay and this is by far the most enjoyable. So enjoyable that I literally didn't want to put it down and really thought about pulling a `sickie' just so I could keep reading it.
The second novel, The Black Lung Captain, was a more serious book I found and although terrific it's wonderful having a much more `caper' like adventure for the crew this time around. Having some darker more serious elements work well within this series but when it gets a bit too serious it never feels right to me. There are some fantastic action scenes littered throughout the novel, all bursting with excitement and plenty of bickering between the crew members, which is just what we're after from a Ketty Jay novel afterall. Chris Wooding has been very careful throughout the novels in slowly revealing previous unknown elements of the characters pasts so over the serious we are gradually building more and more of a rounded picture of our favourites. Outside of all the action and adventure I must confess that this is one of my favourite elements in this series as it's much more entertaining to slowly get to know a character over a period of stories then get to know everything about them in a paragraph, that would just be lazy and Wooding is in no way a lazy writer. In this novel it's the character of Silo, the Murthian, who reveals more of his history than ever before, although small snippets were hinted at in the previous books, and he's gone from being a strong silent type to someone much deeper.
Wooding is also really, really good at endings. Each of the Ketty Jay novels has ended perfectly and this is no exception. We get closure to this adventure but enough loose ends are there to be expanded on in further adventures with a few things possibly foreshadowing the next book yet at the same time being a perfect place to end the series if he so chose.
The second novel, The Black Lung Captain, was a more serious book I found and although terrific it's wonderful having a much more `caper' like adventure for the crew this time around. Having some darker more serious elements work well within this series but when it gets a bit too serious it never feels right to me. There are some fantastic action scenes littered throughout the novel, all bursting with excitement and plenty of bickering between the crew members, which is just what we're after from a Ketty Jay novel afterall. Chris Wooding has been very careful throughout the novels in slowly revealing previous unknown elements of the characters pasts so over the serious we are gradually building more and more of a rounded picture of our favourites. Outside of all the action and adventure I must confess that this is one of my favourite elements in this series as it's much more entertaining to slowly get to know a character over a period of stories then get to know everything about them in a paragraph, that would just be lazy and Wooding is in no way a lazy writer. In this novel it's the character of Silo, the Murthian, who reveals more of his history than ever before, although small snippets were hinted at in the previous books, and he's gone from being a strong silent type to someone much deeper.
Wooding is also really, really good at endings. Each of the Ketty Jay novels has ended perfectly and this is no exception. We get closure to this adventure but enough loose ends are there to be expanded on in further adventures with a few things possibly foreshadowing the next book yet at the same time being a perfect place to end the series if he so chose.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Iron Jackal is the third book in Chris Wooding's 'Tales of the Ketty Jay' series, following Retribution Falls: Tales of the Ketty Jay (Tales of the Ketty Jay 1) and The Black Lung Captain: Tales of the Ketty Jay. If you haven't read either of the previous novels I would highly recommend tackling them both before picking up this third adventure. Not only are they both great reads, its also important to understand past events to put those in the Iron Jackal into their proper context.
After the sublime 'Black Lung Captain' I was worried that The Iron Jackal might be a let-down. It turns out those worries were unfounded. Whilst it doesn't quite hit the heights of its predecessor, this is another highly entertaining addition to the series that also succeeds in further broadening out the world in which the Ketty Jay and her crew exist.
The book offers the usual solid mix of character development, world building and an exciting, stand-alone plot. The latter kicks off when the crew of the Ketty Jay are hired to purloin an ancient relic from the Sammies and Captain Frey ends up under the threat of a deathly curse. What follows is a breathless mix of museum robberies, prison breaks, air races, desert chases, subterranean monsters and robot battles as the Ketty Jay crew attempt to lift the curse whilst staying alive.
Along the way we learn more about what makes Silo the taciturn engineer tick, Both Frey's and the daemonist Crake's romantic relationships go through various ups and (mostly) downs, Jez continues to come to terms with what she has become and Doc Malvery considers his future.
At the same time we get a better understanding of the world they live in. We see Sammie society up close, for example, with its unpleasant caste system. We also get a greater understanding of the technologies that underpin the world and their possible origins. What had previously appeared to be a pseudo-Ruritanian set-up of Archdukes, guilds, nobles and villains, albeit one with airships, is revealed to be a place with electricity, automobiles and trains, deserts and jungles and lost hyper-advanced civilisations. Its a testament to Wooding's skills as a writer that all these concepts cohabit so happily and don't overcrowd the plot.
There is the odd mis-step along the way. An air-race episode feels both rather superfluous and somewhat reminiscent of a very similar sequence from the Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace (although thankfully without any irritating children present). Its presence feels almost as if Wooding has one eye on a possible screen adaptation and wanted to include an extra action sequence to help sell the idea. The episode certainly feels very cinematic but doesn't work particularly well on the page and serves no real purpose in terms of the overall plot.
Apart from that and a finale that feels a little too OTT at times (and again is strangely and vaguely reminiscent of the dénouement of The Mummy Returns [DVD]) there's not much I can fault The Iron Jackal for. It certainly maintains the series high standards and sets up the next Ketty Jay adventure nicely. I will look forward eagerly to finding out where Frey, Crake, Silo, Malvery and the rest end up next.
After the sublime 'Black Lung Captain' I was worried that The Iron Jackal might be a let-down. It turns out those worries were unfounded. Whilst it doesn't quite hit the heights of its predecessor, this is another highly entertaining addition to the series that also succeeds in further broadening out the world in which the Ketty Jay and her crew exist.
The book offers the usual solid mix of character development, world building and an exciting, stand-alone plot. The latter kicks off when the crew of the Ketty Jay are hired to purloin an ancient relic from the Sammies and Captain Frey ends up under the threat of a deathly curse. What follows is a breathless mix of museum robberies, prison breaks, air races, desert chases, subterranean monsters and robot battles as the Ketty Jay crew attempt to lift the curse whilst staying alive.
Along the way we learn more about what makes Silo the taciturn engineer tick, Both Frey's and the daemonist Crake's romantic relationships go through various ups and (mostly) downs, Jez continues to come to terms with what she has become and Doc Malvery considers his future.
At the same time we get a better understanding of the world they live in. We see Sammie society up close, for example, with its unpleasant caste system. We also get a greater understanding of the technologies that underpin the world and their possible origins. What had previously appeared to be a pseudo-Ruritanian set-up of Archdukes, guilds, nobles and villains, albeit one with airships, is revealed to be a place with electricity, automobiles and trains, deserts and jungles and lost hyper-advanced civilisations. Its a testament to Wooding's skills as a writer that all these concepts cohabit so happily and don't overcrowd the plot.
There is the odd mis-step along the way. An air-race episode feels both rather superfluous and somewhat reminiscent of a very similar sequence from the Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace (although thankfully without any irritating children present). Its presence feels almost as if Wooding has one eye on a possible screen adaptation and wanted to include an extra action sequence to help sell the idea. The episode certainly feels very cinematic but doesn't work particularly well on the page and serves no real purpose in terms of the overall plot.
Apart from that and a finale that feels a little too OTT at times (and again is strangely and vaguely reminiscent of the dénouement of The Mummy Returns [DVD]) there's not much I can fault The Iron Jackal for. It certainly maintains the series high standards and sets up the next Ketty Jay adventure nicely. I will look forward eagerly to finding out where Frey, Crake, Silo, Malvery and the rest end up next.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The third book in the Ketty Jay series and one that for me, really has finally won me over with this series as I didn't enjoy the first book, the second grew on me and now the third really took it to somewhere new in a Steampunk version of Firefly. It's witty; it has a great cast who gel and play from each other throughout which when added to the authors writing style, it keeps it moving at its own pace.
Add to this decent prose, a good overall arc with hidden agendas and it's a story that will keep you reading from start to finish. Great stuff.
Add to this decent prose, a good overall arc with hidden agendas and it's a story that will keep you reading from start to finish. Great stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Awesome!
This is the 3rd outing for the Ketty Jay and it really doesn't disappoint. You could quite easily compare this series to Firefly, but it's so much more. Read more
Published 1 day ago by sassbook
Superb!
This is easily the best in the series of tales featuring Captain Frey and the crew so far. And the first two were fantastic so that's saying something. I loved it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by DJ Rockula
Fantasy entertainment at its best
Book 3 in the ketty Jay series maintains the fast-paced thrills, laughs, action and loveable characters that are the hallmarks of the series so far. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Neil J. Pearson
It keeps getting better
The Ketty Jay series has been getting continuously better since the first book. It's great to see some serious character development happening among all those extremely fun fights;... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dr. Egor Kraev
Let the fun commence ...
Some time ago I posted a review of Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls, the first in his A Tale of the Ketty Jay series. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr H - Book Zone (For Boys) Blog
Great Book
Written in the same fashion as the first two (although probably not necessary to have read either of them before starting this one) the novel is quick paced, entertaining, at times... Read more
Published 5 months ago by tom
Third adventure keeps up the standard
Again it is hard not to mention similarities between the adventures of the Ketty Jay and the much missed TV series Firefly. Read more
Published 5 months ago by N. Brett
Savouring every page
this does not disappoint. I was hooked halfway through book one and book two rocked. Book three see's greater character development of the rest of the crew and I'm only halfway... Read more
Published 6 months ago by S. Eaton
Curse of the Mummy meets the Air Pirates
The colorful crew of the Ketty Jay is back for a third installment of the tale named The Iron Jackal. Read more
Published 6 months ago by cybermage.se
Action packed, funny as hell and gentle
I had this book on pre-order from the moment I saw it on Amazon. I've read both his prior novels in the Ketty Jay series and both were simply brilliant. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Theodore Stauffer
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