The Iron Jackal [Paperback]

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.

Enjoyed Book one, loved book two and running out of Stars for book 3. If these keep improving the way they do, god only knows how I am going to put down book 4 when it comes out.

The strength of Woodings writing lies in his character development, as you slowly get to know more about the characters you fall in love with them all even more.

The Crew are starting to gel now, and it is good to see such strong bonds developing. Frey and Crake in particular are building a believable and solid friendship, and the crew as a whole is now one that knows that each member can rely on every other. Silo gets some strong development here, and Jez too grows as a character - starting to explore her Mane side. I am really enjoying seeing where she goes with this, and am intrigued to know how Wooding will continue this without her losing herself and going to far.

Malvery too has grown in this book - looking forward to seeing more of the heroic side of the doc.

The best part is all this character and development happens alongside a cracking story which keeps you hooked from start to finish. All I need now is a time machine so I don't have to wait for the next installment.

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.