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Shawn T. King (stk_kreations)
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging steampunk adventure from start to finish
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2018
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An engaging read from start to finish.
I've had this one on my list for quite a while, but after repeated recommendations from author Rob J. Hayes I finally jumped it up the TBR list, and oh boy am I glad I did. I was hooked from the very beginning, and it just kept getting better and better, pulling me further in with each piece of new information or backstory (all expertly placed throughout the story, creating a perfectly balanced reading experience).
Everything is very well thought out and entertaining, but the characters are the heart of this story. The opening scene immediately gives a glimpse at the main character's morals, or lack thereof, and from there you slowly watch him change throughout the novel, as well as getting backstories into the other prominent characters.
I especially liked Crane and his golem, Bess. There's a big Fullmetal Alchemist vibe with their storyline that really got to me.

If you enjoy terrifically thought-out characters who balance one another onboard a nearly broken-down airship, different but humanized races, pirates/sky pirates, demon-summoning and demon possessed artifacts, airship battles, corrupt religions (go figure, right?) then you'll love this one. Or if you're just a steampunk fan looking for something new and exciting, pick this one up today!
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Cover Review: Stephan Martiniere can do no wrong in my book when it comes to cover illustrations, and this one is no exception. Pictured front and center is the Ketty Jay, in all its not-so-special glory, but really cool nonetheless. It's docking in a pirate town/island (you'll find out) teeming with ramshackle architecture that contradicts the legends of this fabled town.

The design is pretty much non-existent so really nothing to judge there, but I will say there's a lot that could have been done with it.
And I'll also state I wish the covers would have continued on with Martiniere's art because the stock photo covers are poorly done, but they do have a much better design than what you see here.
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Jaci Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars Sky Pirates, interesting, flawed characters, and amazing world-building
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2017
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Captain Darian Frey "what a jerk" was my initial reaction toward the main protagonist in this fun steampunk fantasy set in a world of sky pirates, a cutthroat privileged class, and a nefarious religious sect. Although Frey deserved what he got in the beginning of the book his character arc throughout propelled him from jerk, to anti-hero, to a sympathetic rogue that you want to cheer for by the end of the book. If fact, all Wooding's characters - the entire rag-tag crew of the Ketty Jay, the jilted women Frey has wronged, and those that want to see Frey disposed of, are all interesting and well-written characters.

The main characters all are deeply flawed, with both positive and negative traits but Wooding has captured their essence in a way that creates three-dimensional characters that are interesting and worthwhile. He also feeds their backstories into the story in a way that keeps you flipping pages to find answers.

Wooding's world-building creates dynamic and entrancing settings, some of which were characters all on their own. As a visual reader, I appreciated his attention to detail and his descriptive nature when it came to his world-building as it ignited my senses and I was able to fully realize these places in my head. I could literally smell the stench of sweat, booze, mold, and sludge-filled water that was the town of Retribution Falls.

I also appreciated how character, towns, aircraft, objects, all had names that 'fit' with the steampunk environment - Century Knights, Delirium Trigger, ArchDuke, Hookhollows, Coalition Navy - everything just seemed to fit.

I have never read anything quite like this and have never seen Firefly (which apparently this is representative of), so therefore have no preconceptions or any reference base on which to base my review. Therefore, I will just say that I really enjoyed this book, it was a fun, exciting, and entertaining read that got better as it went along and ended up satisfying both my curiosity and my love of immersing myself in a book that provides an 'other' world escape.

If you are looking for something different, or enjoy a book filled with characters that seemingly only have bad luck (deserved or not), then I highly recommend Retribution Falls. I will definitely be continuing on with the series!
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Kimberly Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun speculative fiction with engaging fully fleshed out characters and an exciting world with a unique magic system
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2015
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I really enjoyed Retribution Falls. After watching Firefly (again) and bemoaning the end of the series, I went out in search of what to watch or read next and this was suggested. I have to say that while it is very similar, the crew of the Ketty Jay are their own unique characters with a completely new universe I found very fun to follow. As I usually follow Romance I was a bit disappointed by the Captain's initial blase attitude towards women. With that said by the end he has developed more fully into a 3 dimensional character with a great arch and a promise of something more to come between him and one of his past flames, who is a character of complexity I'm looking forward to diving into more. Everyone on the boat had their own stories and reasons for riding with the rest of the crew that helped the plot to become a very in depth read. I also really enjoyed the unique aspect of the world building and the magic system. I felt that at times the battle scenes or the descriptions of the boats technical aspect slowed down the plot a bit but perhaps it is because I am just not into those things in my reading on a normal day. Overall I would highly recommend this to any speculative fiction fan, and especially a great read for Fire Fly fans. I can't wait to pick up the next chapter in this saga.
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Seth
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging fantasy oriented Steampunk
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2018
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I generally prefer Steampunk that is more along the lines of scifi, where the world is technology based. These however are unfortunately very rare in the genre. This book, like most in the genre, is more fantasy oriented.
That said, unlike many Steampunk books, the characters and the action plot line were engaging enough for me to be interested, and even to order the second book in the series.
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Rob Ash
5.0 out of 5 stars This will definitely swash you buckle!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2021
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You know those days when you're just sick of the world and everything about it? Those days when you decide you're just going to hide from everything and everyone? When you lock the front door, take the phone off the hook and turn off your mobile, grab all the ice cream and chocolate in the house, open that stashed bottle of expensive wine held back for that special occasion with that special someone, slob out in nothing but a pair of boxers and those holy socks that should have gone in the bin years ago, put on that old '80's action movie you know is now considered utter rubbish but you still absolutely love, settle back on the sofa, blast out the volume and not give a shit about anything for the rest of the day? Well, think about how good all of that ends up making you feel, before you puke after eating all that crap of course, and that's the feeling this book will give you without having to go through all that trouble.

This book actually opened my eyes, simply because I didn't realise these kinds of books were out there. You can just switch off your brain, read and enjoy. Basically this is trying to be nothing more than a ripping good yarn. And it was exactly what I needed. There is no work involved with this book, everything unfolds as you read, it's not necessary to store away all those nadgery little bits of detail you usually have to put into place towards the end of a novel. Here you're told everything as you need it. Even the chapters are constructed to make things easy for the reader, all similarly short and self-contained, making it perfect to dive into for just minutes at a time if your life's a bit hectic, a bit like a thirty-nine episode TV series.

This is by no means a put-down. On the contrary, this book is wonderful, filled with incredible imagination. Yes, ok, Wooding is obviously a fan of the Firefly TV series and had borrowed heavily from that, but to be honest I really didn't care about that. In fact, it helped me feel familiar and comfortable in this world right from the start. I think I was about five chapters into Retribution Falls when I put the book down just long enough to go and buy the next three books in the series.

This book is a fantastic rarity: pure unadulterated fun with no strings attached. Fabulous!
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K Cabot
4.0 out of 5 stars Sky pirate fun!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2016
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Well that was a lot of fun!

I really enjoyed the story and the way the characters were developed, with their back stories coming throughout the book. Frey is someone you love to hate, but I think he makes a good main character. I think it's interesting that most of the characters were ones that you don't really *want* to like e.g. Crake, Malvery, Frey... they've all got horrid stuff going on in their pasts. However throughout the story you end up rooting for them, you don't want them to die, you're mourning their losses, you're cheering with them.

I gave it 4 stars (probably more like 4.5) instead of 5 just because at times I felt it was a *little* bit clunky and there were parts where I felt it was just a tad too "simple".

I would definitely like to see what happens later in the series, as I hear the next ones are even better!
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Slow Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous fun!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2011
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Took me a good while to read this one, not because it was hard going, but I just couldn't read it consistently until Christmas where I actually had some time to myself.

Retribution Falls is best described as a steampunk, sky pirate adventure in the simplest terms. It's both a character-driven and plot-driven story of treachery, thieving, action and often poignant self-discovery. Darian Frey is te captain of the freebooter vessel the Ketty Jay, leading a ragtag bunch of crew members with their own history from one job to the next, as well as getting drunk regularly and gambling away most of the paltry sums of money he makes. One day he is offered a job he can't refuse, but suddenly he and his crew become embroiled in a dangerous political conspiracy, and he struggles to clear his name.

Everything in this story is presented with clarity and sharp humour that never ceases to entertain. The story is well-worn archetype, but it is very well played out and always interesting - each of the characters in the crew have their own story, and throughout the course of the book we learn their secrets, why they do what they do, and how they evolve as people by the end. The various plot threads are very tightly knit together, with the odd sly metaphor slipped in for good measure. The chapters are generally quite short, which is good news for someone like myself.

Wooding's steampunk-influenced future is well realised without wallowing too much in Tolkien-esque over-description, yet providing enough scientific matter to allow you to picture the technologies involved in flying the great airships of the world.

Some have said that this book is slightly misogynistic and I suppose it is to a degree, as most of the female characters are whores, or mistreated by Frey and then almost forgotten about. This is not a reflection on Wooding though, as I believe he is merely trying to portray a certain world we can identify with pirates, and by the end Frey does mention his regret for mistreating certain female people. To be fair, throughout the course of the book the men don't seem any better than the women, and often the character of Jez whips the boys into action.

Overall very readable, very fun, and very fast paced with few misgivings.

9/10
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F Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun - pirates, swashbuckling adventure and a touch of magic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2010
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I like two kinds of books - those which are thought provoking and provide a more challenging read, and those which are pure enjoyment and escapism - and Retribution Falls definitely falls into the latter category (which is no criticism). This tale of piracy and fantasy is written with a light touch and I loved every minute of it. Although the narrative races through the action there is plenty of room for character development, particularly in the selfish and mordant captain Frey who has to learn that the Ketty Jay needs more than just a captain and that her crew is something beyond a collection of desperate, alcohol-soaked runaways (although they are that too). There are moments of hilarity and poignancy and none of these characters are straightforward types - there is more to learn about all of them. The story may not be overly complex but Wooding handles it well and while as some of the characters' personal stories are being revealed I could predict how there were going to work, out this in no way ruined my enjoyment. The magic element (Crake's daemonology) had just the right balance of problem solving and fallibility, and doesn't overtake the other story elements. This is primarly a swashbuckling adventure with a disreputable bunch who use whatever means at their disposal to survive. All in all, a highly enjoyable romp with a murky edge and I look forward to sailing through the skies with the Ketty Jay in the next instalment.
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T. Moss
5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure and skullduggery on the high, errr.... winds.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2010
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Retribution Falls is set in a pseudo Victorian era world where high tech is mechanical rather than electronic, and humanity has taken to the air rather than the seas. It is a breathless tale about the adventures of a disparate crew of freebooters and buccaneers aboard a crumbly old (air)ship.

What is unusual is that character development takes place throughout the novel, the author regaling back-stories at strategic points and one begins feeling somewhat disjointed from the characters initially, which is only a minor criticism since once development occurs, the reader quickly warms to the varied rag-tag of crew. Once in gear, the book rattles along at a fierce pace. This is one of those books where you are looking forward to the next opportunity to read what is going to happen next.

Chris Wooding has clearly imagineered this whole world and society with impressive detail and I have a sense that he has carefully researched the differences in this society that would inevitably occur if human technology had taken such a different path earlier on. He writes very well in terms of prose and the coherence of the plot. I can tell that he has carefully planned the story and this gives a rounded and very satisfying conclusion, which is unlike so many contemporary horror/sci-fi/fantasy writers who seems to all be writing to a deadline and end stories with dissatisfying whimpers or cliffhangers.

So altogether, it is a hugely enjoyable, well-realised adventure that crackles with rich invention and imagination. In fact the only other criticism I would have is that the world is so rich and well-imagined that it takes time for your mind to absorb this unusual yet familiar place. 4.5 stars out of 5.
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