The Iron Jackal (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #3)

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The Iron Jackal (Tales of the Ketty Jay #3)

by Chris Wooding

4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 · rating details · 575 ratings · 71 reviews

Hardcover, 480 pages

Published October 20th 2011 by Gollancz

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Feb 11, 2012 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012, e-books

5 Stars

Yeeeeehhhhaaaaaawwww! This is a steampunk jaunt that is not stop action, chasing, shooting, and firing off witty dialogue. I have loved the Tales of the Ketty Jay and have now given each of Chris Wooding's novels 5 stars. These are freaking fun steampunk novels with a science fiction and old west twist. Yes, just like Firefly, only with dirigibles instead of space ships. These are character novels as much as they are action. Now, three novels into the series, it is hard not to love all of...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Chance Maree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steam-punk, science-fiction

Yum. I've had my Firefly fix.

description

The fun continues. (view spoiler) Good romp and a good read for snappy dialogue, well-written action scenes, and exciting adventure.

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Aug 19, 2012 Tim Chaplin rated it 5 of 5 stars

For once everything seems to be going right for Captain Frey and the crew of the Ketty Jay. They have found new fame and fortune and Frey seems to be having a temporary truce with his ex-fiancee and nemesis Trinica Dracken. Trinica has given them a job to the planet of Samaria; the land of their ancient enemies and ancient secrets in the heart of the desert. But the good times cannot last.

Things start going awry when Frey recovers an ancient relic that brings that proves to be a danger to his li...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Darren Hartwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Some time ago I posted a review of Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls, the first in his A Tale of the Ketty Jay series. Although written for the adult market and released through Orion's SFF imprint Gollancz, the publishers have noticed that it had been gaining a lot of interest from teen readers, and that first book is soon to be re-released under Orions YA imprint, Indigo. I really enjoyed Retribution Falls, and on finishing it I rushed out to buy the sequel, The Black Lung Captain, a book I fe...more Some time ago I posted a review of Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls, the first in his A Tale of the Ketty Jay series. Although written for the adult market and released through Orion's SFF imprint Gollancz, the publishers have noticed that it had been gaining a lot of interest from teen readers, and that first book is soon to be re-released under Orions YA imprint, Indigo. I really enjoyed Retribution Falls, and on finishing it I rushed out to buy the sequel, The Black Lung Captain, a book I felt was even better than its predecessor. Imagine then my delight when I received a copy of the third book, The Iron Jackal. I almost dropped everything to read it, but I had a few other reading commitments and so I decided to save it for when I was a little less busy so I could fully savour the story.

Please believe me when I say that having read it, I will definitely be dropping everything to read book four whenever it is released. From my previous reviews you may already know that I do not read a great deal of SFF, and even less for the adult market, but this is one series that has fast become one of my favourites, and The Iron Jackal is by far the best in the series so far. The first two books were fun, but by necessity time was spent introducing the characters (in book one) and developing the world building (a weakness of book one, but much improved in book two). Now that these two essential elements are ticked off it is almost as if Chris Wooding has announced "And now let the real fun commence!".

I seem to remember reading a few reviews of Retribution Falls where the reviewer suggested that the characters were not very well developed. Chris Wooding has certainly answered those critics in the subsequent two books. And the same goes for the world building. Quite often I had found adult SFF too hard going because the author has felt compelled to deliver fully three dimensional characters, including back story, or spend pages going over the minutiae of the world he has created, including lengthy passages about its history and politics. In this series Chris Wooding has chosen to do this over the series, and so in each new book we have found out a little bit more about the world, and more and more of the secrets that the crew of the Ketty Jay have been keeping secret have been revealed. Where Retribution Falls was all about Darian Frey, and the second book took a big focus on the development of Jez and Crake, this book sees us really get to know the mysterious and brooding Silo much better.

The passages of the book that deal with fleshing out these characters also make the pacing of the story that bit more exquisite. Chris Wooding is now a master at writing action scenes that have you reaching to strap yourself in with that metaphorical seatbelt, and there are even more in The Iron Jackal than in his previous books, but the story would become boring if we didn't have these calmer, more introspective moments between them.

All of the books in this series have been fun, but as I suggested earlier this one really goes for it in the fun stakes. The banter between the various members of the crew, who over the course of the previous two books have developed a very special bond, is superbly written, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, and now that we know them so well we can start to predict (in a good way) how one might react to the actions or verbal snipes of another. The plot this time is also great fun, starting off with a daring heist which soon turns in to a traditional hunt for long-lost treasure. Of course, this wouldn't be a Ketty Jay story without that 'comedy of errors' undercurrent, where everything Frey does just seems to get him and his crew even further up the creek without a paddle.

As I said before, this is a series written for the adult market, but soon to be targeted at teens. There is therefore a small degree of bad language, but also a huge body count: the crew of the Ketty Jay seem to kill quite a few people along their way, although invariably in self-defence. Teen boys will totally love this, but unlike most of the books I feature on here it isn't suitable for younger readers.

I do not have any news as to when the fourth book will be published, but it is certainly one I will be craving over the next year. Chris Wooding ends The Iron Jackal perfectly, but he also raises a number of questions that still need answering, and the events in this book are suggesting that very soon the brown stuff could be hitting the fan in large quantities, not only for Frey and his crew but also for everyone else in Vardia and Samarla. I can't wait!(less)

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Dec 24, 2011 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book Three of Chris’ bucklepunk series, and things are settling down nicely. After the events of The Black Lung Captain, Darian Frey, captain of the good spaceship Ketty Jay, has been hired by his ex-fiancee, Trinicia Dracken, to retrieve and help offload a valuable artefact from a train.

Things are actually looking up for Frey. His crew have not killed each other, despite chances to do so, and he’s in employment. The Jay’s been refitted and holding together quite nicely, for a change. Such good...more Book Three of Chris’ bucklepunk series, and things are settling down nicely. After the events of The Black Lung Captain, Darian Frey, captain of the good spaceship Ketty Jay, has been hired by his ex-fiancee, Trinicia Dracken, to retrieve and help offload a valuable artefact from a train.

Things are actually looking up for Frey. His crew have not killed each other, despite chances to do so, and he’s in employment. The Jay’s been refitted and holding together quite nicely, for a change. Such good fortunes clearly cannot last - and they don’t.

Hitting the ground running, there’s a bar shootout and a breathless chase across the rooftops of Shasiith, all in the first few pages, the pace is as frenetic as we’ve come to expect.

The heist occurs, though it is unexpectedly messier than anticipated. The artefact is taken and foolishly taken out of its transport case by Darian. A two-bladed sword, the object stabs Darian’s hand and gives him a ‘black spot’, something that, it is told, will kill him. As the tale unfolds, things get complicated for Darian and this has consequences for his motley crew.

If I had any complaints this time around, and I am struggling a little, really, it’s that this time around, more so than at any time previous, I’m noticing the joins a little more. The train heist is reminiscent of the Firefly TV episode The Train Job, the roof chase Jason Bourne, the Thief of Baghdad or Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It’s very well done, it’s clearly an homage, yet unlike previous books in the series, in places I’m getting that feeling of ‘been here before’. Though some of the events here are pretty much telegraphed before they happen, it’s like watching the inevitability of a car crash that keeps you reading.

However, I quibble. What is the strength here is the great characterisation and the sparkling dialogue that characters seem to generate without effort. We have some issues amongst the crew resolved, some closure on events of the past and a new crew member who seems to settle in pretty well, and the others are there in their typically sniping best. We also have another great ‘Bess moment’, my favourite character. As we are now starting to get to know the characters of Chris’s universe more, this allows a little more subtlety than I was expecting. In the end what we see is that despite all their arguing, fighting and disagreements, at the finish the crew of the Ketty Jay stand for each other and are the stronger for it.

This is another winner, and clearly fans of the series are not going to be disappointed.

(less)

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Mar 21, 2013 Algernon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

I wouldn't dare to give this anything less than five stars, or Captain Frey would come to mortify me with his demonic cutlass. Oh, and please don't tell him that 'mortify' doesn't mean killing, or that 'narcissist' doesn't mean good looking.

Darian Frey middle name should be 'Trouble' and when the opening chapter contains 'a needless gunfight' , a lot of kicks in the face, a chase around rooftops followed of course by a fall from said rooftops, the reader knows it could only get worse from here,...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Ove rated it 5 of 5 stars

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. Captain Frey is famous after the happenings in book two and although he enjoys the advantage it gives with the ladies it makes it hard to fly under the radar as an air pirate.

The series is best described as retro futuristic steampunk about the competent but unlucky crew of the airship Ketty Jay. They usually get involved in some money making scheme that un...more 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. Captain Frey is famous after the happenings in book two and although he enjoys the advantage it gives with the ladies it makes it hard to fly under the radar as an air pirate.

The series is best described as retro futuristic steampunk about the competent but unlucky crew of the airship Ketty Jay. They usually get involved in some money making scheme that unfolds in unexpected ways with great repercussions in the world around them. Lately they uncovered secrets about a cult that threatens to throw the country into civil war. The story usually has multiple main characters but the cast is limited and the focus is mainly on one or two in each book, which I like.

This time the caper goes off as planed but giving Frey a mysterious box and tell him not to open it might not be the smartest thing. You can probably figure where things head after that.

Frey’s charming maybe-affair with the deadly Trinica continues to unfold with many ups and downs. He is totally clueless in a way I enjoy to read and I say that as a man. Frey continues his development from selfish narcissist towards something more human in this novel. I really like the characters Chris Wooding has made. This time Frey and one of the pilots gets more room to develop.

Jez the half-mane is my favorite character. I have a soft spot for female protagonist with exotic powers which is especially true this time as Jez does a River Tam on the opposition at one time. You Firefly lovers will know what I mean when you read it the rest should go see Firefly and then read the book. It has a lot in common with the Tales of the Ketty Jay. Jez is not as prominent here as before but there are interesting developments for her too.

The best words to describe The Iron Jackal are Curse of the Mummy meets the Air Pirates. It is a fun action filled romp I greatly enjoyed. Chris you have made it again and I love your new book!(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Simon Ford rated it 5 of 5 stars

DISAPPOINTED!

Disappointed that I have finished a marvelous trilogy, I will miss the aerium fueled air battles, the (not always) booze fueled bar fights, the bickering between the crew, and Dariens seemingly unerring ability to attract trouble wherever he goes.

He may have started out as an orphan but with the crew now under his command, and I use the term in its loosest sense, Darien has a family that he cares about and the feeling is reciprocated by the crew.

Each book played out like an action m...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Nick Brett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Again it is hard not to mention similarities between the adventures of the Ketty Jay and the much missed TV series Firefly. A diverse group of misfits that together make a “whole” as the crew of the KJ, and the crew have real characters, agendas, frustrations and even the humour feels like genuine banter. This is the third in an excellent series and we grow with the characters and learn more about them, in this we find out about Silo’s background.

The Iron Jackal refers to a daemon that starts to...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Being on board the Ketty Jay is kinda like being on board a steampunk Serenity. The ragtag crew will draw you in, the crazy-ass adventure will have you cheering and the tongue-in-cheek humor will leave you cackling to yourself on the subway where people will nervously scurry away from you. That applies to all 3 books in the series but I have to say this 3rd one is a gem. The 2nd was a little too repetitive in the motifs, characters and locales it used but the third time's the charm! The Iron Jac...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

On form and thoroughly entertaining, this third entry into Chris Wooding's 'Tales of the Ketty Jay' series shows all the hallmarks of it's predecessors. Well drawn, engaging characters set on a racing plot full of action and intrigue as Captain Darian Frey and his ragtag crew seek to lift an ancient demonic curse. Along the way Wooding introduces more detail to his setting, expanding on the politics of his created world, showing some good character development throughout the Ketty Jay crew and i...more

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Nov 17, 2011 William rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure I'd say that the Iron Jackal is necessarily the best book I've read this year (although it's not far off), but it is quite possibly the most entertaining (with the two previous books in the series close behind it). Book 2 added more depth to the entertaining Firely-goes-Steampunk premise and this book continues to add more detail to the world and an increasingly epic plot without losing any of the charm of the flawed but somehow extremely likeable characters or the consistently ente...more I'm not sure I'd say that the Iron Jackal is necessarily the best book I've read this year (although it's not far off), but it is quite possibly the most entertaining (with the two previous books in the series close behind it). Book 2 added more depth to the entertaining Firely-goes-Steampunk premise and this book continues to add more detail to the world and an increasingly epic plot without losing any of the charm of the flawed but somehow extremely likeable characters or the consistently entertaining heists and capers they get involved in.

It starts off with a relatively simple attempt at train robbery but through a mixture of foolhardy stupidity and awful luck the crew of the Ketty Jay finds themselves heading deep into enemy territory to try to save their captain's life from a demonic curse, along the way discovering conspiracies and secrets. Along the way there are some exhilarating action scenes, particularly highlights being Harkins' race in his fighter through a deadly maze of canyons and the climatic scenes in an ancient but not entirely abandoned city. The manifestation of Frey's curse also adds a horror element to the series and his visions of the titular Iron Jackal are suitably creepy. The backstory regarding the legacy of the lost city's ancient builders and the hints that the world's two main civilisations are edging closer to all-out war provide extra interest and although the plot is largely self-contained there are several plotlines that could be built on in future books. The world-building has improved as the series has gone on, with the long-vanished race who built the Iron Jackal being particularly interesting, although some elements of world-building are still a little bit weak - in particular, the Samarlans feel like clichéd villains and the repeated descriptions of how nasty they are seems a bit unsubtle. Apart from the Samarlans, the rest of the characterisation is done well and the characters (who might have seemed a bit shallow at the start of the first book) continue to acquire more depth as the series goes on - the characterisation of Silo is particularly good here, and new character Ashua is a good addition to the crew.

This is one of the most entertaining series around at the moment and it does seem to be getting better with each successive book.(less)

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Feb 10, 2012 Rebecca Blackwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

'Wow' pretty much sums up what I think of this book. This is definitely the best 'Ketty Jay' novel yet. In this one, the stakes are much higher than in the previous two books - the first time Darian Frey was trying to clear his name, the second time he was in it for money, and this time he's up against a curse that could kill him in mere days. This book starts right in the middle of a gunfight and continues on at much the same pace, though the fighting, despite being frequent, doesn't seem endle...more 'Wow' pretty much sums up what I think of this book. This is definitely the best 'Ketty Jay' novel yet. In this one, the stakes are much higher than in the previous two books - the first time Darian Frey was trying to clear his name, the second time he was in it for money, and this time he's up against a curse that could kill him in mere days. This book starts right in the middle of a gunfight and continues on at much the same pace, though the fighting, despite being frequent, doesn't seem endless or boring. Wooding takes time to intersperse the battles with emotional scenes delving into each of the characters' emotions and thoughts, as well as some hilarious dialogue and banter between the characters. As I've stated in a previous review his characters are always extremely well developed and very believable. You genuinely care about each and every one of them, and that's an incredibly important thing in a novel. Several new characters are introduced in this one and fit into the plot nicely.

It all begins when Frey ends up touching a relic he has been asked by his ex and on-off nemesis, Trinica Dracken, to steal, and is rewarded with a curse that sends a daemon after him, intent on killing him. The rest of the book involves much travelling to different parts of the world - which also gives some nice opportunity for background development - trying to find various ways to lift the curse, and all comes to a head in a dramatic battle at the end. As well as giving a detailed analysis into Frey's feelings, Wooding also gives you insight into the minds of Silo and Jez in this novel too, allowing you to see more of their backstories.

The Iron Jackal is also probably the scariest/most dramatic yet in the series. The curse that follows Frey takes corporeal form as a truly frightening creature constructed from his deepest, darkest fears, and there's even worse things for them to deal with! Each time you think they've managed to scrape their way out of one disaster, they end up in another. It's truly compelling reading, and for me the last 250 or so pages passed in a blur of action. I couldn't put it down.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes action or fantasy novels of any kind. It's definitely my favourite of all of Chris Wooding's novels.(less)

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Dec 19, 2011 Neil Pearson rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.
The world and characters are expertly re-established in such a way that new readers will get a grip on everything quickly and regular readers will appreciate the nice little recaps within the story.
The plot in this book is largely concerned with a predicament Frey lands himself in and it serves as a nice way of showing us how much he has come to mean...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Pctrollbreath rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This, in line with the other books in the series, is good entertaining fun.

The characters are good, increasingly deep characters, that become more interesting the more familiar you become with them. There is some interesting development of character in this book and all the characters are either rounded or developed or both during the story..... with one exception..... Slag..... he might be a cat, but he is a favourite of mine, so my only real (slight) niggle with this book is that the barely ge...more

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Jun 06, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Seriously fabulous read! I cried a little, I laughed out loud a lot, I cheered the good guys and boo'd the bad. It has been an incredible journey so far, watching captain and misfit crew grow and become a team... so many crazy misadventures, heartbreak and triumph. Getting to know these people has been half the fun, the other, of course are the air ship battles, crazy combats and wild, freakish situations Frey and his mates find themselves in. (Doesn't matter that they often create those situati...more

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May 07, 2013 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another rollicking adventure for the crew of the Ketty Jay and just as enjoyable as the others.
I had thought this was the final story in a trilogy. Whilst it 'ended' satisfactorily, it also seemed to be left open for further high jinx, so I looked it up. There is indeed a fourth episode: 'The Ace of Skulls,' or at least there will be - in September 2013!!! I have to wait four months - argh!
I've put it on my amazon wish list, and filled in a NIS request with the library. Hopefully one way or anot...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-read

Originally published at Walker of Worlds.

The Iron Jackal is the third novel following the crew of the Ketty Jay, preceded by Retribution Falls and The Black Lung Captain. I've thoroughly enjoyed the previous novels and, despite my poor reading last year, it always hovered near the top of the to-read stack. After finally settling down to read The Iron Jackal I found myself treading lightly, wondering whether it could equal the previous books. I really shouldn't have worried as Chris Wooding bring...more Originally published at Walker of Worlds.

The Iron Jackal is the third novel following the crew of the Ketty Jay, preceded by Retribution Falls and The Black Lung Captain. I've thoroughly enjoyed the previous novels and, despite my poor reading last year, it always hovered near the top of the to-read stack. After finally settling down to read The Iron Jackal I found myself treading lightly, wondering whether it could equal the previous books. I really shouldn't have worried as Chris Wooding brings his A game to the table and delivers not only a good tale of the Ketty Jay, but an excellent novel in itself.

The fortunes of Frey and his crew looking up, with widespread recognition and the Ketty Jay given a complete overhaul courtesy of his old fiance and long time nemesis, Tranica Dracken. When she offers him a simple heist job Frey is keen to take it on, seeing as nothing could go wrong, or so he thinks. When the item he must steal lays a curse on him, Frey and his crew must race against time before it fulfils its purpose and robs him of life, taking him to many places he's not been, and some that some members of his crew would rather not return to...

It's easy enough to say why I enjoyed The Iron Jackal so much: because, like it's predecessors, it's a page-turning, action packed, character driven novel. Being the third in the series means that you're likely to have read the first two books and know what you'll be getting into, but if not I highly suggest starting at the beginning. Not only does The Iron Jackal expand on what has gone before, it introduces some other new elements that ensure it's not just walking in the footsteps of Retribution Falls and The Black Lung Captain.

Wooding manages to keep the characters fresh, delving a little further into some back-stories, and exploring new aspects following The Black Lung Captain. The dynamic between the crew is as good as ever, and the introduction of Ashua early on means there's a new female for Darien to make a fool of himself over, despite some interesting developments in the Tranica department. And I can't forget Bess, who once again delivers some of the stand-out moments in the novel for sheer enjoyment.

As for the story, well, it's a fairly straightforward affair. Darien needs to return a stolen item to it's home or he dies from the curse that it inflicted on him. But it's not as simple as it may seem, and the crew of the Ketty Jay go from place to place trying to track down where it came from, with some enjoyable set pieces along the way. The ending is great, and once again opens up some new aspects that can be looked at further in the concluding volume of the Ketty Jay saga.

All in all I found The Iron Jackal to be hugely enjoyable. It continues what I expect from the series and leaves a fair few questions open for the final instalment, The Ace of Skulls. Once again, another highly recommended novel from Chris Wooding.(less)

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Mar 19, 2013 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, steampunk, sword-and-sorcery

I do enjoy this series, but I never quite love it.

Once again, my favorite parts were the character bits - filling in some of the back stories, and watching some of the characters grow. I do sort of wish Frey would grow up a bit more, though. It's like we're sort of meant to believe that he is, but we're never really shown it. At least not in any kind of consistent or meaningful way.

My favorite characters continue to be Jez and Crake, though it was really cool to learn more about Silo.

That said,...more

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Nov 29, 2012 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: steam-punk, adventure

The previous book in this series earned a stunning five stars from me and, considering the context, this probably deserves it too. However, when a book takes me - Me, who can read two books in a day - a whole month to read, then it just feels wrong to grant it such a high rating. That said, this was a brilliant, amazing book that entertained thoroughly. In fact, considering the context of the month it took me to read it [A week and a half of tonsillitis, three essay deadlines and a further week...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Susanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sff

This series is just getting better. Yes, the Firefly comparisons are still justified; yes, there's still a bit too much navel-gazing for my taste, but other than that, I enjoyed this one HUGELY. Let's see...

The Awesome
- Jez losing her shit and shredding an entire legion of Sammies. HELL YEAH BABY! Kick ass. (The little Harkins/Malvery scene there, when she first explodes past Harkins' face = comedy gold.)
- Bess is the most lovable destroyer of life. I like that she's a bit more independent of Cr...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was slightly disappointed with 'The Iron Jackal', it didn't seem to really fit in with 'Retribution Falls' and 'Black Lung Captain' I was also slightly disappointed with the basic plot in some ways, it was a bit 'Pirates of the Caribbean' with (without giving too much of the plot away) the black spot on Frey's hand so he can be tracked down by a monster. It just seemed like a story taken from elsewhere and put in the 'Ketty Jay' universe.

The book also seemed to depart from the more steampunk...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, steampunk, faves-from-all-genres

This latest installment in the Ketty Jay series left me both satisfied and hungry for more. I love how Chris Wooding started out with a group of ne'er-do-wells, their partnership in crime their only tie to one another, and over the course of the three books, developed them into a crew. The way the characters grow and come to discover their loyalty to each other is one of my favorite things about this series.
Since that alone might make it sound rather boring, allow me to add that Wooding writes g...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Stan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I gave the first two books in this series 5 stars, and this one is at least as good as those. Captain Frey and his motley crew fight through one insurmountable predicament after another. It's a terrific adventure tale, with lots of action, humor, and imagination. Wooding really knows how to write action bits, and the story proceeds at a breathless pace. It's not heavy sci-fi, but it sure is fun.

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May 10, 2012 KevinB rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, steampunk, heroic-fantasy

A shootout in a bar, a foot chase across rooftops, a dog fight in the dark, a battle in sand buggies and a train robbery with an enraged golem, this book has it all! And that's just in the first few chapters!

Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay have always been a great mix of character focused story and swashbuckling, wisecracking, air piratey action, and this third installment is the best of the series so far.

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Jun 03, 2012 Alytha rated it 3 of 5 stars

In general, I really liked this one. It still has the Firefly vibe going, and the plot is interesting enough.

However, I found that the chase/fight scenes were drawn out too much, and described in too much detail, which I don't like all that much.
Furthermore, if you think about it, Frey is a deeply flawed character, narcissistis, cowardly, and not very intelligent. Although, on occasion, he tries to do the right thing, and he seems to have some feelings for his crew, in the end the whole plot was...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Jesse Stevens rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jesse by: I recommended it to myself

Shelves: science-fiction-fantasy-favs

quite frankly one of the greatest and most entertaining books I have ever read. Action, character, setting, dashes of romance and real laugh out loud moments.
buy one for you and every one you know who loves adventure. please go read the other two first though. the author does a great job I think of not punishing you for not having read the other books as many things are rehashed or repeated. But I feel there is far more to appreciate about the the world that wooding has built, when read on seque...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Lyrik rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was great! I loved that we finally got to go in-depth about Silos past as a slave in Samarla and the conflict between going back to be with his people and staying with Frey and the rest of the crew. Chris Wooding handled this conflict masterfully and in a way that was excellent to read. I also loved the slapstick comedy that we've come to expect from the crew, and the subtle word puns.

All in all, it was a pleasant read, and a series I'd definitely recommend to someone else.

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Dec 01, 2012 Ruzica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Love Wooding's originality and creativity. Not a fantasy novel à la Tolkien including orcs, elves, wizards, dwarfs, etc. The plot, characters and the world are original and the story evolves so easily. I do however miss depth and detail which would add to the novels value and reader-experience.

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Oct 16, 2011 Jon Knight rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

More awesome pulp fun from the Ketty Jay. A few fun pop culture knods and enough action for a mini series. Does anyone know if these have been optioned? Would make fantastic films!

I agree with Sam, it looks like someone has yanked the description for the next book in the series by mistake.

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On Board the Kett...: The Iron Jackal	1	2	May 27, 2012 06:39am

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About Chris Wooding

Chris Wooding grew up in a small town in Leicestershire, where not much of anything happened. So he started to write novels. He was sixteen when he completed his first. He had an agent by eighteen. By nineteen he had signed his first book deal. When he left university he began to write full-time, and he has been doing it professionally all his adult life.

Now thirty-two, Chris has written sixteen b...more

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Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1)

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Quotes from The Iron Jackal

“If there was one thing worse than being cheated, it was being cheated by someone who referred to themselves in the third person.” — 13 people liked it

“On reflection,’ Crake said to Frey, as they huddled behind an upturned table, ‘this wasn’t one of your better plans.” — 4 people liked it

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The Iron Jackal (Tales of the Ketty Jay #3)

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