Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Retribution Falls

(Tales of the Ketty Jay #1)

Chris Wooding

3.98 · Rating details · 8,881 ratings · 1,089 reviews

Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay. He and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, running contraband, robbing airships and making a nuisance of themselves. An easy heist and a fast buck sound great until a heist goes wrong and the freighter explodes. Suddenly Frey isn't just a nuisance - he's public enemy number one. ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 398 pages

Published January 1st 2012 by Orion (first published 2009)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Retribution Falls, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Sci-Fi Month 2014

170 books — 32 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.98 ·

Rating details

· 8,881 ratings · 1,089 reviews

More filters

Sort order

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

Oct 15, 2018 Petrik rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Steampunk fantasy fans

An entertaining and fun beginning to a steampunk fantasy series filled with great characters.

A few months ago when I finished Wooding’s newest book, The Ember Blade, my review was flooded with comments along the line of “I can’t wait for this one. I loved his Tales of the Ketty Jay series!” and because I absolutely loved The Ember Blade, knowing that there’s so much love for Wooding’s previous series immediately seal the deal that I MUST give this series a try; and I’m glad I gave it a go.

Retrib ...more

flag 139 likes · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2018 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, sci-fi

Well, that was fun 😄

flag 123 likes · Like · see review

Jul 16, 2017 Samir rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I wanted to try steampunk genre for a long time. To be honest this isn’t my first steampunk read. I’ve read Senlin Ascends a couple of months ago and even though it had some steampunk elements and steampunkish vibe I wouldn’t label it as a steampunk novel per se. That label belongs to Retribution Falls; a full blown steampunk adventure.

You’re probably asking yourself how can I assume the role of the expert on the field and label this or that if this is my first read of that kind. Well, you’re ri I wanted to try steampunk genre for a long time. To be honest this isn’t my first steampunk read. I’ve read Senlin Ascends a couple of months ago and even though it had some steampunk elements and steampunkish vibe I wouldn’t label it as a steampunk novel per se. That label belongs to Retribution Falls; a full blown steampunk adventure.

You’re probably asking yourself how can I assume the role of the expert on the field and label this or that if this is my first read of that kind. Well, you’re right. I’m not an expert, far from it, but I do have some experience from playing a lot of video games over the years, so I picked up a thing or two.

Retribution Falls is the first book of the Tales of the Ketty Jay series. If you’re coming late to this party (like I am), I have some great news; this is already a finished series so there is no waiting for the next book to come out. Whilst on the topic; there are readers who prefer binge reading and there are ones who like to take a break between books. Well, great thing about this series is that it can be equally enjoyed either way because Wooding intended for each novel to be a standalone and there are no cliffhanger endings.

The blurb reminded me of the TV show Firefly. To be honest, this is what got my attention in the first place because I was a huge fan of the show. Firefly was the show about the crew members of the ship, Serenity. This crew fights criminals and schemers, Alliance security forces, the utterly psychotic and brutal Reavers, and the mysterious men from the The Blue Sun Corporation. The crew is driven by the need to secure enough income to keep their ship operational, set against their need to keep a low profile to avoid their adversaries. Before I draw parallels between the show and book I want to state that I'm not in any way calling this a TV show rip-off. I'm simply wondering if Wooding was a fan of the show as well and was he influenced by the show in any way.

As stated in the blurb, the main character of this novel is Darian Frey, the captain of the airship Ketty Jay, leader of a small and highly dysfunctional band of layabouts, or as the author calls them, a group of sarcastic, cynical, wisecracking liars. He and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy.

Besides the Navy there are other forces in this world to be reckoned with; a mysterious religious order called the Awakeners, and the Archduke, with his personal army, the Century Knights. Even though those two opposing powerhouses maintain some kind of a truce between them, the tension is palpable and the Awakeners are always scheming something to seize the reins of power while the Archduke is doing everything in his power to lower their influence in the world and banish them for good.

This book starts a bit sluggish and it took me some time to get immersed in this world and its characters but that changed very soon when the crew was hired to do a seemingly easy job, to attack another airship and retrieve its precious cargo. The job sounded too good to be true and it was. Things go horribly wrong and shit hits the fan big time. From this moment on, I was hooked. The story picked up the pace and it got more interesting and exciting with every page.

Wooding has a great talent for writing action sequences, especially the airship dogfights which I very much enjoyed. They were suspenseful, gun blazing extravaganza, rocketing my adrenaline levels sky high.

Even though this is a story driven novel, we learn more about the characters through their back stories and that gave them another dimension rather than just being a stereotypical band of misfits. It's hard to say more about the story and the characters without revealing important twists so that endeavor is up to you.

The story wasn't original and some developments were predictable but I couldn't care less. It was action packed, light and more importantly, it was fun and that makes this swashbuckling adventure a perfect summer read. ...more

flag 98 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2013 Evgeny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Evgeny by: Mimi

Shelves: fantasy

You can't take the sky from me...

Stempunk

This steampunk/fantasy story starts with the captain of flying ship Ketty Jay and one of his passengers being politely interrogated about the launch code to operate his ship. A gun against the head of one of the people in question makes a very convincing argument for cooperation; all in all, not a very good beginning for the captain and people that ended up on his ship. It only gets worse - much worse.

If somebody asked me to describe the book in as few words as ...more

flag 85 likes · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2012 Nataliya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Sci-fi and fantasy buffs

Shelves: 2012-reads, favorites

Nataliya Gushes About This Book - Picture Frenzy - More Book Gushing - I Want To Be An Airship Pilot (*)

* Oh, did I mention how much I love Jules Verne-esque chapter titles?

Retribution Falls is a well-crafted steampunk novel that immediately won me over. It is a very entertaining and refreshing read that has everything you want for 400-plus pages of delightful fun. I am serious - I mean, there are airships, sky piracy, GOLD, legendary pirate city, revolvers, adventures, danger, undead, conspiracies, betrayal, camaraderie, debauchery, and plenty of tight corners for our characters. Whew! What else do you need? Plus, did I mention there is a golem - a charming Bess, "eight feet tall and five broad, a half-ton armoured monstrosity".

This is a story about a bunch of misfits who are forced together by circumstances and end up developing real bonds of friendship. Among others, we have a captain with a truly rotten luck, a demonist haunted by a dark secret, and a navigator who appears ~~undead~~ heartbeat-challenged. Living on the edge of the law, constantly broke, hiding their dark secrets, and having a knack for getting tangled up in the conspiracies that seem well above their heads, this rogue pirates-wannabe bunch somehow manages to wriggle themselves out of endless tight corners while winning over the readers' hearts. They start as a bunch of outcasts with no better prospects; they end up as a crew and *gasp* friends. Ahem... almost... unless gold is involved.

Darian Frey, the captain, starts as a classical antihero. He does not care that much for his crew (much to frequent and well-deserved dismay of Crake). Actually, the list of the things he cares for initially is pretty short, and if you are not on it (and are not a hot girl) but need Frey's help ... well, you're pretty much screwed. The aforementioned list is below:

But a heist gone terribly wrong combined with a few life lessons may just do the trick. This rogue Johnny Depp-esque captain just may turn out to have a heart of gold, after all. (The demonist Crake will definitely appreciate it, given that he has a propensity to end up in situations where a gun is held to his head.) Frey may learn to grudgingly appreciate his crew in the end (once there is no chance to obtain gold!)

Frey couldn’t keep down a grin. As he looked at the laughing faces of his crew, he was consumed by a surge of affection for these people, these men and women who shared his aircraft and his life. They were happy, and free, and the endless sky awaited them. It was enough.

The story is very much character-driven, but definitely not at the expense of the plot. The politics of this world are well-weaved into the story, and it does not have the clunky exposition feel of many other stories out there. The pacing is excellent, the world-building superb, the writing is good, crisp, and engaging. As for the setting, for me it was so much fun to trade the fun but well-used worlds of either spaceships and star travel or swords, dragons, and magicians for the steampunk setting with airships and revolvers.

Excellent read! So good. Loved it. Great concept, excellent execution. Can't wait to read the rest of this series. Also - I want to pilot an airship. Easy 5 stars. ...more

flag 65 likes · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2020 Mayim de Vries rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am sure I’d hate Darian Frey if I met him: a rebellious Peter Pan with ego overgrowth. But may, wasn’t it fun to read about the scoundrel! And his airship. And his crew. What a merry band of misfits!

Because The Olympian Affair went G.R.R. Martin on me, I am substituting myself with other steampunk series. The first volume of the “Tales of the Ketty Jay” introduces us to Captain Darian Frey, who - as befits a lesser pirate - barely makes ends meet, and gets into trouble every now and then. The ...more

flag 64 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2011 carol. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to carol. by: Fantasy Aficionados

Shelves: fast-and-fun, my-library-trade, my-library, steampunk

Four and a half stars. First read through, have to say it was very good. Probably my favorite steampunk to date, and a fine novel all around. Airships, gunfights, pirates, a golem, daemons... lots of fun ingredients but also fully developed characters. A little bit of the "shades of grey" protagonists; the captain of the airship seems to resemble Captain Jack Sparrow--charming as all get out, but you have the sneaking suspicion he isn't trustworthy. In fact, first couple of incidents we witness ...more

flag 59 likes · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, 2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When they accidentally blow up The Ace of Skulls, and with it, the archduke's son, in a misguided act of piracy, Darian Frey and the misfit crew of the Ketty Jay wind up in the soup. Their salvation seems to be the mythical pirate port, Retribution Falls. But can they reach their safe haven before they wind up dead?

Retribution Falls is one of those books that's hard to classify. At first glance, it might be called steampunk, but it's more like fantasy with an odd tech level. There are airships t ...more

flag 56 likes · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2014 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, 2015, welcome-to-the-zoo, br-2015, ahoy-mateys, the-awesome-bunch, fantasy, set-sail-for-disappointment

BR with the BBB gang starting November 27, 2015.

I read this book while buddy reading The Chronicles of the Black Company. BAD idea. The series is so mind-blowingly awesome that any book pales in comparison.

♦ Retribution Falls – What should have been ♦

This book was a 5-star rating waiting to happen. Why? Because sky pirates + inveterate womanizer/rogue mc + gang of dysfunctional misfits =

The mere presence of Captain Frey, our resident rogue, should have triggered this Pavlovian response in me: BA ...more

flag 55 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2014 seak rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014

What happens if you combine The Lies of Locke Lamora with air ships, then add some Pirates of the Caribbean? This. This is what happens. Chris Wooding nailed it in Retribution Falls.

I'll get this out of the way. I've been told it's a lot like Firefly. You may have to take away my geek card here ... but I've never seen Firefly. The movie, Serenity, was excellent, but I'm still looking forward to checking out the show. This means I can't confirm or deny the comparison.

I apologize for any non-Fire ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2013 Jokoloyo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is one fun novel. Combining several popular themes: steampunk, airships, pirates, ragtag team protagonists (my personal fav theme), and forbidden magic.

At first I thought the strength of this novel is in the action scenes, and witty dialogs. But after reaching the mid part, I changed my mind. The strength of this novel is on the character developments in an action-packed story. Not all parts of the story are plot driven, but some story parts are character driven.

I believe many readers will ...more

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Jul 04, 2018 Ivan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk-and-gunpowder-fantasy

I had lot of fun. First book of Tales of Ketty Jay offers fun adventure and interesting set of characters. Bunch of misfits and renegades, all of which get their fascinating backstories revealed.

The reason why this book isn't getting higher rating is that most of aspects of it are just "good enough". It had strong Firefly vibe all wraped in interesting steampunk setting but writing falls bit flat. There was no witty banter and fun quotes, in fact there was no dialog or monologue would remember a ...more

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2015 Michael marked it as to-read · review of another edition

No, I've not yet read this yet, but I'm adding a note because (a) it's on sale for $1.99 so well worth picking up now and (b) someone on /r/fantasy (a site I love) said it was a highly underrated book. So I'm bumping it on my TBR pile. ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2017 Scott Hitchcock rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

A really slow start to this one had me wondering at the one-third mark if it was worth finishing. It got better and better from that point forward.

A steampunk tale about a bunch of misfits who finally bond as a crew. Their duplicitous captain more than most leads the pirate/smugglers on their misadventures where all of their pasts come back to haunt them to one extent or another.

Looking forward to the rest of the series.

flag 29 likes · Like · see review

Jul 08, 2017 Tammie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series-completed, owned-kindle, steampunk-related-fantasy, adult, adult-fantasy, fantasy, series, fantasy-buddy-reads

Retribution Falls is a steampunk fantasy that has loads of action. The air ships were interesting and I especially liked the air battles. The second half was better than the first half, but I pretty much liked it from the beginning. The characters were all interesting but Frey, the captain, had to grow on me.

Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something.

I wouldn't say fate h Retribution Falls is a steampunk fantasy that has loads of action. The air ships were interesting and I especially liked the air battles. The second half was better than the first half, but I pretty much liked it from the beginning. The characters were all interesting but Frey, the captain, had to grow on me.

Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something.

I wouldn't say fate had anything to do with it. More like personal choices. Frey does have extremely bad luck, mostly brought on by his own choices. I wasn't sure what to think of him at first, then I pretty much hated him for a while, and finally I ended up kind of liking him. Why the big change in the way I felt about him? Character growth. There was a lot of character growth and in the end Frey was not the same man that he was at the beginning of this book. I really like when books have flawed characters that actually grow.

Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death.

That's most of the ship's crew and I must say that I liked the crew a lot better than Frey in the beginning. I think my favorite character in the book was probably Jez. She also was the only one who wasn't in her predicament because of some choice she made. Crake and his golem, Bess were also very interesting. My least favorite crew member was probably Pinn. He's a real dimwit and clearly he's not playing with a full deck. This I suppose could be funny at times, but I didn't find much to like about him, except for when he was in the cockpit of his little airship entertaining us during the air battles.

When an opportunity arises to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship, Frey can’t pass it up. It’s an easy take—and the payoff will finally make him a rich man.

The crew takes on this mission that sounds really simple and is supposed to make them rich. Of course the mission goes south. I've never read a book like this where it didn't. Could you imagine if everything went as planned and the characters all ended up filthy rich almost from the beginning? How much fun would that be and what story would there be left to tell? I would actually like to see someone try to pull that off in a book. I'm not sure what the rest of the story would be about, but hey, it would be different. So of course things don't go as planned, and in the most horrible way, and Frey and the crew of the Ketty Jay are left trying to figure out what is going on while on the run.

Most of what happens in the book is pretty predictable, but still entertaining. It does remind me a lot of Firefly, which many people have compared it to. I didn't have high expectations going into this so I feel like it checked off all the boxes of what I wanted it to be. A fun, rather light steampunk fantasy. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Review also posted at Writings of a Reader ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2015 Choko rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: advanture, steam-punk, fantasy

Thanks to my buddies for this read!!!

*** 4 ***

This book is not easy to qualify. It is a Fantasy with pirate adventure, low tech, and generously tinted dark. It flies in dark and tumultuous skies, it deals with characters dealing with dark pasts and shady present and, no one has clearly defined motives in a twisted desperate world... Yes, its all some shade of dark. But that doesn't make the book difficult to read, exactly the opposite. It is a magnetic story with characters who draw you in and y ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2014 Kaitlin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-sff-faves

I read this as a buddy read with Mercedes and Brock and I have to say that I read this over a few hours (on just 2 days) and I loved every second! I think there's a bit of a misconception surrounding this book in that it looks and seems like it could be a YA or Children's book because it's shorter than many adult fantasies are, but this is most definitely a solid adult Steampunk book and for one of my first few exposures to Steampunk this book handled that so brilliantly :D

This is the story of T ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2016 Andy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-shortlist, steampunk-alt-reality, trl-bump-up, favorites

A new steampunk series for me & one highly recommended by many....... rightly so I found to my delight.

The character involvement & interaction of the crew is spot-on with their individual backstories coming to the fore throughout the book during times of misfortunes/reflection & why they ended up on the Ketty Jay, all are poignant & go towards explaining how the cast of strays & waives bond over their adventure. They are Pirates (arrrrrrr) of a sort..... more like adventurers or scallywags as t ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Jul 18, 2011 Lisa Reads & Reviews rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Firefly fans, space sci-fi adventure lovers

Shelves: science-fiction, kindle, steam-punk

I'm a Firefly fan who picked up Retribution Falls to feed my nostalgia for good old cowboy/pirate steampunk westerns. I wasn't disappointed, to say the least. I laughed, got misty, and turned pages, completely absorbed in the adventure. The writing is excellent, the characters fleshy and fascinating (except for 2 by my count), and the plot is somewhat classic, yet it delivers startling breezes of fresh air, plenty enough to prohibit yawns. The next book, Black Lung Captain, is now on my to-read ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2017 Veronica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, science-fiction

Audiobook reread! It was cool to be with the ragamuffin crew of the Ketty Jay again. I had as much fun as the first time and listening to the audiobook version added a whole other layer of enjoyment. The narrator did a superb job of giving each character, no matter now minor, his/her own distinct voice. My original four, fun stars still holds.

"Grab yourself a gun. Welcome to the crew."

And that's pretty much how we enter the world of the Ketty Jay crew. There is no slow build up, no set up o Audiobook reread! It was cool to be with the ragamuffin crew of the Ketty Jay again. I had as much fun as the first time and listening to the audiobook version added a whole other layer of enjoyment. The narrator did a superb job of giving each character, no matter now minor, his/her own distinct voice. My original four, fun stars still holds.

"Grab yourself a gun. Welcome to the crew."

And that's pretty much how we enter the world of the Ketty Jay crew. There is no slow build up, no set up of the world, or lengthy exposition of the political situation. Just crew members facing a gun to the head and swift death. So, pretty much a regular day for the rag-a-muffin crew of the Ketty Jay who are all running from past secrets and mistakes. Led by Darian Frey, captain of the Ketty Jay, the crew is held together more by the fact that none of them are apt to ask probing questions of each other than they are by loyalty. When a too-good-to-be-true offer turns out be just that, the crew finds itself on the run.

Frey is not your typical white hatted hero. In fact, there are quite a few reasons to dislike him but his backstory is held out as a carrot for the reader and you can't help but want to know more. The same can be said for most of the crew members. Though there is some much needed character growth for several of the crew I'm hoping there is more to come because, for me at least, Frey still has a ways to go as far as his treatment of the women in his life goes. Speaking of which, I was especially interested in Captain Trinica Draaken. Her backstory was one of the more interesting and I hope she shows up again.

The story was well paced and I thought the author did a good job of balancing the present day action with revealing bits of the crew's past. There were some daring adventures and humor but also some very personal losses and moments of introspection. I've seen some comparisons to the show Firefly but never having watched it myself I can't make comment on that. I just found it to be an entertaining read and I'm certainly up for another Ketty Jay adventure. ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

May 23, 2015 Derpa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-jam, sidechars-of-awesome, series, protag-love

Some people on here seem to give their 5 stars exclusively to books that supposedly change their lives and amounts awesome when mentioned in a serious conversation. There is nothing wrong with that, but I can't help just handing them out to books that were a fuckton of pure FUN in my opinion. This book is like that. Yes, you can say it's not the most original thing ever written by anyone, but I like to think of it as just... comfortably familiar, not boring and lamely cliché. What it does, it do ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2020 jade rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of swashbuckling anti-hero adventures willing to overlook Bad Stereotypes

Recommended to jade by: many steampunk fans who shall remain anonymous

Shelves: steampunk, unpopular-opinion, friend-rec, action-adventure, rogues-and-heists

“ladies, gentlemen, we're out of here! your boss is upstairs, and only mildly wounded. go help him if you have the inclination. you'll also notice the house is on fire. make of that what you like.”

hello and welcome to the stage of darian frey, captain of the airship ~~Morally Grey~~, I MEAN, the ketty jay!

the cover of this book promised me gritty, arctic steampunk. the blurb of this book and its glowing reviews promised me a dysfunctional, fucked-up airship crew with dubious loyalties wh ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Nov 07, 2015 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

There was a lot to like in this book. Really it gets 3.5 stars rounded down. For about half the book, it would have been 4 stars. The world building was good. The fight scenes were great. It was a fast-paced action led story. The main protagonists were interesting.
Many other reviews said this was too similar to a TV show they had seen. Well, I hadn't seen it, but as the book developed, it sounded more and more like a TV episode. Also the author felt the need to explain to the reader how each cha ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2013 Rob rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, read-2015, author-male, steampunk

Executive Summary: Well, maybe I can enjoy Steampunk after all. I definitely plan on continuing with this series.

Full Review
I've been slow with reading the last month or two. This book was no different. That's not it's fault though. I found it every enjoyable the whole way.

When I did finally have some time over this holiday weekend to read, instead of reading 75-100 pages like I had planned, I ended up reading nearly half the book in one sitting.

Steampunk has never really appealed to me. I h ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2011 Algernon (Darth Anyan) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Full praise for this book from me. Not so much for some intrinsic or objective artistic value, but for the fun I've had reading it.
The story is probably one we've heard numerous time before. A group of down of their luck misfits and outcasts try to make a living at the edge of the civilized world, playing a game of risk in a dangerous environment and stepping on the wrong side of the law every so often. We already had The Argonauts, some of the Knights of the Round Table, The Elizabethan private ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2010 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Steampunk readers

Shelves: antihero, owned-copy, fantasy, pirate, 2011-reading, steampunk, wizard-warlock-sorcerer, bad-boy-rake-or-rogue, fugitive, part-of-a-series

Retribution Falls took me on a journey where I was continually required to reevaluate everything-- from the story itself, the world in which it takes place, and not the least, the characters. Great worldbuilding, and surprisingly multi-faceted characters who seemed to be archetypes, but proved to be much more. It was complex, intriguing, and ultimately very enjoyable.

Reviewed for Bitten By books. http://bittenbybooks.com. ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2011 Chris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fof-reads

I really enjoyed this, and though I've been seeing great things said about it for a long time, I just now got to it. Well, I'm glad I did. I'm good and thoroughly hooked, and I'll be picking up more books in this series.

Cross The Winds of Khalakovo with Firefly and you might have a basic idea of what to expect. Or not. It's kinda its own thing too.

Recommended. ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Jun 18, 2009 Liviu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read_2009, 2009_release_read, genre-fantasy, t_notable_books_2009

Pure fun; and do not be fooled by the pulp-like presentation of the novel with chapters with headings a la Jules Verne, since the novel is thoroughly modern in tone and content, partly ironic, partly serious.

I laughed out loud many, many times, but there is a lot of heartbreak and tragedy.

A crew of misfits led by one Darian Frey who seems to attract the attention of beautiful rich girls once too many for his own good is scrapping a living as airship smugglers and occasional pirates. Kind of bott ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

7.5/10

A fun, enjoyable romp which is a mix of fantasy, steampunk and action. As I've never seen Firefly I can't say this is like that series (but noticed that comparison in a number of other reviews) but I would class it as a mix of Red Dwarf and Lies of Locke Lamora. A ragtag crew gets given a hot tip on some loot they can easily take from another vessel, a tip that sounds too good to be true. Would you believe it but it's too good to be true, by a long shot.

There were plenty of positives in t 7.5/10

A fun, enjoyable romp which is a mix of fantasy, steampunk and action. As I've never seen Firefly I can't say this is like that series (but noticed that comparison in a number of other reviews) but I would class it as a mix of Red Dwarf and Lies of Locke Lamora. A ragtag crew gets given a hot tip on some loot they can easily take from another vessel, a tip that sounds too good to be true. Would you believe it but it's too good to be true, by a long shot.

There were plenty of positives in this opener for the series; the world is easily introduced with no info dumps on the technology, magic or politics but it's nicely teased out throughout the book. The main trio of characters are well developed and go from independent travellers to trusted companions and the journey getting to that point is well written with plenty of backstory for these characters to properly flesh them out and make that progression seem worthwhile.

The plot was a mixed bag, it wasn't anything brand spanking new but it did enough to push things along and get the crew interacting. At the start it was your basic double cross but halfway through the book it clicked a fair amount for me and I became more invested and wanted to find out more. I would also say that the character development aided this too.

A minor complaint would be that some of the other crew members outside the top 3 were mere filler, nothing was really fleshed out here but I guess this was due to mainly concentrating on the leads and there is always more to come from the series. Also there was a direct steal from a Red Dwarf episode and one of their funnier scenes. Apologies on the clip, it's not my own but well worth getting the episode - S06E06

Plenty of positives here and a fun light read with enough to keep me interested in the series going into the next book. I look forward to continuing these and seeing how the next story will continue with the characters now set in their ways amongst each other and their crew.

If you like this try: "Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Kim by: Nataliya

Shelves: adventure, sci-fi, action, crime, fantasy, humour, conspiracy, male-author, 2000s, mystery

I'd been hearing a lot about this book recently often mentioned in the same breath as sci-fi TV classic Firefly. And there are some similarities between them. A crew of misfits on a flying vessel, outside the law in a world recovering from war. There is a bit of humour and the crew gets in over their heads. But these are similarities with more than just Firefly. And all other similarities end there.

This tale revolved around Captain Frey and his ship, the Ketty Jay, and it's passengers. They aren ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Dragons & Jetpacks: Retribution Falls/Overall Discussion/*SPOILERS*	40	86	Dec 13, 2018 12:22PM
Fantasy Buddy Reads: Retribution Falls [July 2017]	79	54	Jul 21, 2017 07:14PM
Flights of Fantasy: December 2014 - Fantasy: Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding	32	49	Jan 07, 2015 10:39AM
The Book Club: Retribution Falls Feedback incl. Spoilers	4	23	May 08, 2013 02:16AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Science Fiction > Steampunk

748 users

Fantasy

681 users

Science Fiction

314 users

Fiction

122 users

Adventure

120 users

Adventure > Pirates

63 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

28 users

Adult

21 users

Action

21 users

Space > Space Opera

13 users

See top shelves…

About Chris Wooding

Chris Wooding

1,712 followers

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-nine, Chris has written over twe ...more

Other books in the series

Tales of the Ketty Jay (4 books)

Books by Chris Wooding

The Black Lung Captain (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #2)

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

More…

News & Interviews

Power, Sister! 20 New Books on Women’s History

Happy Women's History Month! One of the undisputedly good things about modern scholarship is that women’s history is finally getting its due....

Trivia About Retribution Falls...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Retribution Falls

“Ladies, gentlemen, we're out of here! Your boss is upstairs, and only mildly wounded. Go help him if you have the inclination. You'll also notice the house is on fire. Make of that what you like.” — 19 likes

“Ain't no deserving, or otherwise,' Silo said, his bass voice rolling out from deep in his chest. 'There's what is, and what ain't, and there's what you do about it. Regret's just a way to make you feel okay when you're not making amends. A man can waste a life with regrets.” — 14 likes

More quotes…