At first glance, I would have to say Retribution Falls is rather similar to Firefly, a crew of misfits trying to make their way in a world where some resort to piracy and smuggling to make a living. The prospect of pirates, duels, sword fights, bounty hunters, and air battles piqued my interest and I was pleasantly surprised to find it a mix of fantasy, science fiction and steampunk. Retribution Falls is the first in The Tales of the Ketty Jay, which will form a series of stand-alone type novels set in the same world and will include the crew of the Ketty Jay airship. It’s not an overly long book, with a relatively simple plot, however it does pull its punches with gun fights and adventure from start to end that made for a fun, light read.
The world is reminiscent of the late-Victoria era, centred upon the continent of Vardia, with brief mentions of an America-like continent called New Vardia that is supposedly in the process of being colonised. Magic is fairly low-key, the only exception being daemonism, an underground supernatural practice which is frowned upon by society and its practitioners hunted by the Shacklemore Agency. Most land is mountainous, giving way to airships as the primary form of travel, large armoured craft that utilise a type of hydrogen-helium mixture called Aerium to provide lift and descent, as well as Prothane for other propulsion methods. These craft come in various sizes; some armed to the teeth with battery guns while others designed to haul freight and ferry passengers. There are also small, fast fighter aircraft used for combat, which comprise a number of model types and purposes.
The story does mention two Aerium Wars, fought over the lush territory of the ‘Sammies’, the later conflict which features prominently in the backstory of one character. For the time being there appears to be a tentative and fractious truce between Vardia and the Sammies. An Archduke rules Vardia, having come from a long lineage that usurped the monarchy years ago. Assuaged by his wife, he is taking measures to reduce the influence and control of a quasi-religious order called the Awakeners who have overstepped their welcome in the region. Electricity does exist but is limited and most places are powered by gas lights and generators. There are other places and cultures mentioned in passing, various duchies and trading ports, a frozen north called Yortland that is occasionally mauraded by beings from a mysterious region called the Wrack. One of the characters is later shown to have had a close encounter with one of these beings, and would change her for the worse, living in fear that others might discover what she is.
Darian Frey is the primary character, living on the edge of a vagabond lifestyle as he captains his prized modified airship, the Ketty Jay, taking on illicit jobs and shipments with his disparate crew, all of whom carry their own past demons and a penchant for getting drunk. There is Grayther Crake, or Crake, an aristocratic daemonist, running from a crime he committed and his companion, a possessed suit of armour that is more than she appears to be. Other crew include Jez, the enigmatic navigator; Silo, a silent man who keeps the ship running; Malvery, an alcoholic doctor; and Pinn and Harkins, who pilot the airship’s two outrider fighters, and are both quite useless until they get in the air.
Frey is offered a job to raid an airship travelling with light escort to steal its booty, thousands of ducats (the novel’s currency) worth of goods. The attack goes horribly wrong and Frey finds himself set up, with his face on wanted ferrotypes and the Archduke’s personal army, the Century Knights, hot on their tail. In addition, the crew are chased by a pirate captain of a large airship called the Delirium Trigger, with a personal stake in hunting Frey and bringing him to a duke before the Century Knights get to him. The mystery of who’s setting Frey up soon becomes apparent, and he finds himself caught up in a devious plot with the usual bells and whistles of power hungry men. Eventually his escapades and discoveries lead him to the hidden enclave of pirates, called Retribution Falls, which offers him the chance to redeem his misfortune and make amends with the authorities and past lovers.
Chris Wooding sets up a good pace, never straying too far from the main story, and keeping to a relatively simple style. It has a very definite pulp-fiction feel, with many scenes jumping from one gun-blazing scene to the next with many of the surprises easy to pick out from the start. Unfortunately, most of the world is left to snippets of backstory and experiences, which hopefully will be explored in greater detail in later novels as the steampunk elements were quite intriguing. The author comes up with some fascinating ideas that, while described in enough detail to suit the pacing of the story, were too vague at times and could have used a bit more exposition. I was particularly interested in an arctic expedition that was described during one of the character’s flashbacks and hope that this is addressed later in the future.
The characters themselves were fairly interesting with some scenes giving closure to their behaviour and showing their tragic pasts. I thought Crake and Jez made for more compelling characters than Frey, who seemed like a Jack Sparrow caricature overcoming his leadership inadequacies and taking on matters as they come. Frey was reasonably shown to have learned to face his past mistakes and to have changed by the end of the novel, even when things didn’t go as planned. I quite enjoyed the Rake scene, a form of poker that is explained at the back of the book, and made for an interesting insight into the hearsay that was happening around them. Some of the rest of the crew were given emphasis to their background but overall there were a few opportunities to develop their experiences left wanting, particularly Harkins and the Century Knights.
There were also some nickpicks on the plot and setting that stretched my suspension of belief at times. Daemonism is shown to be quite effective, if not a better alternative to the archaic technology used in society, and despite its limited uses and requisite materials, is never really used by any other organisation or people other than one of the Ketty Jay’s crew. The Vardian’s equivalent to a military force, the Coalition Navy, never made much of an appearance until the end, but were often referred to as being highly organised and well armed. As such, I found it difficult to believe that the protection afforded to the pirate town would hold out a military incursion for so long. The Navy’s engagement with the antagonists did make for a riveting action sequence though.
Retribution Falls does falter in relation to its vaguely detailed world and predictable plot, but still makes for a fun, action-packed tale of betrayals, heists and past redemptions in such a short length. Wooding is expected to release the next book this year, which will most likely explore some of the details that were touched on throughout the novel.
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