Scan barcode
sophiewilliams's review against another edition
4.0
Again Wooding is managing to add to his world and the understanding of the characters without repeating ground or appearing formulaic. I'm intrigued to see what happens when the series continues.
anywiebs's review against another edition
3.0
This was a strange reading experience. I was constantly torn between enjoying the writing and characters, and being annoyed by both.
I couldn't fly through this as I had expected, somehow I had no problem taking breaks in the middle of tense and fast paced action scenes.
In the middle I really didn't like what the author did but by the end I appreciated it more.
I think it's more me than the book, but something doesn't completely work here.
I couldn't fly through this as I had expected, somehow I had no problem taking breaks in the middle of tense and fast paced action scenes.
In the middle I really didn't like what the author did but by the end I appreciated it more.
I think it's more me than the book, but something doesn't completely work here.
jonathangemmell's review
3.0
The novel has a good plot and great characters. However having loved the last two previous novels in the series. The iron jackal for some reason did not hold my attention as much as they did, and I'm not quite sure why. Still a real good book though.
novoaust's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Iron Jackal is the penultimate book of this wonderful steampunk fantasy scifi series Chris Wooding has created. Like the previous books, this book is filled with non stop action due to a high stakes plot, and fantastic character work.
Characterization still remains the highlight if the series to me. While this isn't by any means an epic fantasy character cast in the hundreds, we do have a fairly large main cast, and each character is so unique and nuanced. We continue to see every single character develop, battling their own struggles, while still coming together as a family on board the Ketty Jay. This disfunctional mess of a crew has quickly grown into a favorite of mine, and they are arguably my favorite characters of any story I have read.
The writing has improved from the last book, and I love that the world building continues to expand. This is a vast world, filled with various races, religions, and cultures, and I like that Wooding hasn't shied away from giving us more details, despite the series ending soon.
The plot read like a lot like a Hollywood blockbuster action film. There is never a dull moment, and I did like that the story took a different path than the previous two books. Where the other two are based on the pursuit of wealth, this one is based on saving Captian Frey's life, and it was full of exciting moments.
The plot is also the reason this one wasn't a five star review for me. It felt a little bit clunky and forced at times. This story was very heavy on learning about Silo, and how his backstory was encorporated into the plot felt a bit weak. Same with the Harkin's side plot. It seems as though Wooding wanted to develop these characters more, but decided to try and throw them into the overarching story without proper planning. Simply, the story felt a lot less continuous than the previous few.
Overall though, I still really enjoyed it, and will always be happy to be following the absolute mess of a crew that are aboard the Ketty Jay.
Characterization still remains the highlight if the series to me. While this isn't by any means an epic fantasy character cast in the hundreds, we do have a fairly large main cast, and each character is so unique and nuanced. We continue to see every single character develop, battling their own struggles, while still coming together as a family on board the Ketty Jay. This disfunctional mess of a crew has quickly grown into a favorite of mine, and they are arguably my favorite characters of any story I have read.
The writing has improved from the last book, and I love that the world building continues to expand. This is a vast world, filled with various races, religions, and cultures, and I like that Wooding hasn't shied away from giving us more details, despite the series ending soon.
The plot read like a lot like a Hollywood blockbuster action film. There is never a dull moment, and I did like that the story took a different path than the previous two books. Where the other two are based on the pursuit of wealth, this one is based on saving Captian Frey's life, and it was full of exciting moments.
The plot is also the reason this one wasn't a five star review for me. It felt a little bit clunky and forced at times. This story was very heavy on learning about Silo, and how his backstory was encorporated into the plot felt a bit weak. Same with the Harkin's side plot. It seems as though Wooding wanted to develop these characters more, but decided to try and throw them into the overarching story without proper planning. Simply, the story felt a lot less continuous than the previous few.
Overall though, I still really enjoyed it, and will always be happy to be following the absolute mess of a crew that are aboard the Ketty Jay.
pavram's review
5.0
Došao sam do tačke da bih bez imalo oklevanja dao peticu Vudingovom romanu u kojem ovi isti likovi na devetsto strana ćaskaju (hint: seru) i piju čaj i u kojem ne mora a ma baš ništa drugo da se dešava. Prodao bih levi bubreg i desnu nogu da imam po deo serijala za svaki dan u godini, ali svet je skot (uz po koji momenat pristojnosti moram priznati, npr. što nešto ovako uopšte postoji) i sledeći deo je ujedno i poslednji, što znači da mi je knedla do tada trajno u grlu.
5
5
krash9924's review against another edition
4.0
This is the third book in the Tales of Ketty Jay Series...and for me the weakest. That isn't to say I didn't love it, I did enjoy it but just no where near the level of the first two.
The usual good things present in the first books were all present but some glaring bad things showed up as well...
Way too much angst...way too much
Some of the action sequences drug on for what seemed like forever
Jez bored the hell out of me in this one
The usual good things present in the first books were all present but some glaring bad things showed up as well...
Way too much angst...way too much
Some of the action sequences drug on for what seemed like forever
Jez bored the hell out of me in this one
bookaneer's review against another edition
4.0
The plot and some inner thoughts became a bit repetitive but otherwise still a very entertaining series with lots of wisecracking quips and quite a few heartbreaking moments.
The worldbuilding caught me by surprise. Apparently it kept expanding. There were some whoa moments near the end. The steampunk element reminds me of Doctor Who, with all the weird tech and creatures.
I feel bad that there is only one book left. This series is probably the most fun one I had since Gentleman Bastards. Definitely I will add Chris Wooding in my to-watch list.
The worldbuilding caught me by surprise. Apparently it kept expanding. There were some whoa moments near the end. The steampunk element reminds me of Doctor Who, with all the weird tech and creatures.
I feel bad that there is only one book left. This series is probably the most fun one I had since Gentleman Bastards. Definitely I will add Chris Wooding in my to-watch list.
midlifehedgewitch's review against another edition
4.0
***No gimmicky GIFs or fake I'm-so-frikking-smug-and-funny-cos-I-invent-my-own-trademarks in this review. Just right between the eyes opinion. It will take you, the impatient reader, thirty seconds to read.
This book is fun.
Somewhere between the juncture of steampunk and Indiana Jones lies the Jetty Kay and its mismatched crew and their in-deep-shit-get-me-outta-here adventures.
If nothing else, read this book for Malvery's description of his turtling turd. Made me laugh aloud. In fact, I laughed A LOT reading this book when I was feeling very black.
Suicidally black.
This book made me forget about that for a while.
Screw the bitchy review with the wanky trademarks and GIFs festooned in it. She probably prefers the snarky bitches in US-written, urban fantasy. ***Oh, yeah. She does!! Tosser. She probably doesn't even GET the humour - humoUr. With a U - you know what I'm saying?***
Frey's manky hand has much to answer for. Join the adventure. Sign up for the crew like I did.
This book is fun.
Somewhere between the juncture of steampunk and Indiana Jones lies the Jetty Kay and its mismatched crew and their in-deep-shit-get-me-outta-here adventures.
If nothing else, read this book for Malvery's description of his turtling turd. Made me laugh aloud. In fact, I laughed A LOT reading this book when I was feeling very black.
Suicidally black.
This book made me forget about that for a while.
Screw the bitchy review with the wanky trademarks and GIFs festooned in it. She probably prefers the snarky bitches in US-written, urban fantasy. ***Oh, yeah. She does!! Tosser. She probably doesn't even GET the humour - humoUr. With a U - you know what I'm saying?***
Frey's manky hand has much to answer for. Join the adventure. Sign up for the crew like I did.
markyon's review
5.0
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.
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.
books17's review against another edition
5.0
God I just can't get enough of these novels. And [b:The Ace of Skulls|20495234|The Ace of Skulls|Gollancz|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389230407s/20495234.jpg|33616801] is the last one! What are you doing to me, Wooding!?
Iron Jackal starts off just like the first two; the Ketty Jay gets a job, and it goes wrong. Except this time the job doesn't go wrong - everything else does. It is definitely the darkest of the Ketty Jay novels yet, and for a light-hearted steampunky romp it wrenched my heartstrings more times than I'd like to mention.
I seriously cannot recommend this series enough. It is positively brilliant.
Iron Jackal starts off just like the first two; the Ketty Jay gets a job, and it goes wrong. Except this time the job doesn't go wrong - everything else does. It is definitely the darkest of the Ketty Jay novels yet, and for a light-hearted steampunky romp it wrenched my heartstrings more times than I'd like to mention.
I seriously cannot recommend this series enough. It is positively brilliant.