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A review by rwatkins
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
4.0
I really liked it. Overall: 4/5 (19/20)
This is a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride through the skies in a steampunk airship with a ragtag crew of outcasts. There was a lot to love. If you like lovable steel golems, sky pirate adventures or guns mixed with magic, then give this book a read. Frey, the main character, and especially his encounters with women throughout the novel did not impress, or this could have been a 5-star read.
Minor Spoilers Below:
Plot: 4/5
Following Frey, a selfish airship captain, and his crew as they take on a job that quickly goes south. The story blasts off from there as they seek out answers to why things went wrong. An aerial adventure with a core mystery and light heist elements. The plot is predictable, but enjoyable. A lot of detours are taken to offer backgrounds on the crew members, but these are brief, then it's back to the story. The plot may not be impressive or fresh, but it's fun, exciting and full of action.
Characters: 4/5
I didn't like Frey, the main character. He was a bit of a bum. A drunk, mistreated women repeatedly, a poor leader, bad captain and boss, selfish, arrogant and. More of a teen boy's idea of "macho" mentality. This is a common character type in fantasy, but one I don't enjoy.
Luckily, the supporting cast really lifted the book as far as character work. Each has their own sketchy past, holds secrets, or otherwise serves as an outcast. But they come together by the end, each finding their place and learning to work together to overcome obstacles in their way.
There are numerous expositional flashbacks, some unnecessary, but others helped flesh out the characters in meaningful ways and made characters much more relatable or easier to empathize with.
Even the occasional villain and side characters get some backstory and feel real enough to be interested in.
With the exception of Frey, great work here.
Setting: 4/5
I love the steampunk aesthetic and mixing guns and magic, so the setting details worked well for me. The airships, steel golem and sky pirates are all steampunk tropes I enjoyed. The magic centers around daemon spirits being summoned and trapped into objects with various effects. The gunfights were short but thrilling.
My biggest negative would be that there is no map. It's always nice to use a map to follow along when there are many different locations. Instead I was left with no concept of distance or a solid sense of placement.
Style: 3.5/5
The pacing was quick and the action frequent, just how I like it.
There is some awkward exposition in places, and flashbacks/background details didn't always add to the story being told. These were brief, as the chapters are all on the shorter end, but still noticeable.
The prose was okay, with some clunky inner dialogue spots and instances of summarizing when I would have preferred showing.
The use of epigraphs were every unique, consisting of mini chapter outlines. Some readers will find this to be spoilers, or poor foreshadowing. I was neutral on it, and even enjoyed reading the brief descriptors and trying to guess what exactly was about to happen using the provided cues.
Themes: 3.5/5
Found family, coming together to overcome obstacles and growing into trust are all underlying themes. They are explicitly stated through inner thoughts, or highlighted, so expect some hand-holding here. Frey will ruminate over how much he has changed, just in case the reader wasn't sure.
This is a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride through the skies in a steampunk airship with a ragtag crew of outcasts. There was a lot to love. If you like lovable steel golems, sky pirate adventures or guns mixed with magic, then give this book a read. Frey, the main character, and especially his encounters with women throughout the novel did not impress, or this could have been a 5-star read.
Minor Spoilers Below:
Plot: 4/5
Following Frey, a selfish airship captain, and his crew as they take on a job that quickly goes south. The story blasts off from there as they seek out answers to why things went wrong. An aerial adventure with a core mystery and light heist elements. The plot is predictable, but enjoyable. A lot of detours are taken to offer backgrounds on the crew members, but these are brief, then it's back to the story. The plot may not be impressive or fresh, but it's fun, exciting and full of action.
Characters: 4/5
I didn't like Frey, the main character. He was a bit of a bum. A drunk, mistreated women repeatedly, a poor leader, bad captain and boss, selfish, arrogant and. More of a teen boy's idea of "macho" mentality. This is a common character type in fantasy, but one I don't enjoy.
Luckily, the supporting cast really lifted the book as far as character work. Each has their own sketchy past, holds secrets, or otherwise serves as an outcast. But they come together by the end, each finding their place and learning to work together to overcome obstacles in their way.
There are numerous expositional flashbacks, some unnecessary, but others helped flesh out the characters in meaningful ways and made characters much more relatable or easier to empathize with.
Even the occasional villain and side characters get some backstory and feel real enough to be interested in.
With the exception of Frey, great work here.
Setting: 4/5
I love the steampunk aesthetic and mixing guns and magic, so the setting details worked well for me. The airships, steel golem and sky pirates are all steampunk tropes I enjoyed. The magic centers around daemon spirits being summoned and trapped into objects with various effects. The gunfights were short but thrilling.
My biggest negative would be that there is no map. It's always nice to use a map to follow along when there are many different locations. Instead I was left with no concept of distance or a solid sense of placement.
Style: 3.5/5
The pacing was quick and the action frequent, just how I like it.
There is some awkward exposition in places, and flashbacks/background details didn't always add to the story being told. These were brief, as the chapters are all on the shorter end, but still noticeable.
The prose was okay, with some clunky inner dialogue spots and instances of summarizing when I would have preferred showing.
The use of epigraphs were every unique, consisting of mini chapter outlines. Some readers will find this to be spoilers, or poor foreshadowing. I was neutral on it, and even enjoyed reading the brief descriptors and trying to guess what exactly was about to happen using the provided cues.
Themes: 3.5/5
Found family, coming together to overcome obstacles and growing into trust are all underlying themes. They are explicitly stated through inner thoughts, or highlighted, so expect some hand-holding here. Frey will ruminate over how much he has changed, just in case the reader wasn't sure.