Retribution Falls

Tales of the Ketty Jay, Book 1

By: Chris Wooding

Narrated by: Rupert Degas

A Tale of the Ketty Jay. Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, leader of a small and highly dysfunctional band of layabouts. An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft, they run contraband, rob airships, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. So a hot tip on a cargo freighter loaded with valuables seems like a great prospect for an easy heist and a fast buck. Until the heist goes wrong, and the freighter explodes.

Suddenly Frey isn't just a nuisance anymore - he's public enemy number one, with the Coalition Navy on his tail and contractors hired to take him down. But Frey knows something they don't. That freighter was rigged to blow, and Frey has been framed to take the fall. If he wants to prove it, he's going to have to catch the real culprit. He must face liars and lovers, dogfights and gunfights, Dukes and daemons. It's going to take all his criminal talents to prove he's not the criminal they think he is.

Rupert Degas has narrated over 100 audiobooks. He has recorded a diverse range of authors, from Andy McNab, James Patterson, Wilbur Smith, and Chris Ryan to children's authors such as Derek Landy, Darren Shan, Jamie Rix, and Philip Pullman. He has narrated books by Patrick Rothfuss, Haruki Murakami, Mervyn Peake, Rose Tremain, and Cormac McCarthy as well as recording classics from Kafka, Conan Doyle, Lovecraft, and Wilde. Rupert has lent his voice to numerous cartoons, including Mr Bean, Robotboy, Gumball, Thomas & Friends, and Bob the Builder and has performed in over 50 radio productions for BBC Radio 4, including The Brightonomicon and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He spent 18 months in the West End performing in Stones in his Pockets and was in the original London cast of the smash-hit comedy The 39 Steps. Produced by Peter Rinne.

2010, Arthur C. Clarke Award, Short-listed

©2009 Chris Wooding (P)2013 Orion Publishing Group

Firefly meets Steampunk perfection. Why no book2?

I've searched high and low. This is the closest thing to the Firefly TV series in print media. Other stories are great, like Expanse, but they lack the charm and captain tight pants. This cast aboard is incredibly interesting and the world reminds be of playing an old SNES game.

Audible, where are books 2-4?!

A Great Start!

Any additional comments?

A very entertaining listen! Great narration, an interesting world, and a charming cast of characters. Very well balanced, nice mix of action and character moments, very digestible worldbuilding. Really solid start to the series. I hope audible gets the next book, but this book does stand on it's own as well.

Great narrator

Narration was excellent, truly outstanding. I Liked this more than I expected when I started. Main character especially grew on me somewhat. Enough that I might try the second book.

Slow start, solid finish, great narration.

As the book began I wondered if I’d made a mistake. There is little exposition offered and character backgrounds are interwoven at different parts of the story. The same is true for the world and the politics. When those details do come they are handled well and it feels natural. The downside is that you kinda have to take it on faith that the things happening make sense and that you’ll have a better understanding later in the book. So, did that reason, it was a little hard for me to get started. I let it sit for a week or more after the first few chapters because I had a difficult time following what was happening and with whom. Still, I’m glad I did.

Once you have a handle on who everyone is, the story clicks and it becomes a lot of fun. Each person of the crew is unique in some way and they all have quirks that make them stand out. They all feel fully realized and three dimensional. The captain starts off as a bit of a loser, on a fast path to a lonely death but by the end of the book he develops into a character you want to cheer for.

Degas did an absolutely masterful job with the narration. Each character he voiced became it’s own separate entity and I never had to wonder, “wait, who is this, again?” When you have such a diverse cast of likable misfits and thieves, you need a strong narrator and Degas hit it out if the park.

If you like steampunk this is a great foray into the genre. If you’re new to steampunk, this is a great introduction.

Fantastic story of captain and crew

Chris Wooding weaves an excellent tale of airships and adventure. Well thought out, and fleshed out characters, excellent pacing, intriguing world building and enough mystery and mysticism to really keep you listening.

My complaint is in the narration. I felt like the choice to give Frey an American accent made no sense. Especially when he regularly uses English slang like "bullocks" and "bloody hell". Otherwise I'd say that Rupert Degas did a great job of giving the all the characters their own voices.

epic adventure, story telling and narration

epic adventure, story telling and narration. the characters were all awesome and I'm looking forward to book #2

As a driver

At times it’s hard to hear the characters
With the gruff voices, at least while driving!

Please record the rest of the series!

This was an entertaining listen with lots of action, snarky comments, and flawed but likable characters. The narrator’s performance is outstanding and really adds to my enjoyment of the story. So why hasn’t the rest of this series been recorded yet? I may have to break down and actually r-e-a-d the next book. But It won’t be nearly as much fun without Rupert Degas’ diverse voices and accents.

Good - But not great

The story and characters are pretty one dimensional, but entertaining.

The idea of a hidden pirate city/base is fun, I wish they
would have spent more time “walking the streets” of
the place.

The jilted lover story is a bit tiresome, and has been
done a million times before.

Refreshingly fun!

With so much fantasy these days being for along the grimdark line, some roguish vagabonds getting in over their heads is great fun! Highly recommended!