thekettyjay

[thekettyjay]

‘Harkins. Pinn. Can you hear me?’ ‘Yes, Cap’n, I’m, er, you startled me a bit, I mean, loud and, erm, I can hear you, yes,’ came Harkin’s babbled reply.

Harkins you mess 😂 annoyingly reminds me of myself most of the time, outflyer of the ketty jay and nemesis of pinn and slag, the ship's cat

#totkj #tales of the ketty may #harkins #the ketty jay #captain frey #the black lung captain

[thekettyjay]

‘Told you robbing an orphanage was a bad idea,’ said Malvery. ‘No, it was Crake who said that,’ Frey said through gritted teeth. ‘That’s why he wouldn’t come. You thought it was a good idea. In fact, your exact words were: “Orphans don’t fight back.” ’ ‘Well, they don’t,’ said the doctor defensively. ‘It’s the rest of the village you’ve got to watch out for.’

Reading the black lung captain again

#tales of the ketty jay #savage #malvery #book quotes #Darian Frey

[thekettyjay]

A good likeness i must say haha. Resident “lad” of the ship and one of Frey’s outfliers, Artis Pinn.

I think this is what you call progress?

anyways, was just practicing some expressions when suddenly; Pinn! :D

in the books he’s described as kinda fat, ugly and very stupid (which he is) but i like to think that they only make fun of him because of his adorable  baby face >_>

so yeah, Pinn in his Skylance i guess :]

#tales of the ketty jay #Artis Pinn #fan art

[thekettyjay]

love it haha

#Darian Frey #tales of the ketty jay #Captain Frey

[thekettyjay]

loving the art styles im seeing, taking a while to find these pictures haha

#tales of the ketty jay #Darian Frey #captain frey

[thekettyjay]

hope it was a good enough ending for you haha 

Seven months until this book-series ends. WHO’S GONNA CRY? I’M GONNA CRY! Yeeeees.

And now back to work.

…

(In case anyone wants to, you know, talk about the Ketty Jay-series, er, http://orokos.proboards.com/ You know… :I )

#tales of the ketty jay #ketty jay #Darian Frey #Jez #fan art

[thekettyjay]

one of the more generous fan arts of Frey ive seen and certainly the only mention ive seen of his thralled cutlass, its a great pic to be sure :D

Just finished reading Retribution Falls and I’ve seen like zero fan art and I really loved the book so here is Captain Darian Frey my favourite douchebag pirate

dA

#tales of the ketty jay #Frey #fan art

[thekettyjay]

i know exactly what you’re feeling, what a way to finish it right ? obvs no spoilers for people :p 

Any Ketty Jay fans out there? I need some support. Just finished Ace of Skulls and I have so many emotions aagghhhhhh

#cry of the generation

[thekettyjay]

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

#tales of the ketty jay #the black lung captain

[thekettyjay]

I love seeing fan art of any series. Its always interesting to see people’s takes on book characters but even better to see the ketty jay getting some of the limelight :)

The Ketty Jay crew off in the north, drawn by me Giraffe Giraffe. My signature is in the picture so don’t you try stealing it ;)

Normally I wouldn’t post pictures that I draw on here since there are many people much better than myself, so why now rather than repost a picture?

Well the thing is that I have seen a lot of fan art for this series of the Ketty Jay crew, not for the ship it'self. So I thought I would draw the ship to the best of my ability on how I see it in my head. A bulky cross between a cargo ship and a fighter, the jack of trades good at both but not the master of any. With no need for aerodynamics anymore with the use of Aerum, with machine guns on both sides on the windglass, with Malvery’s cupola on the top armed with his auto cannons. With the initials K.J on her right wing.

So feel free if you can to share a drawing on how you imagine the Ketty Jay, as I would love to have a very nicely detailed picture of it so I could get a tattoo!

#tales of the ketty jay #the ketty jay #steampunk #fan art #ketty jay

[thekettyjay]

was it just me who was drawn to retribution falls by the cover art? haha

Retribution Falls/The Black Lung Captain/The Iron Jackal  by Chris Wooding

I recently finished The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding, within basically a day and a half, and it took me…all of twenty-four hours (what can I say; I make my life decisions overnight) to determine that the Ketty Jay series-as they are aptly named-is my favorite book series ever written. That’s saying  something, for me at least.

Starting off with Retribution Falls, this series takes you on a high-flying adventure in a dangerous world of cynical yet hysterical characters, minor steampunk details, black Arts, and dumb luck. If you’re looking for a set of books that will grab your attention from the very first sentence and toss you into the cockpit for an absurd and heart-wrenching journey as part of the crew of Captain Darian Frey…well, you just found the right book.

Personally, I had seen Retribution Falls lying around in my local Borders for quite sometime and kept ignoring it. For me, the cover looked mildly pathetic and it didn’t peak my interest enough to pick it up really. But then I went through a steampunk-obsessed phase and I needed something new to read. So I scanned the back jacket and bought it. Honestly, I did think that I’d put it on my bookself and never read it but I made it home and re-read the back jacket and I opened it up and read the first sentence. Needless to say, I couldn’t put the book down the entire day and I had to go out and buy the second one the second I finished the first. 

These are not boring books. I can say that with having read quite a few boring books myself. This is an adventure story. It’s not sappy or mopey or pathetic in any way, shape, or form. It is adventurous, daring, and comical. There’s a fair amount of tension and fear and a particularly vicious cat named Slag.

The great part about this gathering of books is that you don’t have to read each and every one from the beginning to know what’s going on. You don’t even have to read the first book or the second one if you don’t want. Sure, you’d be missing out but, I promise you: after reading one of these books, you’ll be hooked.

Here are the names of the books and the order in which they stand, currently:

Retribution Falls - The first book of the series

The Black Lung Captain - The second book of the series, in case you can’t tell already

The Iron Jackal - The third book of the series, obviously 

Chris Wooding has said that there likely will be a fourth installment within the series and I, naturally, am oh-so-eagerly awaiting it.

Rating: A Bookish Fellow Salute*

  *Also known as five stars or two thumbs up or 100% or whichever rating system you’d like to use.

#tales of the ketty jay #book review #retribution falls #the black lung captain #the iron jackal #review

[thekettyjay]

such praise haha 

So upon looking up Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding on here I’ve come to the conclusion that this book isn’t as….popular or known as it should be.

WHY AREN’T PEOPLE READING THIS DAMN BOOK?!?!

Seriously, if you love Steampunk or Science Fiction or anything that has to do with Pirates and a possible Captain Jack Sparrow-esq character then pick this one up. Or if you’re just looking for a fantastic good time and want a book that you can jump right into and have it sweep you off your feet to the point where you can’t put it down and you finish it within two days and have to run out and get the sequel….then this is the book for you.

Side note: this is a series of about….four novels, I think, maybe more. But the third one has yet to come out yet. It comes out in the UK in October (lucky bastards) and nobody knows when we in the US will receive this.

Retribution Falls is the first book and The Black Lung Captain is the second book. The third book is The Iron Jackal but, as I said, that’s not out yet. -_-

Anywhoooo, this is a FANTASTIC read and it comes highly recommended from a bibliophile like me. So for all who follow me, pass the word along-will you?

Oh and thank you Chris Wooding for writing such a fun and witty novel. :) You have my love.

#tales of the ketty jay #retribution falls #review

[thekettyjay]

Retribution Falls: A book review!!

   Ok, this review may be a bit bias and may turn into a long tirade of gushing praise. I apologize ahead of time. That being said, this book is one of the best, greatest book I’ve read in recent memory! I can’t think of a single major issue I had with this story and I loved every second I spent reading it! It’s damn near perfect and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees. I mean it.

Bring it.

    Beating people who disagree with me aside, let’s look at the story. The book is called Retribution Falls and was written by a guy named Chris Wooding. It’s a swashbuckling, character driven adventure of epic proportions. It’s the kind of story that would almost certainly be ruined if made into a movie but I would see it anyway, if only to lament about it later. I was depressed when I finished it (for I wanted the story to continue) and ecstatic when I learned that it is book one in a four part series (book 4 comes out in Britain this September). But enough of this! On to the synopsis! This is Retribution Falls!

The book is about an airship captain named Darian Frey, his crew, and the trouble that befalls them. Fate has not been kind to any of them and they’re all running from something or have something to hide. There’s Crake, a daemonist in hiding, burdened by guilt, with his golem named Bess, Jez the navigator, a woman with a secret she desperately wants to keep hidden, Malvery the doctor, disgraced and drinking himself to death, and Frey himself, a man whose haunted past may very well be catching up to him.

    They take a job to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship; an easy take that may finally be a ticket to riches and escape for all of them. Naturally, it all goes horribly wrong and Frey soon finds himself to be the most wanted man in all of Vardia, hunted by bounty hunters, the famous Century Knights, and even the dread queen of the skies, Trinica Dracken. It’s clear they’ve been set up but by who and why? On the run, Frey and his crew realize that the ultimate answer and way out of their predicament may lie in finding the legendary pirate town of Retribution Falls. And so the adventure begins.

    Now as you may already know, I’m an obsessive bibliophile. It was on one of my many quests to buy more books and feed my habit that I discovered this book, sitting all lonely on a shelf, tucked away near the floor and sandwiched between some bad urban fantasy. The cover didn’t draw my attention as well as some other covers do but it was enough to spark my interest. The description did all the rest and I bought the book then and there, thinking that if anything, I’d have an enjoyable adventure story to occupy my time. Once I started reading, I knew I was holding written gold and I blazed through the story in two days (I would have finished it in one but work and school have a habit of ruining things).

    What can I say about this book? The characters, setting, and plot are all great. I was surprised to find that every member of Frey’s crew was a fully fleshed out individual, each unique and believable. I understood their struggles, their motivations, their fears, and hopes and I loved every moment of it. For example, a misinformed person might be inclined to dismiss Darian Frey as an archetypal rogue. Granted, he is a rogue, but he’s a rogue done right. If anyone wants to know how to properly write an antihero, Darian is your answer (chapter 32 is a great window into his mind and psyche). The same can be said about all the others as well.

    The world itself is enthralling, being a strange mix of steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction. Everyone I know who has read this book thinks of something different as they read. My friend Anthony declared it to be a better version of Pirates of the Caribbean that had been moved to the skies. Another said it reminded her of her favorite manga, One Piece. I’ve even heard people describe it as Firefly but since I’ve never watched Firefly I can’t really comment. The land of Vardia is interesting, with an interesting history, with an interesting and mysterious religion on the rise, and even an interesting card game (an intriguing variation of poker that I would like to play one day).

    The plot itself is superb. When the action comes, it comes hard and turns into an adrenaline powered storm. That’s not to say that the quiet moments are lacking. In fact, it’s the quiet, emotional moments, when the characters are most vulnerable and show who they really are. It is in those moments that the book really shines. There’s humor, intrigue, action, virtually everything but romance.

     Some may say that the book is nothing special, that it has a familiar setting (a world of airships), it’s predictable (they’ll all come together in the end and become a real crew and friends) and a familiar plot (heist gone wrong for a rogue and his crew/ overcoming an obstacle and coming together) but to that I say, so what? There are very few unique plots, I think around 9? What sets a good story apart is how well it tells it, even if it is a familiar plot. The key is to be just different or interesting enough. Besides, nobody likes a cynic, even cynics hate themselves.

    I can’t recommend this story enough. Go get it, buy it now, and read. Oh, and do you know what’s great? There’s a sequel that surpasses this book in every way! It’s called The Black Lung Captain. But that’s for another time.

And there was much rejoicing

#tales of the ketty jay #ketty jay #retribution falls #review

[thekettyjay]

Crake x

#the ketty jay #Grayther Crake #crake and frey #ketty jay

[thekettyjay]

props to the artist, I know exactly the point this is, Silo and Frey have fought out of stickier situations than this… but not in the dark, on their own, with quickly dwindling amounts of ammunition. Enthralled sword and torch in hand, they smack, hack and blast their way through the jungle caves. 

#Darian Frey #Silo #Silo and Frey #the ketty jay #ketty jay #tales of the ketty jay

[thekettyjay]

Resident tomboy/unexpected valkyrie of the ketty jay

#Jez #Half manes #the ketty jay #ketty jay #tales of the ketty jay

[thekettyjay]

Bess is one of my favourite characters, she can be an absolute sweetheart playing with flowers and then a gargantuan, skull crushing monolith with a sadistic love of seeing how far she can launch people. 

Also featuring: Grayther Crake, Bess’ handler and the ship’s cultured daemonist with a troubled past. With the blonde hair and beard.

Silo, the ship’s murthian engineer and ex-slave, the captain wouldn’t be alive without him and who would patch up all the bullet holes in Bess?

Jez, the ship’s new navigator and all round unexpected war machine. After many feats of horrifying strength and ferocity, what must the crew make of this mysterious girl?

And last but not least (matter of opinion ;p) the ship’s captain, Darian Frey. Seen here as he might always be seen, passed out drunk and being helpful.

#crake and bess #the ketty jay #Darian Frey #ketty jay #tales of the ketty jay #steam punk #Silo #Jez