Four Quick Movie Reviews – Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Gravity, Catching Fire, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Winter is movie-going season for me. I don’t tend to go to the cinema any other time of year. Perhaps it’s because sitting in a cinema seems more appealing in the cold weather, or perhaps it’s because films I want to see tend to come out around Christmas. And there seem to have been even more than usual that I wanted to see this year! So... on to some quick flash reviews...

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Ok, so technically this wasn’t a winter film. I saw it on 6th September, my husband’s and my wedding anniversary. He surprised me with a trip to see this, which is especially sweet because this really isn’t the kind of film John tends to like.

I really enjoyed this. I think they did a good job of translating the book into a film, though perhaps some of Annabeth’s reasoning for mistrusting Tyson wasn’t brought across clearly enough. She just seemed like she was being mean for the sake of it. The action scenes were done well and the monsters and special effects looked really good. I loved how they interpreted Charybdis. I thought some moments were genuinely sweet, and John practically imploded from the cheese factor of some parts (did I mention I love cheese?). All in all, this was a much, much better film than the first one, and I would recommend it to fans of Percy Jackson as well as those who haven’t read the books. Though (of course!) the book is still miles better.

Gravity

Oh my gosh, I enjoyed this one SO MUCH. I was really impressed with the acting, the effects, the music, the direction... everything. I think this is a very good example of a film that plays to the strengths of the medium. I can’t imagine this story told in any other way than as a movie – I was amazed how much I was drawn into it, feeling the main character’s rising panic, yet at the same time a sense of complete awe at her surroundings.

The acting was brilliant in this. Sandra Bullock should definitely be nominated for awards for her performance, which was subtle and powerful. George Clooney’s character was the sort of character that tends to irritate me in other things, but he was perfect here. I thought the themes and overall storyline of the film were compelling and portrayed well, though there was one certain ‘womb’ scene that was almost laughably unsubtle. A wonderful film, and definitely worth seeing!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

This is the sequel to The Hunger Games, which I loved. Confession time: I still haven’t actually read Catching Fire yet, so I can’t compare the movie to the book. I really enjoyed the film, and there were parts of it that definitely felt better than the first. Jennifer Lawrence is as amazing as ever, and I thought the new characters were all interesting too, though some were a bit underused.

There were some elements of the plot that I wasn’t so sure about. The twist at the end, while interesting, seemed both a little unrealistic and also cheapened some of the tension and drama from earlier in the movie. I can certainly understand why Katniss was so annoyed. I loved the effects and the action in the movie, and I enjoyed getting to know the world and characters better. Unfortunately, it did have a very disappointing and exasperating end. I know, I know, this is the ending of the book, but that doesn’t mean it had to be the ending of the film too. They could at least have signposted that we were coming to the end. As it was, it hit very suddenly and felt like they’d cut off the last ten minutes of the film.

However, overall this was an extremely fun and enjoyable film, and I can’t wait for the next one!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

After a bit of a baffling start, this film continued the story from the previous one nicely, setting up a good pace and feeling much less episodic than the last one. I enjoyed this film more than the first. I thought it had a better sense of story and adventure, and much less random moments. The atmosphere felt more even too, as if this film knew better what it wanted to be.

Unfortunately, what it wanted to be was Lord of the Rings 2.0, which I personally think is a bit of a shame. It didn’t feel anything like The Hobbit (the book), not capturing that same sense of magic and delight, the almost fairytale or folklorish feel, instead becoming a larger story with Weighty Significance. In other words, the attempt to make The Hobbit epic is what spoiled it for me. They constantly referenced The Lord of the Rings in every joke and wink to the audience, until I wanted to throw popcorn at the screen in disgust. They drew out a story that should be much shorter, and the padding really doesn’t make it better. The extra scenes are unnecessary – they don’t add anything to the story of The Hobbit, and so are only meaningful in relation to The Lord of the Rings. Why not just let The Hobbit tell its own story? There are also action scenes that are drawn out far too long, which spoils the tension of those scenes. A later sequence involving Smaug chasing the dwarves, and smashing every support pillar in the entire mountain in the process, is a good example.

And the attempt to make this an epic tale with gravitas and significance beyond its own simple story has also led to other issues that made me grind my teeth a bit. If The Hobbit is The Lord of the Rings 2.0 then Thorin is certainly portrayed whenever possible as another Aragorn. He is the Rightful Heir to the throne, a reluctant leader who must rise to the calling of his Noble Blood, who is Destined to blah blah blah. This film isn’t the story of Bilbo; it’s the story of Thorin Oakenshield, and that, for me, is the biggest shame of all.

Ancillary Justice - Book Review

Ancillary Justice
by Ann Leckie

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

From debut author Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice is a stunning space opera that asks what it means to be human in a universe guided by artificial intelligence.

          (Synopsis from Goodreads)

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This is a book that was quickly gaining a lot of hype and some incredibly good reviews, and so it moved right up my ‘to read’ list even before both online book clubs I’m a member of decided to choose it as their November pick. There was a lot to live up to – practically every review I read mentioned that this was bound to be nominated for all kinds of awards. Was it as good as everyone was saying? Yes!

Ancillary Justice just clicked with me. I loved the universe that the author created, the planets, the stations and ships, the characters, the plot – everything interested me. This is one of those books that I found impossible to read along with the book club; I couldn’t help reading on and finishing it ahead of time.

Everyone has been talking about the gender politics in the book, so let’s touch on that first. I thought this was handled really well, and not only provided a fascinating cultural backdrop for the story, but also challenged the reader, inviting us to examine our own relationship with gender. The people of the Radch just aren’t interested in whether a person is male or female, and so the story, told from the POV of a person who has grown up in the culture of the Radch, refers to everyone as ‘she’. How much does it really matter, how much does it affect the story, if we know a character’s gender or not? In this case, it doesn’t matter at all, and yet I would still find myself at certain points trying to assign gender to characters. It was also interesting to see how a culture like this might interact and think about the world.

This approach to gender added a fascinating and unique element to the book, without being as vital to the plot as the gender politics in something like The Left Hand of Darkness turn out to be. I liked this – sometimes it’s nice to explore something like this without it also being integral to the plot.

Speaking of The Left Hand of Darkness, I think there were some clear nods to it in this book – the frozen world at the beginning, the two characters thrown together learning to understand and accept each other... and in some ways the relationship between the two main characters mirrors that of Ai and Estraven, but interestingly in terms of class and citizenship rather than gender. The style of writing also reminded me a lot of Ursula le Guin. It is strong, controlled, perhaps a little distant at points, with an almost mythical feel to it that I adore. Again, this kind of writing just clicks with me, and I’m so pleased to have found another author to add to my favourites shelf.

The Radch, then, don’t discriminate based on gender, but they do find other ways to keep certain members of society down. The class politics are incredibly important in this story, as they are behind the split and changing ethos of the Radch empire. At the centre of this is Anaander Mianaai, the ruler of the Radch and the person that the main character, Breq, is determined to assassinate. I thought the class politics, like the approach to gender, were conveyed so well, and there was a definite Roman feeling going on with the client-patron structure of Radch society – anything to do with Romans is always a bonus for me!

However, my absolute favourite thing about the book was how the author managed to show Breq as both human and not-quite-human at the same time. It is so hard to write an A.I. that truly feels like an A.I. and yet is also sympathetic and relatable to. Ann Leckie pulls this off perfectly. Breq often feels cold, slightly alien, distant... and yet she is driven, opinionated, and perhaps almost a little romantic about certain things. She is a wonderful character who I really enjoyed reading about. And then there is the fact that Breq both is and is not One Esk, and they are but are not Justice of Toren, the ship and the hive mind in control of all its ancillaries. Again, this is hard to pull off, that sense of individuals within a group mind, but it comes across so well here. Finally, the point of view stretched across several bodies is a brilliant touch in the early chapters. It’s a kind of first person voice of god, not like anything I’ve read before and intriguing without being confusing.

The plot itself is compelling and exciting, with just the right amount of world building, and flashback chapters that not only add so much to our understanding of the characters, but that turn out to be very important to what is happening later in the book. The pacing was very good, perhaps just drawing things together a little too quickly at the end, however. I liked the resolution of this particular story and look forward to seeing where the characters will go next.

A fantastic story with wonderfully written characters and several unique elements that make this a truly memorable read. I have to agree with other reviewers – this will surely turn up on award nomination lists next year!

Exciting News! - Angry Robot Internship

Okay, so I have some news. :-)

I'm going to do an internship at Angry Robot, a Nottingham based publisher of science fiction and fantasy, young adult (Strange Chemistry) and crime (Exhibit A)! I'm so excited! I love so many of their books, and am looking forward to seeing how things run there. I'll mainly be helping Caroline with the publicity side of things, so you may see my name pop up on posts or emails from them. :-)

Woo! I'm starting this coming week... time to go polish up on my robot moves ready for our metallic overlords.

Showcase Sunday #38

Inspired by Celine from Nyx Book Reviews, I've decided to combine several weekly wrap-up memes into one post. Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Stacking the Shelves is hosted at Tynga's Reviews, and Sunday Post is hosted at Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Letterbox Love is a special British book-haul meme hosted by Lindsey at Narratively Speaking.


Last Week:

Last week I was hit with the norovirus, so the blog has been a bit quiet this last week. It was horrible (genuinely the most ill I've ever felt!), but thankfully I'm feeling a lot better now. I think I pretty much slept my way through the end of NaNo so I haven't been able to add up my word count for the month, but overall I'm pleased with the month's progress and looking forward to continuing writing in December! :-)

And... I have some exciting news! :-D But I'm going to leave that for a separate post coming straight after this one...


New Goodies:

The Thief's Gamble, by Juliet E. McKenna

A movie from the library:

 
And the books for my Secret Santa arrived! No pics of these yet though... I don't want to give anything away too soon ;-)

Showcase Sunday #37

Inspired by Celine from Nyx Book Reviews, I've decided to combine several weekly wrap-up memes into one post. Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Stacking the Shelves is hosted at Tynga's Reviews, and Sunday Post is hosted at Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Letterbox Love is a special British book-haul meme hosted by Lindsey at Narratively Speaking.


Last Two Weeks:

Wow, November has been a busy month! I've been to World Fantasy Con, been working away at NaNo (at which I'm very much behind in word count but have made A LOT of excellent progress in terms of sorting out problems and questions I had with my novel, and I'm pleased with my progress so far), and have had a lot of freelance work too. Not to mention my quest to try EVERY Christmas drink at the coffee shops around Nottingham... yum! :-)

I've also been to see Gravity and Catching Fire at the cinema, which were both brilliant, and I'll hopefully be writing some reviews of those soon.

AND, I've been shopping for my secret santa, which I'm doing with The Broke and the Bookish this year, which is really fun. Want to see a sneak preview of the present? Well, go on then. Extreme close up... what could it be?

Yes indeed, mysterious Secret Santa present. What is it?

New Goodies:

There have been some great kindle deals recently!

Ebooks:

The Soldier Son Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson

Redemption in Indigo, by Karen Lord

Goodreads Win:

Gretel and the Dark, by Eliza Granville

(the lollipop is cookies and cream flavour)

What a fantastic package to receive! Thanks so much Penguin UK! :-D

 

Why Researching Your Historical Novel Totally Involves Going to the Pub, and other NaNoWriMo Updates

NaNoWriMo Week One!

We’re in week two of NaNo now and should be hitting around the 18k mark, I think. I have... considerably less words than that.

I’m remaining positive, however!

For me, the first few days of NaNo were taken up with World Fantasy Con, which was fantastic but very busy, and the day after with work that needed catching up on after the con. I know some people managed to write a little during the con, and they have my full admiration! I’ve still doing the catch up word sprinting. ;-)

I have discovered that I am terrible at remembering to update my word count, so it will suddenly shoot forwards on certain days. There’s something weirdly exciting about this, like discovering you’ve forgotten to open the last few days on your advent calendar and then gorging on the sudden feast of little chocolate Santa Clauses.

Using Historical Research 

I’ve also been making use of some of my research, and I’m glad I gathered certain things together beforehand so that I’m not too interrupted by having to look things up.

One of the early scenes is set at Nottingham castle, which I’d visited and taken pictures of, including the paths around it from every angle, so now I can just click, grab the picture, and know straight away which direction the character turns, whether there are steps or slopes, and so on. That probably sounds like too much worrying over picky details, but I live in Nottingham, so it seems like laziness to get that wrong.

Because my novel is mainly set in the 30s, with some flashbacks to the city in other periods of history, I need to know other details like what streets actually existed then, and so on. I’ve made a lot of use of photos and maps, and found some other gems in the library too.

This research has helped in other ways. It’s not just about facts, which arguably can be researched and added in later (though it certainly helps me to know them beforehand). It’s also about finding little things that can be worked into the novel, or that can influence certain plot points or characters. I’ve discovered the history of certain buildings that fit beautifully into my story, and images that inspire whole scenes.

I even discovered a wonderful book called Voices of Nottingham which is packed full of primary sources about life in Nottingham, some from the affluent members of society, but many from normal members of the public. Getting an insight into everyday lives is extremely useful, and the history student as well as the author in me is so excited to find this.

Finding Historical Images - Pubs and Libraries

Images are one of the most useful things I’ve found, both for getting facts right and for inspiring a sense of what the place was like at that time. It’s one thing to read about what Market Square looked like in late Victorian times, and another to actually see it. I have photos of old shops, of tram lines being laid, of historical posters and flyers, and many, many pictures of people... people milling about, people shopping, people playing, determined people going about their day, and people enjoying the city.

Victoria Station (now Victoria shopping centre)

And this is where pubs come in. Yes, honestly. Next time you go to a local pub, look for photos on the wall. You’re almost guaranteed to see at least a few. Look for older pubs, and particularly ones that are in interesting locations such as city centres. They will often hang black and white images of the pub itself and the streets around it. Pubs are places that tend to be proud of their heritage, so they’re good places to start. Don’t be afraid to ask either. Pubs often run in families and one establishment might have been passed down for generations.

Next stop: the library. Well, this one is obvious isn’t it? Look for large city libraries for ordnance survey maps, census records, and general interest books about the city and surrounding area. Look in smaller libraries for information on local areas.

And once you’ve read a little and found some interesting names of buildings, streets, shops, companies and people... the internet is your friend. It can sometimes be hard to find information without that initial clue to go on, which is why it’s often better to find a book to begin with, but once you have the name, the internet will provide you with pictures, personal anecdotes, and yet more titles of books to go find.

Market Square

Oh, and one last tip. Try not to get too distracted with historical research. It’s fun, and so it can easily take over. Remember what your end goal is. By all means go off on a tangent if you think the information could lead to something useful or wonderful, but remember to actually get writing too!

Showcase Sunday #36 - The World Fantasy Con Edition

Inspired by Celine from Nyx Book Reviews, I've decided to combine several weekly wrap-up memes into one post. Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Stacking the Shelves is hosted at Tynga's Reviews, and Sunday Post is hosted at Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Letterbox Love is a special British book-haul meme hosted by Lindsey at Narratively Speaking.

WORLD FANTASY CON

Last weekend I went to World Fantasy Con in Brighton. It was a lot of fun, and great to meet new people as well as see old friends again, including meeting Ellie from Curiosity Killed the Bookworm! :-) I went to panels and readings, chatted in the bar, braved the wind tunnel that was Brighton sea-front, went to a few publisher parties and book launches, and picked up far far too many books.

Me as a pirate (right) and steampunk 20s Ruth (left) on Halloween at WFC

 
Highlights of World Fantasy Con - Some brilliant advice panels, Scott Lynch, Mary Robinette Kowal's reading (and puppet show!), Tales of Eve launch, Terry Pratchett! (another Tiffany Aching book in the works... so excited!), Titan's fun fair party, and all the wonderful people I met and chatted to).

Mary Robinette Kowal putting on a puppet show for us

Panel - Trudi Canavan, Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Tad Williams, Adrian Stone, Stan Nicholls

 At the end of the event we had to travel home late on Sunday, and of course the first train was delayed and we missed the connecting train. We trudged onto a later train, sat down next to a guy who looked like a magician, who turned out to actually be a magician, who then gave us a free magic show for an hour on the train home! Bizarre but amazing end to a fantastic weekend! :-)

Read a longer post about my experience of World Fantasy Con here.


New Goodies:

So... the books. Yes, there are a lot, but in my defence a lot of these were free. You just don't say no to free books, do you? Besides, I'm hoping that Ellie's Sunday post will vastly eclipse mine, and therefore make me look restrained in comparison. :-)

Close ups of covers below

Two fantasy art books - Keith Parkinson and Didier Graffet

WFC book (contains info about special guests, some stories, and interesting bits and bobs)

Giant Thief, by David Tallerman

Passages: A Sampler of French Fantasy from Bragelonne

The Garden of Stones, by Mark T. Barnes

The Forbidden Library, by Django Wexler

Farlander, by Col Buchanan

The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen

The Emperor's Blades, by Brian Staveley

God's War, by Kameron Hurley

Sixty One Nails, by Mike Shevdon

The Gospel of Loki, by Joanne M. Harris

The Demon's Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan

Banished, by Liz de Jager (Squee! Can't wait to read this one!)

Tales of Eve, edited by Mhairi Simpson

The Black Heart, by Patrick O'Leary

The Apology Chapbook, by China Mieville (this was to apologise

for not being able to come to WFC, as he was supposed to be the

Master of Ceremonies at the event. The chapbook contains some of

his unpublished short stories)

An Xmen mug (won at the Titan fun fair party!)

A TOR shot glass (from the TOR party)

Titan rock.

A Gollancz Geeks pen.

The Testimony, by James Smythe (ebook)

Shadowplay, by Laura Lam (for review) (more squees!)

 Phew, that's all of them... I think. I've probably forgotten some. xD  Hope you've had a great week too!

Off To World Fantasy Con

Just a quick post to say that I'm going to World Fantasy Con in Brighton tomorrow until Sunday. I'm really excited about it! If you're going to be there too, let me know in the comments or tweet me, or just say hi if you see me around. :-)

Now I need to try to make some more room in my suitcase. There isn't nearly enough space in there for books...

Top Ten Halloween Reads

I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) in ages, and this week's theme is a really fun one, so here goes!

Top Ten Books to Read During Halloween

Well, for me, Halloween isn't necessarily about horror. Or rather, it's not just about the scares. It's also fun, colourful, a litte cheesy, a little goofy, funny, and a bit wicked. For me, it's about the supernatural more than serial killer horror; it's about wonder and magic, about the lines between worlds becoming thinner for one night. So with that in mind, here are my top ten Halloween reads...

1) The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. This book just sums up Halloween for me. It's the perfect read for this time of year!

2) Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice. The ultimate gothic vampire book. A must-read for vampire fans. The whole series is good, so if you like his one, carry on to later books too!

3) The Bartimaeus Series, beginning with The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud. An alternate London run by warlocks, a charismatic demon, and lots of fun. This is a fantastic series and highly recommended.

4) The Whitby Witches, by Robin Jarvis. This is a must for a Halloween read. Witches, sea-people, weird goings on as the mist rolls into Whitby. Atmospheric and entertaining!

5) Strangewood, by Christopher Golden. A very creepy and definitely adult read. This fits in with Halloween's 'line between worlds' idea in an unexpected way. This is a book that's stayed with me a long long time after reading it.

6) Carpe Jugulum, by Terry Pratchett. This is a Discworld book, but you don't need to have read others in the series to enjoy it. Vampires and witches and very funny!

7) Poison, by Chris Wooding. Oh god the spiders... and they're far from being the creepiest part. This is a brilliantly written book that offers a fun, scary tale, with a fantastic ending.

8) The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. It's funny how many of these books have a similar idea running through them, actually. Perhaps books that make me question the reality of my own existence are oddly the scariest kind for me? Anyway, this has plenty of weird beasties in it too. A classic, and always fun.

9) The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente. This is another book like The Graveyard Book that just seems perfectly suited to Halloween. A slightly sinister but charming view of fairyland, which involves a trip to a land of always-Autumn.

10) Hollow Pike, by James Dawson. Witches, strange dreams, and a killer in a small Yorkshire town.This is a fun, creepy YA story that captures something of the feeling of old R. L. Stine books.

What are your Halloween reads? This year I'll be at World Fantasy Con, so I'm not entirely sure what I'll be doing on the night. Over the Halloween period I think I might read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, which looks fantastic, and of course I'll be sticking on all the Buffy Halloween episodes. :-)

Retribution Falls - Book Review

Retribution Falls
by Chris Wooding

Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something. Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death. So when an opportunity arises to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship, Frey can’t pass it up. It’s an easy take—and the payoff will finally make him a rich man.

But when the attack goes horribly wrong, Frey suddenly finds himself the most wanted man in Vardia, trailed by bounty hunters, the elite Century Knights, and the dread queen of the skies, Trinica Dracken. Frey realizes that they’ve been set up to take a fall but doesn’t know the endgame. And the ultimate answer for captain and crew may lie in the legendary hidden pirate town of Retribution Falls. That’s if they can get there without getting blown out of the sky. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

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Retribution Falls is a really fun story. Really fun. Pirates, airships, a steampunkish feel, magic, demons, adventure, conspiracy... it has all the elements that let you know you’re in for a quick, exciting read. It’s an extremely fast paced book, barely pausing at any point for filler or downtime, and yet there are a surprising amount of back stories thrown in, all of them interesting. Chris Wooding is an expert at worldbuilding, slipping in facts and fascinating details that give such a vivid feeling of the world, without ever slowing down the plot or distracting from the story.

The rag-tag crew of the Ketty Jay will draw inevitable comparisons with the TV series Firefly. The book has a similar kind of roguish-twinkle feel to Firefly; they’re pirates, but they’re not the really bad kind of pirates, and there’s something unavoidably lovable about their underdog position and their attempts to stay ahead of everyone who’s out to get them. The characters in Retribution Falls can be a little one-note – they’re a character type and in general they stick to it – but the back stories here do add a little more depth to certain people. In particular I liked Crake, the daemonist who aids the crew with his daemon-based magic, and Jez, the new navigator and the ship’s only woman. I found these two the most human of the characters, and I really felt for Crake. The more minor characters were less explored but did add some tension and humour. I liked the doctor the best of the side-character bunch and would like to learn more about him in later books.

The captain, Darian Frey, was a hard character to like, but felt like a very honest portrayal of the kind of man that might end up in his position. He’s always running away, always trying to find someone else to blame for his problems. There were points where I became very frustrated with him, and other points where I honestly hoped Draken would capture him and the rest of the crew would get away. However, though Darian is often unlikeable, his slightly car-crash approach to life is fascinating to read about.

As the book goes on, most of the crew members begin to reveal a darker side, aspects that make the reader question whether they are really the good guys. This isn’t explored very deeply in this book; we’re still supposed to want them to come out on top, but I’m hoping this may be touched on a bit more later in the series. The book also succeeds in making the reader feel sympathy for Draken, the woman chasing down the Ketty Jay, though it perhaps succeeded a little too well with me. There were points where I honestly wanted her to win, but then, perhaps that was the point. This is a book about pirates, and I like that lines of morality were hard to draw. No-one should feel like they are entirely the good or bad guys here.

With an interesting storyline involving conspiracy, pirates and murder, memorable characters, action, plenty of humour, adventure, airships, daemon-magic, and a malevolent ship’s cat, Retribution Falls is a quick, fun read. There isn’t really anything surprising in the book, with some elements being quite predictable, but it’s done so well there is a great amount of satisfaction in how the events roll out. There is a lot about this world that I love, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of it with the Ketty Jay’s crew in later books.

I listened to this as an audiobook, so wanted to quickly mention the narrator, Rupert Degas, who does an absolutely fantastic job and really brings the book to life. Each character felt pitch-perfect to me, and his reading combined with Chris Wooding's excellent writing kept me engrossed throughout. I'll be looking for more of Rupert Degas' work too!