The Black Lung Captain (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #2) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Feb 26, 2012 Nataliya rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-reads

The Black Lung Captain continues the story of a rogue and irresistible to women airship pilot/small-time smuggler, setting out with his crew on the adventures full of fun and debauchery... Sounds familiar?

...and this time, they are chasing a mysterious and powerful artifact that is about to fall in the wrong hands. Again, sounds familiar?

(Do you know how much I love Harrison Ford? Let me give you a hint. My card is a Ford. It has a name. My Ford is named Harrison. Yeah.)

Black Lung Captain, the The Black Lung Captain continues the story of a rogue and irresistible to women airship pilot/small-time smuggler, setting out with his crew on the adventures full of fun and debauchery... Sounds familiar?

...and this time, they are chasing a mysterious and powerful artifact that is about to fall in the wrong hands. Again, sounds familiar?

(Do you know how much I love Harrison Ford? Let me give you a hint. My card is a Ford. It has a name. My Ford is named Harrison. Yeah.)

Black Lung Captain, the second in Chris Wooding's "The Tales of the Ketty Jay" steampunk-ish series, in the very Han Solo-ish and Indiana Jones-ish in its spirit of fun and adventure. Do not look for profound moral lessons or life-changing experience from it (unless you count 'friends are good', 'betrayals are bad', and 'there are things better than money' as such). No, this book does not try to deliver that.

What it delivers instead is a pure unadulterated fast-paced page-turner full of adventures, betrayals and double-crosses, tight corners, suspense, friendship, traps, unbelievable escapes, and loads of humor. Like Indiana Jones movies, this book never make you doubt that the heroes will survive and be fine; instead, it keeps up the suspense by making you wonder how exactly they are going to get out of yet another tight corner. It will not be a life-changing experience but it will sure keep you nicely entertained, even if it doesn't make you think too much.

'You know what's worse than robbing a bunch of defenceless orphans?' Frey said. 'Failing to rob a bunch of defenceless orphans.'

Darian Frey and the crew of his old but trusty airship "Ketty Jay" - "six men, one woman (kind of), a golem and a cat" - are, as usual, in way over their heads. They are dead broke and so are easily tempted by a seemingly great offer involving a shady Captain Grist and a trip through the jungle to the remains of a Mane airship in search of a mysterious artifact that may bring them riches. Sounds too good to be true, right? Especially if Frey's old flame, the double-crossing pirate captain Trinica Dracken, decides to get involved.

"They're looking out for each other, Frey thought to himself. By damn, my crew are actually looking out for each other. Could you have ever imagined it, a year ago?"

After their previous adventure, a bunch of misfits on board of Ketty Jay learned to care for each other and became a real crew. Now these newly formed bonds of friendship are about to be tested by the dark secrets and troubles that plague them.

A man's past was his own on the Ketty Jay. Mostly, he reflected, that was a good thing. On Frey's crew, your only judge was yourself. But the conspiracy of silence had its downside. How could you be sure who was your friend and who wasn't, when they'd never seen the worst of you? When the secrets came out, who'd stand by your side?

Crake is torn apart by the dark secret from his past that involves a little dead girl. Jez, the heartbeat-challenged navigator, attempts to resist the ever-stronger pull of the Manes. Pinn's love life is shattered. Frey is neglecting his crew in favor of a certain old flame. And poor Harkins is, to his dismay, terrorized by Slag, the resident alpha-cat of the airship, and needs to take a stand against the terror reign of feline ferocity.

"Powerless? Him? Not any more. After all, he'd just punched out a cat. Taking on a dreadnought seemed like the next logical step."

Do not mess with Slag the cat. You just may find yourself in the ICU if you do.

The storyline is fun and well-executed. The pacing is fast. The language is rather modern and snarky, and is quite enjoyable even if it runs a risk of sounding dated in a few decades. The characterization is not bad at all, with distinct personalities and believable, even though predictable, character development.

"Well, if he could avoid leaving thousands of corpses behind, that would be good. Mass murder was a legacy he could do without."

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This book definitely delivers what it promises - an enjoyable fun ride chock-full of fascinating adventures. 4 stars. I will definitely pick up the final story of Frey and his crew.

'I could kiss you.'
'I'd rather you didn't. Allsoul only knows where that mouth's been.'

...more

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Aug 20, 2016 Ctgt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another great adventure from our favorite crew of misfits. Some more background on Jez, the Manes and Crake and Bess. Oh and maybe a whiff of romance.

8/10

8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2016 Christina Pilkington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-of-all-time

THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!

After reading Retribution Falls last year and loving it, I don't know why I waited so long to read the second book in the series. Wooding does such a great job of fleshing out each member of the crew of the Ketty Jay. He takes his time exploring character motivations, and the characters have internal struggles and conflicts that make them both relatable and unforgettable. You start to feel like you're a part of the crew right alongside them!

Yet, even though the character deve ...more

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Dec 18, 2013 Liam || Books 'n Beards rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, science-fiction, 2013, steampunk, bought-2013

Fantastic, I was worried after reading Retribution Falls that no sequels could live up to it, but the Black Lung Captain was a more than worthy sequel.

Firefly/Serenity parallels continue, but the Ketty Jay definitely has its own character and the world continues to be unique yet familiar. Characters are stellar.

It's 3am I'm going to bed. ...more

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Jan 10, 2015 Chris Haught marked it as to-read

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