Publishing information: Paperback; 448 pages
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co; 29 July 2010
ISBN 10: 0575085185
ISBN 13: 9780575085183
Series: Book 2 of the Tales of the Ketty Jay
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson
Back of the Book: "Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more.
Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters.
Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it ...
Strap yourself in for another tale of adventure and debauchery, pilots and pirates, golems and daemons, double-crosses and double-double-crosses. The crew of the Ketty Jay are back!"
Every since I first picked up a Chris Wooding novel I have been impressed with his style and writing. With his first book in the Ketty Jay series, Retribution Falls, we learn of the crew and all of their quirks. When we return to the crew this time in The Black Lung Captain we see the crew down in the dumps as all their hard work and money they earned from the last big job has run out. Their luck has run aground. The Black Lung Captain is a darker, grittier story. Because of this, I had a hard time getting back into the swing of things as it did not have the same light-hearted feeling as the first book. That does not mean that the book was bad. Its good. It is just that I was expecting a fun read and what I ended up getting was a more complex novel than first expected.
Everyone from the first book returns, but nearly everyone's personal demons are brought to the forefront and have a direct impact on the individual and the crew. When Wooding decides to write about someone down on their luck, he goes above and beyond the normal and there are times while reading this novel where it was so depressing that I had to wonder when the group would bounce back from the jarring hit they just took. There are a few characters you can always count on and they do add some levity to the situations but overall this book is very bleak. Of course, Wooding finds a way to turn the other cheek and write a great ending to the story and have you begging for more Tales of the Ketty Jay.
Another thing that I enjoy about Wooding Ketty Jay novels is the art work. The cover art for both books in the series are top notch. I was floored when I saw Retribution Falls and he has done it again with the cover to The Black Lung Captain. I believe Stephan Martiniere is the illustrator for the books and they are good looking.
The Black Lung Captain, is a great edition to the series and while it is a darker, grittier book than the first entry in the series it deserves its place as a few loose ends are tied off from the first book and it feels as if you are starting to grow along with the crew. While there are fewer scenes that have you laugh, the action and intrigue are brought to the front and we gain valuable insights to most if not all of our heroes (and some villians). If you enjoyed the first book, this book is a perfect addition. While each book could be read as a standalone, it is not recommended as there would be a lot of wholes in the story and the character's backgrounds.
Plot 7
Characters 7.5
Style 7
Overall 7/10
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