Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

A foray into steampunk territory with Chris Wooding's The Iron Jackal, the third in his Ketty Jay series of novels. While it may not be the most profound book in the world, Iron Jackal is a well written, tightly plotted slice of slightly pulpy fun.

Newly famous and flush with cash following the events of the The Black Lung Captain, Darien Frey and his crew a riding high for once. But when Frey agrees to steal a priceless relic from a train, he can't let it pass through his clutches without touching it at least once. Inevitably the item turns out to be cursed, condemning Frey to die at the hands of the monstrous Iron Jackal unless he can return the artifact to its rightful home before the next full moon. Motivated like never before, the crew find themselves caught up in a series of increasingly desperate escapades — a robbery, a suicidally dangerous air race, the liberation of a slave labour camp — that gradually bring them closer to Frey's salvation.

While some of these tropes are familiar from elsewhere — Firefly, Star Wars &c — Wooding obviously has a lot of fun using them to draw out new elements of his cast of regulars. We get to learn more about the backstories of some of the characters — Silo in particular — and to see how both Crake and Mulvery respond to the tempting idea of leaving the Ketty Jay for a more settled life. We also get to see how Frey's predicament forces him to reconsider — partially, at least — his chaotic approach to life and show some signs of emotional maturity: how he has come to care for his crew and how he worries about what might happen to them if he dies; how his lack of interest in his crews' pasts has led him to misjudge Silo; and what all this means for his relationship with sometime dread pirate queen Trinica Draken.

Although I've said that the book isn't the deepest thing I've ever read, it's probably one of the most enjoyable. Wooding keeps the action bowling along at an impressive pace — Harkins' frantic air race is fantastic — the characters are well drawn, and playing spot the SF cliche is at least part of the fun.