Thursday, June 2, 2011

Double Feature: The Fade and Retribution Falls (Chris Wooding)

That's right, ladies and gentlemen--two book reviews in one entry! Anyways, I'm such a fan of Chris Wooding that I am looking forward to writing two reviews at one for you.

The Fade:
Beneath the surface of a hostile moon, a war rages between the Eskarans and the Gurtans and has been for several years. Orna is an Eskaran Cadre--an elite, borderline supernatural warrior who does the will of the clan she serves. However, the Gurtans capture her, and, out of concern for her son, she breaks out to save him, even if her actions mean turning against her masters.

This book was a shift from Wooding's usual story-telling style. For one thing, he uses first person, and mixes past and present tenses as he switches in and out of Orna's flashbacks and the current action. I also liked the backwards chapters (30 to 0) because it added to the sense of a countdown. The mix of flashbacks and current situation really pulled me in. As I read it, I gradually came to realize just how much this war had destroyed Orna's life. The twist at the end is fantastic--didn't see it coming, and it definitely makes the plot play out in a non-stereotypical way.

Retribution Falls:

All that matters to Darian Frey, captain of the Ketty Jay, is enough riches to keep his craft in the air and his pockets lined. So, when he's offered a job to bring down a craft and take a chest of rubies in exchange for 50,000 ducats, the temptation is too great. However, the job goes horribly wrong, and Frey and his misfit crew are forced to flee the law. As they try not to get arrested or blasted out of the sky, they work to work out the messy intrigue they've gotten themselves into.

This book is fun--I'm not sure it's as well-crafted as some of the other books by Wooding I've read. The world doesn't feel quite as fleshed out as, say, The Fade or The Braided Path trilogy, and most of the characters have a deep, dark secret (I'll let you guess who does and who doesn't). That being said, the deep dark secrets are interesting, and there is intense airship pirate battles, so it's great for light pleasure reading for both the steam punk and non-steam punk inclined.

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