Retribution Will Fall

Kevin Coolidge


My job is to read. Well, part of my job. I work in a bookstore. I have my choice of any of over 50,000 books to take home after I finish work, with millions only a day away available from my wholesaler. Publishers send me free advanced reading copies every week, hoping I’ll love the book and hand sell it. Publicists call me to tell me about a book that they just know will be perfect for our store. My email is crammed with upcoming releases and authors telling about their newest book, and what book couldn't I wait to dive into? What book isn’t even available in the United States yet? What book did I have smuggled out in a blood pudding? The Iron Jackal* written by British author, Chris Wooding.

How did I find out about this book? Was it from an email? A cold call from a publicist? No, a wife of a customer asked me if I had ever watched the TV show Firefly? Heck, I own a T-shirt with the schematics of the Serenity. I’m still plumb riled up at the Qing wa kao de liu mang** that cancelled the show. The customer told me that her husband said I need to read Retribution Falls, and the follow up, Black Lung Captain.

As a bookseller, I talk about books, but it’s also my job to listen. Listen to what the customer likes, wants, and needs. You know have an actual conversation. Often I find out about a great book I want to read myself. The perilous exploits of the cocky, misfit crew of the Ketty Jay are such stories.

This is the type of old-fashioned adventure that I just don’t see much of anymore. I grew up reading such authors as Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Theodore Sturgeon. I recommended this to an older gentleman that seldom reads speculative fiction outside of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. He decided to give it a try anyway. He later told me that he didn’t want to like it, and yet he couldn’t stop reading it.

There are engaging characters, an interesting world, and a story that whisks you along. In each novel the crew grows tighter knit, more like family, and more daring. There are aerial battles, swash-buckling chases, and superb one-liners.

It’s not Firefly. The series is part fantasy, part science fiction, and all fun with a steampunk*** feel. Yet there’s something comfortably familiar. The crew of the Ketty Jay isn’t cut out to be heroes, and they’re not bad enough to be pirates…not really.

*Iron Jackal is currently only available in Britain (but I know a guy)

**It’s a Mandarin Chinese phrase that if I actually defined, my editor would edit…

*** Subgenre of science fiction and fantasy featuring advanced technology usually powered by steam, but may include retro-futuristic flying machines, analog computers, or beautiful women in corsets…

Retribution? Or Forgiveness? Email me at from_my_shelf@yahoo.com and let me know. Miss a past column? Don’t get mad. Get caught up. All is forgiven if you just visit http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com Look for Hobo’s new exciting adventures in his upcoming steampunk novel, “The Steam-Powered Subterfuge”…


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