REVIEW: Black Lung Captain (Ketty Jay Tales #2) by Chris Wooding

*SPOILER ALERT*

So he were are again. Back in Chris Wooding's Firefly-inspired universe with Captain Frey and his ragtag bunch of misfits. A year has passed since the events of Retribution Falls and the crew of the Ketty Jay are pretty much exactly where we left them, doing the odd bit of smuggling and petty theft and hoping not to attract the attention of the Coalition Navy or the Century Knights.

The plot of Black Lung Captain follows a similar pattern to Retribution Falls. Once again Darian receives an offer that seems too good to be true, once again he takes it against his better judgement and once it again it blows up in his face. The crew are then forced to team up with someone they would rather not, someone who has a connection to Frey's past and who has already betrayed them once before.

Throw in a dark backstory for one of the characters, the odd revelation and plenty of things blowing up (both deliberately and accidentally) and you have the recipe for a good old fashioned adventure.

For those of you who have read the first book this slots nicely into place as a follow up. I guess this is your typical second book in a series. They tend to be a bit more expansive and a bit "braver", now that the author knows he has got the first one published and he can let his creativity shine through a bit more.

The story is a bit grander and the author is able to dedicate more time to the development of the characters and their backstories; always tricky to do with the first one as you are not sure whether this is the only book in the series that will ever see the light of day.

Wooding does a pretty decent job of spinning an enjoyable yarn too. There is nothing particularly ground-breaking here but there is enough to keep you entertained and a few nice little touches and twists which enable this to rise above the "normal".

The character dynamics are becoming more well defined and the interplay between them feels natural and organic. We are learning more about this world every day and you sense that Wooding has something more than just your "caper of the week" planned for the later installments.

As for Black Lung Captain itself, well it contains the usual amounts of intrigue and suspense. Wooding has thrown a few of the characters onto seemingly independent "story arcs" and there are several questions that get at least partially looked at through the book.

• What is the exact nature of the Manes and how does Jez fit in with them?
• Can Crake ever atone for his mistake in the first book?
• Will Hawkings get one over on the cat?
• Can Trinica and Frey put aside their past differences and work together, despite barely being able to stand each other?

I really did enjoy this book, it ripped along at a reasonably rate and (though the plot was nothing particularly new or clever) the story had enough about it to keep me entertained. The characters are becoming more rounded and even likeable in some cases, and there is plenty hinted at to imply that this series might be gathering a good bit of momentum.

Verdict: 4 stars out of 5