4 star writing for the second half, 2 stars for the first. Wooding's prose is as good as ever. Retribution Falls starts out as typical pirate fare with a fascinating Steampunk world. Captain Darian Frey is on the run, and frankly, as a lady myself, his craven, lecherous ways had me hoping he'd die an ignominious death-at least for the first half of the book. I slogged on, and the second half delivered the humor, action, and character change that made the book worth finishing. Entertaining, but don't come looking for a deep read. As an aside, be warned that these pirates are mostly disgusting-no Hollywood Glam, and this is an adult/older teen novel.