The Third Time's the Charm

high adventure, quick-thinking protagonist

This queer-friendly ripping yarn features the world’s biggest-hearted (perhaps most foolhardy?) pirate captain, who forgives our hero Revin not once, not twice, but three times. Admittedly, Revin’s got qualities that would appeal to a pirate captain: he’s quick-witted, resourceful, brave, and pragmatic, whether it’s during a pirate raid on an airship or in finding a way to delay an execution.

I loved the struggles on the airship: I’ve never read a story featuring airships that so convincingly made me feel I was aboard—the pitching and lurching, the worries about staying aloft, the vulnerability of the structure (the dangers posed by blade and flame). Everything was well realized and well incorporated into the narrative.

There’s magic in the way airships are powered and steered and an underlying situation of war between island nations. These facts and the fact that we’ve only learned the barest minimum about Revin’s past (and nothing about Will’s) means there’s plenty of room in this world for more adventures, should the author choose.