History Literature / TalesOfTheKettyJay

* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler: At the end of the story, half of the Ketty Jay crew move on. Jez joins the Manes, Crake takes up with Samandra Bree and studies under Morben Kyne, Bess joins the army of Golems, Pinn goes home to get married, Slag the cat passes away, and Harkins becomes a flight instructor for the Coalition Navy. However, Silo, Malvery, and Ashua decide to stay on, Trinica joins the crew after shedding her pirate queen persona for good, and the sheep even has a new cat (who's pregnant with Slag's kittens).]]

-->''Since he'd almost crashed in the canyon, the question had been haunting him. "What would he leave behind?" Now he had an answer. A damn good story.''
--->'''"The Black Lung Captain"'''

* GentleGiant: Bess the Golem is a large, powerful and frightening suit of armour, but she's a total sweetheart when she's not being ordered to attack.

* LostTechnology: The Azryx are a disappeared people that have technology and demonist lore that's centuries or millenniums ahead of their modern-day descendants. This includes making cities out of ceramic and laser-shooting bio-mechanical monsters.

* MagicalAccessory: The Ketty Jay crew has daemon-bound earpieces from Crake that allows them to communicate long distance with each other. The Archduke has daemonists working for him, so his elite Century Knights have their own magical artifacts, for example Kedmund Drave has gauntlets that can catch bullets.
* MeatMoss: Silo is horrified to find that the powerplant of the Azryx city is a machine that's partially coated in beating pseudo-heart tissue.
* MedalsForEveryone: Almost all of the Ketty Jay crew are given medals by the Archduke at an award ceremony for their heroics in the battle of Thesk, Frey didn't get one as it'd be too awkward politically (he once killed the Archduke's son) and neither did Ashua though she did get a pardon for treason.
* MeleeATrois: In the final book, the last battle was initially between the Awakeners and the Coalition. Then the Awakeners's ally, the Samarlans come and betray them - intending to kill both sides. Then the Manes have been summoned and smash into the Samarlan fleet from behind...
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: Jez doesn't look like much, but with her superhuman strength and senses, she's easily the deadliest fighter in the crew after Bess the Golem. When Jez taps into her Mane might, her rampage look alot like Bess's. Jez also has limited MindControl and SeeingThroughAnothersEyes as higher-order abilities.
* NewMeat: In ''Iron Jackal'', Ashua was just a hired gun for the Ketty Jay mounting a train raid. Later in the book, Frey needed a shipment of medicine for trade. The dealer agreed to give it, but in return they take Ashua permanently. The crew was split about taking her, with Frey especially against it since he was attracted to her. There were plans to eventually dump her, but Ashua is already a [[ExperiencedProtagonist skilled operator]] and saved Silo, so with "First Mate" Silo vouching for her she's fully crew.

* DemonSlaying: After a certain incident, breaking the curse of the Iron Jackal is no longer an option for Frey. Good thing, Crake had a back-up plan. When the Iron Jackal fully materialized, Crake had experimental anti-demon machines ready. Frey, Ugrik and Crake were able to corner the Iron Jackal with these machines, before Frey stabs it with his demon-bound cutlass. Later on, Crake will end up killing 3 demonic Imperators with the help of an amulet he made.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Amalicia Thade had been screwed over by Frey twice, but what would lead her to betray the Ketty Jay crew and the Century Knights in an ambush that led to Jez's death? Amalicia was feeling horny while her new husband was away and wanted Frey to have sex with her, unfortunately Frey [[TheLoinsSleepTonight couldn't get it up that time]].

* DysfunctionJunction: Everyone has issues. However, in the process of getting over them, they demonstrate surprising psychological complexity.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Arguably, Bess's situation. [[spoiler: The suit of armour actually contains the soul of Crake's niece, whom he murdered after a summoned daemon took over his body. He managed to attach her soul to the suit of armour, but she only exists in her most basic form, more like a pet than the bright and vibrant little girl she had once been.]]
** What everyone believes happens when the Manes get a hold of you.
* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler: At the end of the story, half of the Ketty Jay crew move on. Jez has joined the Manes, Crake takes up with Samandra Bree and is studying under Morben Kyne, Bess joins the army of Golems, Pinn is getting married and Harkins becomes a flight instructor for the Coalition Navy. The rest of the crew stay together with ex-pirate queen Trinica joining them and they intend to keep in touch.]]
* FireForgedFriends: Initially the Ketty Jay crew have no real connection with each other than having no where else to go. Some of the members even hated each other, but through their first adventure the team is practically family now.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Pinn is an flatuent idiot who's dangerously clumsy with a gun when he's not flying a fighter plane. No one really likes him on the crew, but they do miss him when he disappears, as he's an idiot that everyone can blame.

* GatlingGood: During a heist against an armoured train, the Ketty Jay crew were given [[CoolCar 3 Rattletraps, which were armoured dune buggies with gatling guns]]. The Rattletrap's gatling guns enabled the crew to successfully raid the train.
* GentleGiant: Bess the Golem is a large, powerful and frightening suit of armour. But she's a total sweetheart when she's not being ordered to attack.

* GreaterScopeVillain: The Awakeners were the main bad guys, but their backers and later betrayers were the Samarlans.
* HellOnEarth: After the Awakeners had created their demonic Imperators, the leaders of the Awakeners also became possessed including the Lord High Cryptographer. Possessed, the Awakeners planned a demonic invasion of the world.

* HiddenDepths: The entire crew of the Ketty Jay have intricate backstories to explain how they've become who they are. One example is Malvery who's a war hero in the 1st War and was awarded one of highest military honours, he never mentions this as he's since become a fat drunk.
* {{Hypocrite}}: The Awakeners preach against demonists and often kill them on sight. However it turns out their Imperators are really members who are demonically possessed to get supernatural powers and the Awakeners used early demonist lore to create them.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Darian Frey, he's a selfish dick but there's no doubting he cares about his crew and enough of conscience remains that he will feel guilty if he's in the wrong.
* TheJuggernaut: Whenever Bess takes to action, expect steel walls to be ripped open and scores of enemies torn to bits while Bess walks through a hail of bullets. Then there's an actual Juggernaut that shows up in ''Iron Jackal'', this is a Godzilla-sized bio-mechanical monster that [[BreathWeapon can breath out]] [[WaveMotionGun a colossal heat ray that tears through city blocks and contemporary armies.]] [[RunOrDie The Ketty Jay just buggers out against it.]]

* CoolSword: The enchanted cutlass that Crake gives to Frey in order to pay for his passage on the Ketty Jay. It's possessed by a tame demon that makes the cutlass [[AbsurdlySharpBlade cut through anything]] and fight on its own - to the point of catching bullets.
* CowardlyLion: Crake has a bit of this, with his incompetence and fear in a shoot-out. But Harkins was dangerously close to being a DirtyCoward, he was so bad that even the ship's cat kicked his ass. But through his crush on Jez, he forced himself to man up a few times before taking on a dangerous air race for his own pride. With a victory in that air race and one against the cat, Harkins is still cowardly, but no longer falls apart in battle.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Trinica Dracken in the second book.
* CorruptChurch: The Awakeners are appear to be a benign religion of unity, based on the ramblings of the last king. However they have religiously persecuted daemonists so they can have a monopoly on demon use. They also have a deal with an enemy nation, the Samarlan, trading future influence for Azryx relics. Finally the upper echelon of the Awakeners intend on starting a demonic invasion.
* CulturedBadass: Trinica Dracken reads widely, has a very good understanding of religion and politics, and is the deadliest pirate in all of Vardia.

* CurseEscapeClause: Frey gets cursed by an Azryx artifact, every night he's visited by a demon, the Iron Jackal. On the final night, the demon will materialize fully and kill him. The curse can be ended by returning the artifact to its rightful place. Too bad, Crake accidentally destroys it.

* TheDreaded: Some of the Century Knights come with fearsome reputations, but their leader Kedmund Drave is especially someone to be scared of in a fight.

** Also what everyone believes happens when the Manes get a hold of you.

* TheFriendNoOneLikes: Pinn is an flatuent idiot who's dangerously clumsy with a gun when he's not flying a fighter plane. No one really likes him on the crew, but they do sometimes miss him whenever he disappears as he's an idiot that everyone can blame.