4.5 stars.
That was a super way to wrap up the series.
The swashbuckling Ketty Jay books are up there on my list of favorites. I think the best way to recommend it is to say if you like Firefly, you will probably like these books. They're not in space, but the vibe is similar, with a crew that might be even rougher around the edges than Captain Malcolm Reynolds' crew.
The books are imaginative and action-packed. The battles in this one went a little long for me, and I thought all the narrow escapes with death all around but not even one crew member dying was a little too easy, but the writing was as witty as ever, and parts of it even made me cry, like Silo's speech to the captain toward the end.

None of us weren't nothin' on our own, but 'cause of you, we shook the damn world!...We a losin' hand, Cap'n', but you the Ace of Skulls.

Samandra Bree was more blunt.

Not bad for a bunch of reprobates with a galaxy of personality disorders.

If you haven't tried this series yet, you're missing out. ( )

Ace of Skulls wraps this series quite nicely. A final adventure, built upon events of the previous books. The end of The Iron Jackal hinted at a war that would ensue if the documents found in the Azryx city were given the to Vard government, and that's exactly what happened.

The crew struggles with a crisis of conscience from the start. Frey wants to stay out of the conflict, aside from engaging in a bit of piracy to profit from it. The more civic-minded crew members want to fight for their country against the daemon-led Awakeners. The conflict unfolds and we see more of the inner workings of the Awakener cult, answering questions about them that were raised back in book 1.

I was a bit let down by some parts of the ending. Three crew members get the girl at the end: Crake, Frey, and Pinn. Crake's had been building up for the last two books, and Pinn got a final laugh out of me. Frey's obsession with Trinica was what had been dragging him down for the whole series. It would have been more refreshing to see him let go of the pirate queen. A moment of silence in this spoiler section for Slag.

This was a fun four books. The characters really sell it, none of them feel forced or out of place. The worldbuilding started off a little thin, but the more of this universe is unveiled over time, giving it a more adventurous feel. It's most likely that the adventures of the Ketty Jay are over, but there's enough of the world that hasn't been seen that other characters could explore (looking at New Vardia.) ( )

The Ace of Skulls is a fast-paced, thrilling, fantasy-steampunk adventure story that provides a magnificent conclusion to the tales of crew of the air-ship "The Ketty Jay". ( )

A marvellously satisfying conclusion to the series, wherein all of the big world elements the author had put into play previously in the series come crashing together for an epic finale. Everyone gets satisfying final developments to their arcs - and this being this ragtag crew we're talking about, they vary from the slightly silly to the utterly unorthodox - and somehow, despite all the reasons why it shouldn't be the case, things roughly work out. It's so satisfying it manages to balance out my ongoing uncertainty about the resolution of a certain supporting character - that being Trinica Dracken giving up everything she has forged for herself to hop on the back of Frey's motorcycle and ride off happily into the sunset. It's given just enough suggestion that she's holding back something for her that I'm willing to go with it, but I do wish the author had made Frey meet her halfway. ( )

Talk about ending with a bang. Superlatives are useless, this may well be the best 4 book series I have ever read, and the concluding book is the best of the four. There was a moment early on when I felt Wooding may just drop the ball short of the line, but he made a liar of me and produced a cracker of a finish. All of the threads are tied up neatly and organically, nothing feels forced or artificial, each character attains the summation of their efforts and desires satisfactorily, and there's a genuine sadness for the reader in bidding goodbye to a cast who have been so well-developed into fully-rounded, more or less likeable people. Some truly poignant moments, Silo's eulogy for the battle-scarred warrior cat Slag brought tears to my eyes, and Jez' apotheosis as a a fully-fledged Mane is both endearing and heartbreaking. I really hope that Wooding finds it within himself to one day revisit this world, the last few pages show potential for a one-off, more light-hearted reunion off the crew of the Ketty Jay sometime in the future. In the meantime, we are left with a truly epic series of books that I will probably end up reading many times over. 5 stars are just not enough. ( )