Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding - A made for TV novel?

Finished Retribution Falls last night. It's a Steampunk-ish novel set in a world where lighter than air craft rule the skies. Its not really Steampunk because it's set on a different world, but there's alot of brass fittings and goggles all over the place.

Basically it's a story of a pirate crew getting set up as the fall guys for a political assassination and their journey to get out of trouble. The story moves along pretty well and the world-building and character development keeps it interesting. The main character, Captain Frey, comes off as a mix of Captain Kirk and Bret Maverick, but the ensemble of characters make the story worth reading.

The mad-for-TV vibe is probably due to the relatively mild language used to describe the scenes of sex and violence. A little more grit would go a long way to making the books more enjoyable.