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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
A lot fantasy novels can take you visually aesthetic landscapes with dragons and wizards in the background. And some can take you to the grime, gore and dirt of the battlefield. But with Low Town, for me personally being from the Baltimore area, I was transported to an altered Greenmount, Lexington Market, and Charles street. This book definitely had the grime of the city through its pages in a way in which was unique. Far from distracting me from the book, this made me want to read it that much more.
It was a really good read with fully fledged out characters. Dark and flawed like their surroundings, the characters try their best to survive in the rough city. Even the magical system that Polansky brought to life seemed to have it flaws.
It was a really good read with fully fledged out characters. Dark and flawed like their surroundings, the characters try their best to survive in the rough city. Even the magical system that Polansky brought to life seemed to have it flaws.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I wouldn't usually mind Polansky's brand of cynicism, this one skews way too far into "Dark-and-Gritty", with a lot of the "Grimy Noir flavour" racism and bigotry being seriously unpleasant to read (especially everything about Kirentown and it's crime-boss), beyond that, you would easily guess the culprit way, way to early into the story (If you ever before read a detective story or two), for the rest of it feeling frustrated by how the whole mystery could've been solved in minutes, if only characters exchanged slightly less vague sentences between each other once in a while.
I really wanted to like this book, it should have worked but in the end, the heavy writing style and the excessively long exposition just made me put it down. This book just felt like it never shifted from exposition to an actual story.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Low Town is Daniel Polasnky's debut novel - a fantasy that's not completely a fantasy. Told in the first person, Low Town is, and I don't think I'm the first to report, a crime noir story in a fantastical setting. It literally is a crime thriller set in a medieval secondary world...and it's works really well.
Warden is your typical bad-A with a heart of gold. His hard exterior comes from the way the system's treated him, his participation not only in the military, but in the police force, neither of which ending on the best of terms.
Throughout most of the book, Warden is extremely mysterious and Low Town was very hard to put down because of this aspect - Warden's always got something new up his sleeve, some talent or contact. This is especially surprising because of his work as a drug dealer.
And that's one of the things that makes Warden so surprising. This drug dealer has already tried everything and this is the field of work he's landed on and stuck with.
As we learn more about Warden's talents and networking skills, certain parts of his past are revealed as well and these were some of the best parts of the book. Not only do they not slow down the fast pace of this book, but they move the plot forward deftly.
Coming from the streets, Warden had it rough, but was able to prove his good nature by helping those less fortunate than himself, those who hadn't found a place for themselves as he had.
This next paragraph is not quite a spoiler, but may spoil the book if you read it, so read at your own risk:
I did figure out the ending pretty early on in the book, and the reason for the warning is because I think it's only because I read a review that mentioned this same thing. But, despite the fact that I knew the ending "whodunit," I still highly enjoyed the ride, exploring the world of Low Town and the character of Warden.
Why Read Low Town?
Are you in the mood for a fast-paced book that's almost impossible to put down? Low Town is a great break from your average fantasy. It certainly has plenty of fantasy elements, but this is its own beast altogether, something I've never seen in a fantasy novel. Highly Recommended.
4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)
Warden is your typical bad-A with a heart of gold. His hard exterior comes from the way the system's treated him, his participation not only in the military, but in the police force, neither of which ending on the best of terms.
Throughout most of the book, Warden is extremely mysterious and Low Town was very hard to put down because of this aspect - Warden's always got something new up his sleeve, some talent or contact. This is especially surprising because of his work as a drug dealer.
And that's one of the things that makes Warden so surprising. This drug dealer has already tried everything and this is the field of work he's landed on and stuck with.
As we learn more about Warden's talents and networking skills, certain parts of his past are revealed as well and these were some of the best parts of the book. Not only do they not slow down the fast pace of this book, but they move the plot forward deftly.
Coming from the streets, Warden had it rough, but was able to prove his good nature by helping those less fortunate than himself, those who hadn't found a place for themselves as he had.
This next paragraph is not quite a spoiler, but may spoil the book if you read it, so read at your own risk:
I did figure out the ending pretty early on in the book, and the reason for the warning is because I think it's only because I read a review that mentioned this same thing. But, despite the fact that I knew the ending "whodunit," I still highly enjoyed the ride, exploring the world of Low Town and the character of Warden.
Why Read Low Town?
Are you in the mood for a fast-paced book that's almost impossible to put down? Low Town is a great break from your average fantasy. It certainly has plenty of fantasy elements, but this is its own beast altogether, something I've never seen in a fantasy novel. Highly Recommended.
4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A noir telling of an ex cop who finds the remains of a missing child. Killed by magic.
The story ties noir thriller with dark fantasy city dystopia pretty well. There is a lot of action but the story didn’t work for me.
The story ties noir thriller with dark fantasy city dystopia pretty well. There is a lot of action but the story didn’t work for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes