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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
We are introduced to Warden, Low Town's chief narcotics distributor. His previous career in law enforcement sees him entangled in an investigation into a string of abductions and murders of children in his neighborhood. Warden's inquiries lead him through the ranks of low criminals, government officials, and dangerous aristocrats.
The following pertains to the entire Low Town series. Don't worry--there's no spoilers!
Wow! I loved the mix of fantasy and hardboiled crime. The Warden is not a great man. He's been brought low by his own mistakes and addictions. He's a cynic and a misanthrope. He’s self-demeaning and self-pitying. However, in each installment of this series, he acts from a deep-down altruistic impulse. We like the Warden because he's a better person than he thinks he is.
The series is written in the first person from Warden’s point of view. The books are full of digressions in the form of flashbacks. I am not always a fan of flashbacks, but they are deftly done here and greatly enhance the narrative.
The prose has a biting cleverness to it that is a combination of Joe Abercrombie and Terry Pratchett. Every description and every nuance is filtered through Warden’s cynical and self-pitying point of view. The Warden is a broken man, and he sees everything around him as broken and brought low. The reader is left to wonder if a more optimistic narrator would describe the same scenes in more pleasant or uplifting terms.
This is one of my most highy-rated series to date.
View the complete review here at Epic Grit.
The following pertains to the entire Low Town series. Don't worry--there's no spoilers!
Wow! I loved the mix of fantasy and hardboiled crime. The Warden is not a great man. He's been brought low by his own mistakes and addictions. He's a cynic and a misanthrope. He’s self-demeaning and self-pitying. However, in each installment of this series, he acts from a deep-down altruistic impulse. We like the Warden because he's a better person than he thinks he is.
The series is written in the first person from Warden’s point of view. The books are full of digressions in the form of flashbacks. I am not always a fan of flashbacks, but they are deftly done here and greatly enhance the narrative.
The prose has a biting cleverness to it that is a combination of Joe Abercrombie and Terry Pratchett. Every description and every nuance is filtered through Warden’s cynical and self-pitying point of view. The Warden is a broken man, and he sees everything around him as broken and brought low. The reader is left to wonder if a more optimistic narrator would describe the same scenes in more pleasant or uplifting terms.
This is one of my most highy-rated series to date.
View the complete review here at Epic Grit.
Low Town is one part Abercrombie’s Last Argument of Kings, one part Block’s 8 Million Ways to Die (review), seasoned with enough drug use to power A Scanner Darkly. It was unexpectedly engaging.
The Warden runs the dreamsnake and pixie’s breath drug trade in Low Town, the ghetto area of Rigus.
Low Town was decimated by plague years ago; survivors have grown up, moved on, but still carry the horror of those days with them. The Warden is a street-smart survivor of those years. He went on to survive a brutal war conquering a neighboring city and a stint with the city’s law enforcement. He’s since lost his position as an agent, but his habit of sampling the product he sells helps him forget. When he discovers the mangled body of a dead Low Town child, he’s drawn into the investigation.
I’m not often a fan of the anti-hero narrator. Most authors are good at developing the ‘anti-‘ but seem unable to develop the subtlety that brings the ‘hero’ part to the formula. Polansky did an excellent job of balancing the line, showing us a functioning addict who is occasionally despicable, but occasionally capable of goodness. Like many noir mysteries, the Warden is a man who has fallen from grace, except he takes an angry kind of pride in his ability to survive the streets. Some might find the rest of the cast to be tend towards the stereotypical side of detective fiction. I’m not sure I’d entirely disagree, but I think what matters in a genre heavily influenced by tropes is the ability to elevate characterization above simple definitions. The Warden is flawed enough that I didn’t admire him and found some actions despicable, but yet I wanted to read more. His backstory was woven in well, giving insight to his character as well as the fantasy world. It’s interesting that the reason he gives for leaving the government’s service isn’t explored further, but perhaps that’s being saved for the sequels.
I did feel the world was a little medieval European generic, but honestly, many authors who set noir in fantasy worlds don’t focus on the setting as much as the mood and character. To me, this was one of the weaker points of Low Town. Polansky did a reasonable job of making the rough-and-tumble of Low Town clear, as well as particular locations needful to the story, but I didn’t have as much sense of the fantastical ingredients or even the political structure of the city, just the relationship of the law enforcement agencies to the criminals. But, in a way, it really is the untutored viewpoint of a person who has lived his life in a very narrow environment, only leaving it for war. He has a lot of class bitterness without great insight into the structure overall that might help the reader differentiate the world.
Overall, an interesting read. In some ways, I’m not sure I would have continued reading if it would have been set in the here and now–say in Detroit, with weed and crack replacing the dreamgrass and pixie’s breath, with payoffs to local cops and fearing investigation by the DEA. It’s very gritty noir, and yet I found it more palatable than most. It rather surprises me that Low Town hasn’t come across my radar more often, as the genre of grim fantasy is enjoying unprecedented popularity and this seems like a book that would appeal to many of my book-world friends. I’ll be looking to read the next book in the series.
The Warden runs the dreamsnake and pixie’s breath drug trade in Low Town, the ghetto area of Rigus.
Low Town was decimated by plague years ago; survivors have grown up, moved on, but still carry the horror of those days with them. The Warden is a street-smart survivor of those years. He went on to survive a brutal war conquering a neighboring city and a stint with the city’s law enforcement. He’s since lost his position as an agent, but his habit of sampling the product he sells helps him forget. When he discovers the mangled body of a dead Low Town child, he’s drawn into the investigation.
I’m not often a fan of the anti-hero narrator. Most authors are good at developing the ‘anti-‘ but seem unable to develop the subtlety that brings the ‘hero’ part to the formula. Polansky did an excellent job of balancing the line, showing us a functioning addict who is occasionally despicable, but occasionally capable of goodness. Like many noir mysteries, the Warden is a man who has fallen from grace, except he takes an angry kind of pride in his ability to survive the streets. Some might find the rest of the cast to be tend towards the stereotypical side of detective fiction. I’m not sure I’d entirely disagree, but I think what matters in a genre heavily influenced by tropes is the ability to elevate characterization above simple definitions. The Warden is flawed enough that I didn’t admire him and found some actions despicable, but yet I wanted to read more. His backstory was woven in well, giving insight to his character as well as the fantasy world. It’s interesting that the reason he gives for leaving the government’s service isn’t explored further, but perhaps that’s being saved for the sequels.
I did feel the world was a little medieval European generic, but honestly, many authors who set noir in fantasy worlds don’t focus on the setting as much as the mood and character. To me, this was one of the weaker points of Low Town. Polansky did a reasonable job of making the rough-and-tumble of Low Town clear, as well as particular locations needful to the story, but I didn’t have as much sense of the fantastical ingredients or even the political structure of the city, just the relationship of the law enforcement agencies to the criminals. But, in a way, it really is the untutored viewpoint of a person who has lived his life in a very narrow environment, only leaving it for war. He has a lot of class bitterness without great insight into the structure overall that might help the reader differentiate the world.
Overall, an interesting read. In some ways, I’m not sure I would have continued reading if it would have been set in the here and now–say in Detroit, with weed and crack replacing the dreamgrass and pixie’s breath, with payoffs to local cops and fearing investigation by the DEA. It’s very gritty noir, and yet I found it more palatable than most. It rather surprises me that Low Town hasn’t come across my radar more often, as the genre of grim fantasy is enjoying unprecedented popularity and this seems like a book that would appeal to many of my book-world friends. I’ll be looking to read the next book in the series.
Somewhere between Urban Fantasy and High Fantasy lies Low Town. World building is done throughout the novel rather than as a barrage in the beginning. The main character and plot fight against typical tropes (overly talented main character, damsel in distress, etc.). Fantasy fiction mashed up with Chinatown.
Hard-boiled detective novel with an amazingly telegraphed twist ending. Set in a faux-Dickensian London-like town, with lots of drugs, and some underworld magic.
Polansky layers his tale with all the tropes of the classic pulps; casual racism (here mostly represented by a race known as the Kiren), stool pigeons, drug use, flashes of vivid violence, both men and women of loose morals, and moments of gloriously over-the-top prose such as "Its voice was shattered porcelain and bruises on a woman." The Warden is an anti-hero straight from Andrew Vachss' Burke school of brutal enforcers with rarely-exposed glimpses of moral outrage.
All this would be fine (and I'm sure, based on what's on the page, that Polansky could deliver a hell of a classic pulp novel should he wish), but the author pushes the story into delirious WTF territory with his setting, as well as as the liberal doses of sorcery, wizards, and otherworldly monsters. What's most interesting, however, is not this unusual setting, but Polansky's refusal to rely on magic as a crutch, instead crafting the tale as a true mystery. The Warden may understand the perils of magic, but he's no practitioner of the dark arts; he doggedly pursues leads and suspects through clues and informers, not through, say, a magical portal that reveals all to those who are pure of heart. The world may have access to magic, but The Warden is a creature of the real.
Read the rest of the review here.
All this would be fine (and I'm sure, based on what's on the page, that Polansky could deliver a hell of a classic pulp novel should he wish), but the author pushes the story into delirious WTF territory with his setting, as well as as the liberal doses of sorcery, wizards, and otherworldly monsters. What's most interesting, however, is not this unusual setting, but Polansky's refusal to rely on magic as a crutch, instead crafting the tale as a true mystery. The Warden may understand the perils of magic, but he's no practitioner of the dark arts; he doggedly pursues leads and suspects through clues and informers, not through, say, a magical portal that reveals all to those who are pure of heart. The world may have access to magic, but The Warden is a creature of the real.
Read the rest of the review here.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
I seem to be on a non-deliberate kick of junkies who investigate and/or criminal underworlds, this one combines the two.
Warden is an ex-soldier, ex-cop and now he's a narcotic dealer who samples some of his wares, regularly. He's dragged into a murder mystery because he's the first on scene at two of the murders by coincidence and his ruthless ex-boss decides to use his underworld ties to help the investigation along. Warden gets involved in a lot of murky things to try to find out the truth, but the truth might just kill him.
This should score higher for me, it feels like a gritty 1920s type of story, after all the hero is a war veteran, and with early places namechecked from his history of Apres and Ives, you know that this is an influence, there was also a great plague that swept through the poor area (though this one was before, rather than after, the war) and there's a feeling of tensions and of change about to sweep through. There's also a detective story AND magic and you'd think that enough of my checkboxes would be ticked off to make me happy with this, but somehow it didn't sparkle for me, it didn't quite work in the ways it would have expected. It's not a bad story, don't get me wrong, it just didn't work in the ways that make it a great story for me. It was so very nearly a 4* read though, just not quite.
I do intend to read the rest of the series, it did do that for me, and I can see potential in the main character but he didn't really come alive for me enough. Hopefully as Polansky develops as a writer there will be more flesh on the bare bones of this character.
Warden is an ex-soldier, ex-cop and now he's a narcotic dealer who samples some of his wares, regularly. He's dragged into a murder mystery because he's the first on scene at two of the murders by coincidence and his ruthless ex-boss decides to use his underworld ties to help the investigation along. Warden gets involved in a lot of murky things to try to find out the truth, but the truth might just kill him.
This should score higher for me, it feels like a gritty 1920s type of story, after all the hero is a war veteran, and with early places namechecked from his history of Apres and Ives, you know that this is an influence, there was also a great plague that swept through the poor area (though this one was before, rather than after, the war) and there's a feeling of tensions and of change about to sweep through. There's also a detective story AND magic and you'd think that enough of my checkboxes would be ticked off to make me happy with this, but somehow it didn't sparkle for me, it didn't quite work in the ways it would have expected. It's not a bad story, don't get me wrong, it just didn't work in the ways that make it a great story for me. It was so very nearly a 4* read though, just not quite.
I do intend to read the rest of the series, it did do that for me, and I can see potential in the main character but he didn't really come alive for me enough. Hopefully as Polansky develops as a writer there will be more flesh on the bare bones of this character.
Nos encontramos ante un libro un tanto atípico, pero no por ello malo precisamente. De hecho, es uno de los libros de fantasía más realista que he visto este año. Un libro que bien podría inscribirse en una literatrua de género negro, a pesar de la magia y de los nombres extraños que reciben algunos objetos. También hay que tener en cuenta que no es un libro que el típico lector de fantasía vaya a encontrar realmente atractivo, aunque sea muy bueno, debido a su estilo oscuro y un tanto desesperanzador. Está escrito en primera persona, y el personaje que me ha venido a la cabeza muchas veces según iba leyendo es Durzo, de la trilogía de Brent Weeks El Ángel de la noche. Sobre todo el Durzo de El camino de las sombras. Sí, parece extraño que diga que me recuerda a Durzo y no a Kylar, pero quien haya leído la trilogía entenderá la diferencia. Es un punto de vista distinto a lo habitual, y ayuda mucho a mantener en la ignorancia de la trama al lector.
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