Scan barcode
twerkingtobeethoven's review
3.0
"Low Town" is all right-ish. I thought I would have loved this book. Loved it hard. I mean, "Low Town" is a noir story set in a fantasy world. How can you possibly go wrong? Right.
At the end of the day, i'm sort of... er... unimpressed. Underwhelmed. There are no particular issues, the writing's good and everything's well crafted, there's just something missing. I don't know if I should use this word to describe "Low Town" but I find this book to be "bland."
Sorry. I mean, I really am.
At the end of the day, i'm sort of... er... unimpressed. Underwhelmed. There are no particular issues, the writing's good and everything's well crafted, there's just something missing. I don't know if I should use this word to describe "Low Town" but I find this book to be "bland."
Sorry. I mean, I really am.
iffer's review
3.0
This was a solid, grim and gritty noir detective mystery. I was surprised by how well this worked out in a high fantasy setting, and I'm interested to read the other books in the series.
guvenator's review against another edition
5.0
The best book I've read in a long time. I loved it because it was so different to conventional fantasy. Our protagonist was a complete antithesis of a conventional fantasy hero, and it made for interesting and refreshing reading.
But even of you're not a huge fantasy reader, you don't get too bogged down in all of that, and the crime thriller element of the novel kept the pace fast and the story intriguing all the way to the last page.
A must read!
But even of you're not a huge fantasy reader, you don't get too bogged down in all of that, and the crime thriller element of the novel kept the pace fast and the story intriguing all the way to the last page.
A must read!
ganglari's review
4.0
tl;dr: Good enough for a diversion, a promising stand-alone detective-novel set in a Dishonored-like setting, marred by a too-simple central conundrum.
I want to give this 3-and-a-half stars. It is exceptionally well written and the world-building is on point (somewhat similar in tone to the Dishonored-series of games, to the extent that I wondered if the author was involved in writing for the game). I definitely enjoyed it enough to read the next in the series. It also earns extra credit for being a stand-alone, rather than yet another first-in-a-trilogy. So four stars for that.
However, story-wise it's no more than a three; the central detective story was so predictable I could've told you the rest of it including the twist as soon as the major players had all been introduced. Enjoyable (there's something to be said for a story that makes you feel smart), but...eh.
So, four stars to be kind, definitely worth reading, but take away a half-star if you got this far.
I want to give this 3-and-a-half stars. It is exceptionally well written and the world-building is on point (somewhat similar in tone to the Dishonored-series of games, to the extent that I wondered if the author was involved in writing for the game). I definitely enjoyed it enough to read the next in the series. It also earns extra credit for being a stand-alone, rather than yet another first-in-a-trilogy. So four stars for that.
However, story-wise it's no more than a three; the central detective story was so predictable I could've told you the rest of it including the twist as soon as the major players had all been introduced. Enjoyable (there's something to be said for a story that makes you feel smart), but...eh.
So, four stars to be kind, definitely worth reading, but take away a half-star if you got this far.
patrick6367's review
5.0
So, I don't write nearly as many reviews as I did once upon a time, but this particular book surprised me enough that I feel compelled to do so today. I'm not sure why I thought this was a sci-fi dystopian-future novel, but I put off reading it for a long time because of that misconception. I did finally read it because I kept hearing good things about it. I'm glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it and churned through it in a less than a day.
This isn't dystopian sci-fi, it's really terrific Grimdark. The world building is excellent, and the writing itself is outstanding. I got caught up in the narrative and swept along in the story and few books are able to do that for me any more. Frankly I'd rate the world-building and story-telling right on up there with Abercrombie and Lawrence, but the characters are not quite as startling vibrant. Since nobody creates memorable characters as well as Joe and Mark, that's hardly a sin. The protagonist is flawed, complex, gritty and reasonably well-drawn. If you like Grimdark stories you should like this book well enough. As others have mentioned it's a noir, murder investigation tale but I thought it was really well done and I kind wait to jump into the sequel.
This isn't dystopian sci-fi, it's really terrific Grimdark. The world building is excellent, and the writing itself is outstanding. I got caught up in the narrative and swept along in the story and few books are able to do that for me any more. Frankly I'd rate the world-building and story-telling right on up there with Abercrombie and Lawrence, but the characters are not quite as startling vibrant. Since nobody creates memorable characters as well as Joe and Mark, that's hardly a sin. The protagonist is flawed, complex, gritty and reasonably well-drawn. If you like Grimdark stories you should like this book well enough. As others have mentioned it's a noir, murder investigation tale but I thought it was really well done and I kind wait to jump into the sequel.
srlemons42's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book. I had been meaning to read it for a while and finally got around to it. I loved the plot and the characters. I guessed who was responsible around mid book, but it never lessened my enjoyment.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
pavram's review against another edition
4.0
Nije loše, uopšte nije loše.
Detektivski roman smešten u grimdark okruženje, harizmatičan antiheroj (mada mi je već malo muka od šarmantnih protagonista, dajte nam nekog ko ne može da sklopi dve normalne rečenice) i za mene najbitnije: nema ekspozicije. Obožavam kada se detalji sveta prikažu organski, kroz male detalje i suptilnosti u dijalogu, bez većeg info dump-a kojem je fantastika nažalost sklona.
Ko je ubica, to glavno pitanje detektivskih romana, pomalo je očigledno, pa nema nekog većeg iznenadjenja odnosno šoka koji je, reklo bi se, ključan za ovakvu vrstu priče. Još neki sitniji detalji, kao npr. pomalo nespretan način na koji Polanski zatvara poglavlja (gl. lik ode na spavanje, gl. lik se onesvesti, gl. lik uzme nešto da pije, sve u svemu, previše praznih istovetnih scena) sprečavaju ovaj roman da bude petica. Ali da, vratiću se po još i posebno me interesuje ta šira priča sveta koja će zasigurno biti istražena u nastavcima.
4
Detektivski roman smešten u grimdark okruženje, harizmatičan antiheroj (mada mi je već malo muka od šarmantnih protagonista, dajte nam nekog ko ne može da sklopi dve normalne rečenice) i za mene najbitnije: nema ekspozicije. Obožavam kada se detalji sveta prikažu organski, kroz male detalje i suptilnosti u dijalogu, bez većeg info dump-a kojem je fantastika nažalost sklona.
Ko je ubica, to glavno pitanje detektivskih romana, pomalo je očigledno, pa nema nekog većeg iznenadjenja odnosno šoka koji je, reklo bi se, ključan za ovakvu vrstu priče. Još neki sitniji detalji, kao npr. pomalo nespretan način na koji Polanski zatvara poglavlja (gl. lik ode na spavanje, gl. lik se onesvesti, gl. lik uzme nešto da pije, sve u svemu, previše praznih istovetnih scena) sprečavaju ovaj roman da bude petica. Ali da, vratiću se po još i posebno me interesuje ta šira priča sveta koja će zasigurno biti istražena u nastavcima.
4
_claw_'s review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I must say that I really enjoyed the dark atmosphere this book had, it was exactly what I wanted to read.
I think the main character was quite well written and even likeable, if you enjoy cynical anti-heros as main protagonist.
I mainly enjoyed those chapters who were about his past, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the main plot as well.
Of course, like every book, there are some problems. For example I felt really confused about the world building. There was just too many different names thrown around from the beginning, with not enough explanation. The side characters could also be written better. They didn't really feel 3 dimensional. And I think the main character gets injured quite too often to feel realistic, conscidering some of the injuries involved broken ribs and twisted ankle... But somehow he's probably tough enough to not be bothered about it after he sleeps for a bit. My final critique is that the end is very rushed, without exploring the motives of the villain in depth, which was a bit dissapointing. . Overall, solid read if you are looking for something dark, dystopian and with touch of fantasy.
I think the main character was quite well written and even likeable, if you enjoy cynical anti-heros as main protagonist.
I mainly enjoyed those chapters who were about his past, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the main plot as well.
Of course, like every book, there are some problems. For example I felt really confused about the world building. There was just too many different names thrown around from the beginning, with not enough explanation. The side characters could also be written better. They didn't really feel 3 dimensional. And I think the main character gets injured quite too often to feel realistic, conscidering some of the injuries involved broken ribs and twisted ankle... But somehow he's probably tough enough to not be bothered about it after he sleeps for a bit. My final critique is that the end is very rushed,