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cupiscent's review against another edition
5.0
What a magnificently noir conclusion to this epic grimy twist of a trilogy. And I enjoyed every page of it. Sure, the flashbackstory asides were sometimes a little confusing and Warden continues to be such an arch-masculine loner noir hero that it makes one's teeth hurt from the stoic squaring of jaw, but this is just so deeply dedicated to the post-Industrial-collapse damage to humanity that somehow I don't just go with it, I revel in it. It's like a fantasy version of The Wire, with all the devil-may-care wicked enjoyment and serious business of soul-crushing, but just enough divorced from reality that it doesn't suck my spirits.
Also, fuck yeah Mazzie.
Also, fuck yeah Mazzie.
vhoss_bookgraph's review against another edition
5.0
I really like hard-boiled detective novels and film noir.
I also really like fantasy novels and morally gray protagonists.
This was an excellent combination of many of those elements.
I also really like fantasy novels and morally gray protagonists.
This was an excellent combination of many of those elements.
spellboundbybooks's review against another edition
5.0
What a truly epic wrap up to an excellent fantasy trilogy. I found the first two books massively entertaining but this one added a layer of emotional intensity I did not expect to feel. It also raised the entire trilogy up to a whole new level of brilliance.
Warden is one of the most memorable stand out characters I have read in years.
I'm only sorry that I missed out on this series for so many years. It deserves way more attention than it seems to have gotten.
Warden is one of the most memorable stand out characters I have read in years.
I'm only sorry that I missed out on this series for so many years. It deserves way more attention than it seems to have gotten.
civreader's review against another edition
5.0
Goddamn that was superb. Here's a link for my review: http://civilianreader.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/review-she-who-waits-by-daniel-polansky-hodder/
levi66's review against another edition
5.0
The old familiar social order is starting to crumble. A dangerous new drug has hit the streets and is leaving bodies in its wake. A political party of religious zealots wants Warden to find out where it comes from, and Black House wants him to keep an eye on the zealots. To complicate things, someone from Warden's past has come back, reopening old wounds. Warden feels events are leading to disaster, and he must hold all factions at bay until he and his people are safe.
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.
timstretton's review against another edition
5.0
Raymond Chandler meets Joe Abercrombie - the trilogy is a must-read.
michaelrfletcher's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic end to a fantastic series. A mean little book.
I'm looking forward to more from [a:Daniel Polansky|4475715|Daniel Polansky|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1304705990p2/4475715.jpg].
I'm looking forward to more from [a:Daniel Polansky|4475715|Daniel Polansky|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1304705990p2/4475715.jpg].
paula12's review against another edition
4.0
“I leaned back into my chair, folded my arms together and made like I was pondering. ‘I understand. You’re worried about the future.’ ‘Damn right.’ ‘Let me tell you something about the future – it isn’t the present. And in the present, I’m guaranteeing you that there’s nothing that your supplier will do to you tomorrow that I won’t do to you today, now, right this very moment. Might as well postpone getting dead. When you think about it, isn’t that all we’re ever doing?”
This is the third and final book in the Low Town trilogy and it certainly didn't disappoint. This time we're following Warden as uncovers the reason why did a husband butcher his wife and almost his daughter.
While the plot is great I wasn't hooked in the beginning though it was definitely me and not the book itself. After my very short slump, I couldn't stop reading this book and it always is like that with this series. I loved the foreshadowing, it was very subtle and yet still made me uneasy. Overall the mystery was great and the ending was a perfect finale, or as I like to call it, the only that felt natural.
My biggest issue since the beginning was the lack of worldbuilding in general. While, yes, Low Town is done perfectly and in that department, I have no complaints. I see why we do not get more of the world but I'm just a reader who loves that, but aside that Low Town darkness and unsafety really gets under your skin.
And now finally I will talk about my favourite aspect of all of these books and that's the characters with Warden being my favourite (all-time favourite as well). The reality of his greyness and the way he thinks made me connect on such a level I can't even describe, simply I can only say I adore him. Another character thing I love is all the interactions and conversations where even in the most serious one you find humour that lands perfectly. My favourites in this one particularly Warden and the boy (whose name in English I don't know still, Croatian translation is a bummer sometimes.), Warden and Adolphus, Warden and the Old man as well as, weirdly enough, Warden and Crowley. And those are just the stand-outs to me.
The final scene ranks among my favourites of all time and truly made this series worth it. I definitely cried a little. So happy I started the year with this one.
This is the third and final book in the Low Town trilogy and it certainly didn't disappoint. This time we're following Warden as uncovers the reason why did a husband butcher his wife and almost his daughter.
While the plot is great I wasn't hooked in the beginning though it was definitely me and not the book itself. After my very short slump, I couldn't stop reading this book and it always is like that with this series. I loved the foreshadowing, it was very subtle and yet still made me uneasy. Overall the mystery was great and the ending was a perfect finale, or as I like to call it, the only that felt natural.
My biggest issue since the beginning was the lack of worldbuilding in general. While, yes, Low Town is done perfectly and in that department, I have no complaints. I see why we do not get more of the world but I'm just a reader who loves that, but aside that Low Town darkness and unsafety really gets under your skin.
And now finally I will talk about my favourite aspect of all of these books and that's the characters with Warden being my favourite (all-time favourite as well). The reality of his greyness and the way he thinks made me connect on such a level I can't even describe, simply I can only say I adore him. Another character thing I love is all the interactions and conversations where even in the most serious one you find humour that lands perfectly. My favourites in this one particularly Warden and the boy (whose name in English I don't know still, Croatian translation is a bummer sometimes.), Warden and Adolphus, Warden and the Old man as well as, weirdly enough, Warden and Crowley. And those are just the stand-outs to me.
The final scene ranks among my favourites of all time and truly made this series worth it. I definitely cried a little. So happy I started the year with this one.
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