From the Bookshelf of Grimdark Fantasy…

Low Town (Low Town, #1)

Daniel Polansky

Start date: November 1, 2015

Finish date: December 31, 2015

Discussion: Group Reads Discussions

Why we're reading this: Winner of November Grimdark Group Read Poll.
[close] Winner of November Grimdark Group Read Poll.

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Group Reads Discussions

* May/June '18 - Blackwing - **BEWARE OF SPOILERS**
By Tracey the Li… , First In, Last Out · 11 posts · 81 views

last updated Sep 27, 2018 05:21AM

* May/June '18 - Blackwing by Ed Mcdonald - **NO SPOILERS**
By Tracey the Li… , First In, Last Out · 11 posts · 59 views

last updated May 28, 2018 08:41PM

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What Members Thought

Jan 15, 2013 Mark Lawrence rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

So - I was coming back on the train from my only day out in 8 years (I'd been to hook up with Peter Brett & Myke Cole in London) - a day out on which it must be said my daughter Celyn was hurried back to hospital, so ... I might have to wait another 8 years for the next - and Marc Aplin of fantasy-faction.com said 'Here, read this.' Or something to that effect, and slid a copy of The Straight Razor Cure across the table to me (the title and cover are infinitely better in the UK).

That was August. ...more

393 likes · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2011 Chompa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, 2015, grimdark, sword-sorcery

Did I blow off things I should have been doing to plow through the last half of this book? Yes. Did I start Jim Butcher's new Steampunk book later that day and become immediately disappointed because it wasn't Low Town? Yes. Note: I love Jim Butcher's work.

To quote my teenage boys, "This is my jam." Crime noir/hard boiled detective mashed up in a very stark and gritty fantasy world? Fucking A. This is Grimdark as hell. Low Town is a neighborhood in a very large city. Low Town is the cesspool th ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2014 David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

An enjoyable read. But I saw the twist-ending a mile away. It's a serial killer who-dun-it/why-dun-it. I hate serial killer books. Hate them. That I made my way to the end is saying something. Polansky is a good writer and has a good way with words. Plot wise, though, a bit half baked. Especially enjoyed the Labor/Socialist tang of the lead anti-hero. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2014 Greg (adds 2 TBR list daily) Hersom rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, hersom-s-all-time-top-10

Low Town is the toughest slum in Rigus, probably the world and the Warden unofficially runs it. Mostly Warden keeps to himself as much as his illegal drug business will allow, but when a murdered child if found in one of Low Town's alleys, he suspects there is something bad coming. Not on Warden's watch.
Low Town is peopled by street level gangsters, thugs, corrupt law enforcement, conspiratory special agents, and the hardest of them all is the Warden. It's a hardboiled plot in a fantasy setting; ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Mihir rated it really liked it

I was excited aboout this book because of the Noir fantasy setting and also as because another reader whose opinion I value a lot had praised it for its positive points.

I read the book in a couple of sittings and at the end I have to say that this debut by Daniel Polansky is definitely a good one. What I liked about the book was its strong narrative voice, good prose & a decent mystery core. The world setting are described rather moderately. This is a secondary world with its own religious his ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2012 Craig rated it really liked it

Really enjoyed this one. I've tried to read a number of the new breed of "dark, noir-tinged fantasy" novels that seems to have cropped up in the past few years, books by authors like Joe Abercrombie, Richard Morgan, etc., but this is the first one I've been hooked into and kept reading. The book follows a man called the Warden, a former agent of the crown's secret police (or Black House) who now makes his living as a low-level crime lord/drug dealer in the slums (Low Town) of the capital city of ...more

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Mar 09, 2019 Wilfred Berkhof rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

There is a lot to like here, especially the very scarred and grimdark main character, 'the Warden'.

The story focusses mainly on the main character but has a nice, but small, cast of interesting side characters. Top it off with a nice surprising ending and I'm satisfied.

I'd also like to mention the excellent narration by Rob Shapiro. It's a real shame that the second book doesn't have an audiobook version though. [edit: There now is an audiobook!] ...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Caleb rated it it was amazing

4.5
Great prose and a very fast moving, enjoyable story. I would say the only downside is that I saw the twist coming for quite some time, however, that did not really detract from my overall enjoyment of the novel. Looking forward to the next installment.

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