toupseric's review against another edition
It is a very well-written book with an interesting main character. Noir fantasy if that makes sense. The author has a race of people called the Kiren that the main character describes in very essentializing and unpleasant terms, particularly striking because they are obviously just Chinese. The racism was off-putting and maybe he pulls a “the character is racist, not the story,” but I’m not sticking around to find out.
eliendriel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
perch15's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent start to what I hope is a long-running series. Equal parts grit, heart and black humor. Fantastical, but grounded. A very worthwhile read.
antonism's review against another edition
5.0
5 / 5
Low Town, by Daniel Polansky, is the first book of a trilogy that can be characterized as adult slightly-urban fantasy. Trying to write a synopsis in a few sentences will do this book no justice so if you’re curious just find and read the official one. It is dark, it is gritty and violent and raw. It is tense and exciting. But most of all it is amazing. Did I like this book? I loved it! It succeeded in checking almost every point that I want from such a book and left me wanting for more! Read below to find out why and how.
If you have an idea of what a flawed main character is, then square that and you might still not have enough to Polansky’s one! The Warden is a fucked up individual, but in a very down to earth and realistic way. A way that it could just as well be us or everybody in his position, if only we’ve been through what he has. I loved and hated him at the same time. I disliked his actions and liked his justifications of them. How weird is that? Polansky’s characterization is in general amazing and top-notch. There was not a single character that felt unrealistic, not a single moment that I felt one’s actions unjustified.
Before I move one to other aspects of the novel, I want to mention two things that enhanced characterization so much. One is the first person view, which when done correctly, gives such a personal point of view and creates amazing tension. I loved this too much and I found it a joy to read. The second is the expertly created “flashbacks” that were there not only to give background info on the story but also to flesh out the characters involved. I felt they were very well balanced, inset at the proper moments and with just the right amount of length so that they never felt tiring or boring.
Plot-wise, the story feels actually very much like a detective story but with a very different tone. This is in essence a who-done-it but the stakes are high and there’s tension and urgency from the get-go. The atmosphere at times is so thick that you need to chew some passages! The pace is amazing; this book is a true page-turner and it’s hard to just stop at the end of a chapter without wanting to continue.
To top all that, Polansky’s writing is excellent and matches the setting and his main character perfectly! Reading it was a pure joy and I was hard pressed not to underline quotes every second page. Dialogues are witty and clever and the descriptions are sharp and eloquent without being too verbose.
I’ve been wanting to write a really thorough and detailed review about this one but such is the nature of this book that I feel that it would be no good. For me and according to my very personal preferences, this book came close to perfect, and try as I might I can find absolutely no wrong or nothing to complain about. Simply put, if you like fantasy with a twist, if you like some grittiness and you’re not squeamish, if you enjoy a heavy and thick atmosphere, a well-crafted setting and expert writing, then I fully recommend this book without a doubt! I’m sure you will love it as much as I did! Well done Daniel Polansky, you got yourself another fan!
5 / 5
Low Town, by Daniel Polansky, is the first book of a trilogy that can be characterized as adult slightly-urban fantasy. Trying to write a synopsis in a few sentences will do this book no justice so if you’re curious just find and read the official one. It is dark, it is gritty and violent and raw. It is tense and exciting. But most of all it is amazing. Did I like this book? I loved it! It succeeded in checking almost every point that I want from such a book and left me wanting for more! Read below to find out why and how.
If you have an idea of what a flawed main character is, then square that and you might still not have enough to Polansky’s one! The Warden is a fucked up individual, but in a very down to earth and realistic way. A way that it could just as well be us or everybody in his position, if only we’ve been through what he has. I loved and hated him at the same time. I disliked his actions and liked his justifications of them. How weird is that? Polansky’s characterization is in general amazing and top-notch. There was not a single character that felt unrealistic, not a single moment that I felt one’s actions unjustified.
Before I move one to other aspects of the novel, I want to mention two things that enhanced characterization so much. One is the first person view, which when done correctly, gives such a personal point of view and creates amazing tension. I loved this too much and I found it a joy to read. The second is the expertly created “flashbacks” that were there not only to give background info on the story but also to flesh out the characters involved. I felt they were very well balanced, inset at the proper moments and with just the right amount of length so that they never felt tiring or boring.
Plot-wise, the story feels actually very much like a detective story but with a very different tone. This is in essence a who-done-it but the stakes are high and there’s tension and urgency from the get-go. The atmosphere at times is so thick that you need to chew some passages! The pace is amazing; this book is a true page-turner and it’s hard to just stop at the end of a chapter without wanting to continue.
To top all that, Polansky’s writing is excellent and matches the setting and his main character perfectly! Reading it was a pure joy and I was hard pressed not to underline quotes every second page. Dialogues are witty and clever and the descriptions are sharp and eloquent without being too verbose.
I’ve been wanting to write a really thorough and detailed review about this one but such is the nature of this book that I feel that it would be no good. For me and according to my very personal preferences, this book came close to perfect, and try as I might I can find absolutely no wrong or nothing to complain about. Simply put, if you like fantasy with a twist, if you like some grittiness and you’re not squeamish, if you enjoy a heavy and thick atmosphere, a well-crafted setting and expert writing, then I fully recommend this book without a doubt! I’m sure you will love it as much as I did! Well done Daniel Polansky, you got yourself another fan!
5 / 5
elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 STARS
Racist stereotypes substituting background "diversity" is bad enough. OUTDATED racist stereotypes are just plain offensive.
These Kiren heretics who are "inscrutable", "normally a docile race", "natural inclination toward obedience". "Heretics are like dogs: any sign of fear and you're as good as lost". Wtf. And that interlude with Ling Chi, like some yellowface skit with Fu Manchu, a ludicrous comic book villain plopped inside a cheesy Chinese restaurant. Cringe-inducing.
And I don't care for any argument of, oh this is a fantasy-world made-up culture. They speak Chinese. I also don't care for any argument that Warden is racist, not the book. It's a slim difference, here where I'm standing.
Gross.
---
Beyond that, this is a serviceably entertaining novel if you read rapidly and don't pause to savor any details. The world is some weird mishmash of medieval weapons & lack of sanitation/WWII trench warfare/1920s social mores.
The hardboiled detective mystery portion is OK on the detective, but not so hot on the mystery. I knew who the ultimate Bad is the first time they showed up. Warden's detecting attempts follows every beat of its genre plotting. Dude runs around, fights, gets injured, runs around some more, fights, gets injured, runs around, so on.
Granted, we read genre more for the HOW, precisely because these beats are pre-set and familiar. And still, I would appreciate more attempts to bury the obvious lede.
Racist stereotypes substituting background "diversity" is bad enough. OUTDATED racist stereotypes are just plain offensive.
These Kiren heretics who are "inscrutable", "normally a docile race", "natural inclination toward obedience". "Heretics are like dogs: any sign of fear and you're as good as lost". Wtf. And that interlude with Ling Chi, like some yellowface skit with Fu Manchu, a ludicrous comic book villain plopped inside a cheesy Chinese restaurant. Cringe-inducing.
And I don't care for any argument of, oh this is a fantasy-world made-up culture. They speak Chinese. I also don't care for any argument that Warden is racist, not the book. It's a slim difference, here where I'm standing.
Gross.
---
Beyond that, this is a serviceably entertaining novel if you read rapidly and don't pause to savor any details. The world is some weird mishmash of medieval weapons & lack of sanitation/WWII trench warfare/1920s social mores.
The hardboiled detective mystery portion is OK on the detective, but not so hot on the mystery. I knew who the ultimate Bad is the first time they showed up. Warden's detecting attempts follows every beat of its genre plotting. Dude runs around, fights, gets injured, runs around some more, fights, gets injured, runs around, so on.
Granted, we read genre more for the HOW, precisely because these beats are pre-set and familiar. And still, I would appreciate more attempts to bury the obvious lede.
chrisbiss's review against another edition
4.0
The ARC of this novel has been sitting on my shelf since before the damn thing was published, and I've only just now got around to reading it. I can't say why it's taken me so long, really. What I can say is that I'm very, very glad I finally got around to reading it.
Think of the best of Raymond Chandler, spliced with a little bit of Hunter S. Thompson and dropped into a dark, seedy fantasy world, and you'll be approaching what this book is. The writing is strong throughout, the voice grabbing you and dragging you through the story. The pacing is great, just fast enough to keep you guessing but not so fast that it becomes a blur, and the clues all come together into an ending that feels like a twist but really isn't once you add everything up.
The only complaint I have is regarding the world-building, and it's the opposite of the complaint I usually have with fantasy debuts. The world seems fascinating and Polansky clearly has done a lot of work here, but I don't think he shows it off enough. The glimpses of history we get are enthralling, and the disparate cultures represented raise a lot of questions about how this world came to be the way it is, but I don't think he does enough to show that off. There's so much going on that we only get glimpses, when for once I'd like to see a little bit more depth to what is obviously going to be a very well-realised world.
This scratched all the same itches as Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora did when it was first released. I only hope the series doesn't succumb to the same fate as Lynch's, because this really has the potential to rank among my favourites.
Think of the best of Raymond Chandler, spliced with a little bit of Hunter S. Thompson and dropped into a dark, seedy fantasy world, and you'll be approaching what this book is. The writing is strong throughout, the voice grabbing you and dragging you through the story. The pacing is great, just fast enough to keep you guessing but not so fast that it becomes a blur, and the clues all come together into an ending that feels like a twist but really isn't once you add everything up.
The only complaint I have is regarding the world-building, and it's the opposite of the complaint I usually have with fantasy debuts. The world seems fascinating and Polansky clearly has done a lot of work here, but I don't think he shows it off enough. The glimpses of history we get are enthralling, and the disparate cultures represented raise a lot of questions about how this world came to be the way it is, but I don't think he does enough to show that off. There's so much going on that we only get glimpses, when for once I'd like to see a little bit more depth to what is obviously going to be a very well-realised world.
This scratched all the same itches as Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora did when it was first released. I only hope the series doesn't succumb to the same fate as Lynch's, because this really has the potential to rank among my favourites.
mferrante83's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve actually put off reviewing Daniel Polansky’s Low Town. Mainly so that my warm fuzzy feelings would fade some and I wouldn’t right some kind of crazy super glowing review. First off I should start by saying the UK title, The Straight Razor Cure, is way cooler than the US title. Low Town is a boring and nondescript title while The Straight Razor Cure is far more evocative of the tone Polansky is going for in the novel. You see Low Town is fantasy noir and in theme, tone, and plot is more reminiscent of a crime novel with a touch of magic. What sounds more noir to you: Low Town? Or The Straight Razor Cure?
The city of Rigus, jewel of the Thirteen Lands, is not the setting of this novel. Crouched at the feet of Rigus is the place known only as Low Town and there a man known only as The Warden makes his living selling drugs. The Warden wasn’t always a drug dealer. Once The Warden was a soldier, then he was an intelligence agent working for the shadowy Black House. Now though he walks a different path, at least right up until children start getting murdered on his turf. Dredging up unwelcome memories and unwelcome attention from his former masters the trail of bodies leads The Warden into dangerous, though familiar territories.
The first thing you might note is that the plot I sketch above could be from just about any crime novel. Rigus could be Manhattan, and Low Town could be Queens (or whatever the London equivalent of that would be) and with very little tweaking you could have very solid straight up crime novel. The Thirteen Lands are recovering from a recent war whose flashback sequence reminded me of World War I. The notion of The Thirteen Lands as a sort of magically influenced Europe and the idea that this is a society recovering from a devastating loss of life really helped me get into the narrative. The war is even referred to as The Great War.
The Warden is a fascinating character. Addicted to drugs and with a penchant for violence he isn’t the most stalwart of citizens. Yet he still has a sense of honor and obligation. He has problems with authority figures yet seems to manage well stepping into the role of one himself. Loyal to his friends and willing to do the right thing, even at great emotional or physical pain to himself, The Warden feels completely human in his portrayal. He is far from perfect and Polansky some how makes a character whose job really ought to make readers hate or detest him and turn him into someone believable and sympathetic. The story is told primarily from The Warden’s point of view which gives us a limited ability to get in the head of the rest of the novel characters. However, Polansky excels at creating interesting supporting cast members from an embittered and overweight magician, to the doddering and sweet Blue Crane, to the delightfully brusk diviner that works at morgue, to the warmhearted yet physically imposing Adolphus Low Town is full to the brim with unique and interesting characters just begging for further exploration.
I don’t want to get into too many details regarding the plot. It would be far too easy to inadvertently spoil things. It is suffice to say that Low Town is full to the brim with everything you could every want out of a noir-tinged fantasy novel. Corrupt and venal nobles, deadly magic, sinister criminals, physical violence and plenty of twists and turns make for an exciting read that is difficult to put down. I should point out that there was a point where I spotted the villain a bit too early, maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m just a bit too much of a cynic but there was a single moment that seemed so obvious to me that The Warden was oblivious to it seemed highly dubious. The moment is brief and I was able to move past it but it did slightly mar what would otherwise be a near perfect read.
Fans of fantasy and crime fiction will find a lot to like in Low Town. Polansky has created a familiar landscape to ease readers into his world of magic and mayhem. It is a landscape based off an era of history that doesn’t see too much focus these days (and one that American readers a more likely to be unfamiliar with). The Warden is a fascinating entry into both the fantasy and noir/hard-boiled lexicon standing shoulder to shoulder with Sam Spade and, well The Warden isn’t like any fantasy heroes I can name (maybe a mashup of Farfhrd and The Gray Mouser?). This is the most excited I’ve felt about a debut since 2010′s Bitter Seeds. While it is a shame that the US watered down the title that shouldn’t stop anyone from grabbing a copy of Low Town as soon as possible.
The city of Rigus, jewel of the Thirteen Lands, is not the setting of this novel. Crouched at the feet of Rigus is the place known only as Low Town and there a man known only as The Warden makes his living selling drugs. The Warden wasn’t always a drug dealer. Once The Warden was a soldier, then he was an intelligence agent working for the shadowy Black House. Now though he walks a different path, at least right up until children start getting murdered on his turf. Dredging up unwelcome memories and unwelcome attention from his former masters the trail of bodies leads The Warden into dangerous, though familiar territories.
The first thing you might note is that the plot I sketch above could be from just about any crime novel. Rigus could be Manhattan, and Low Town could be Queens (or whatever the London equivalent of that would be) and with very little tweaking you could have very solid straight up crime novel. The Thirteen Lands are recovering from a recent war whose flashback sequence reminded me of World War I. The notion of The Thirteen Lands as a sort of magically influenced Europe and the idea that this is a society recovering from a devastating loss of life really helped me get into the narrative. The war is even referred to as The Great War.
The Warden is a fascinating character. Addicted to drugs and with a penchant for violence he isn’t the most stalwart of citizens. Yet he still has a sense of honor and obligation. He has problems with authority figures yet seems to manage well stepping into the role of one himself. Loyal to his friends and willing to do the right thing, even at great emotional or physical pain to himself, The Warden feels completely human in his portrayal. He is far from perfect and Polansky some how makes a character whose job really ought to make readers hate or detest him and turn him into someone believable and sympathetic. The story is told primarily from The Warden’s point of view which gives us a limited ability to get in the head of the rest of the novel characters. However, Polansky excels at creating interesting supporting cast members from an embittered and overweight magician, to the doddering and sweet Blue Crane, to the delightfully brusk diviner that works at morgue, to the warmhearted yet physically imposing Adolphus Low Town is full to the brim with unique and interesting characters just begging for further exploration.
I don’t want to get into too many details regarding the plot. It would be far too easy to inadvertently spoil things. It is suffice to say that Low Town is full to the brim with everything you could every want out of a noir-tinged fantasy novel. Corrupt and venal nobles, deadly magic, sinister criminals, physical violence and plenty of twists and turns make for an exciting read that is difficult to put down. I should point out that there was a point where I spotted the villain a bit too early, maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m just a bit too much of a cynic but there was a single moment that seemed so obvious to me that The Warden was oblivious to it seemed highly dubious. The moment is brief and I was able to move past it but it did slightly mar what would otherwise be a near perfect read.
Fans of fantasy and crime fiction will find a lot to like in Low Town. Polansky has created a familiar landscape to ease readers into his world of magic and mayhem. It is a landscape based off an era of history that doesn’t see too much focus these days (and one that American readers a more likely to be unfamiliar with). The Warden is a fascinating entry into both the fantasy and noir/hard-boiled lexicon standing shoulder to shoulder with Sam Spade and, well The Warden isn’t like any fantasy heroes I can name (maybe a mashup of Farfhrd and The Gray Mouser?). This is the most excited I’ve felt about a debut since 2010′s Bitter Seeds. While it is a shame that the US watered down the title that shouldn’t stop anyone from grabbing a copy of Low Town as soon as possible.
jefffrane's review against another edition
2.0
A remarkably unimaginative attempt to fuse noir detective fiction and the supernatural. Polansky's writing is pedestrian and the story is cluttered with real world references that jarred me from buying into his invented world. Someone should buy the author a copy of Le Guin's From Elfland to Poughkeepsie with its devastating analysis of the critical value of language in fantasy.
I lost interest early on and gave up on Low Town about half way through. I'm just glad there are a lot of books on my Unread shelves.
I lost interest early on and gave up on Low Town about half way through. I'm just glad there are a lot of books on my Unread shelves.
lanid's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Body horror, Murder, Child death, Classism, Gore, Violence, and Addiction
Minor: War and Suicide