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shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
First Watch is not something I would generally pick up, however my fourteen year old son is an a fan of Fantasy fiction, and an ardent Dungeons and Dragons player, so I bought this for him. Like me, my son is a ‘reader’, he is part of a book club at school, and for school sport does ‘Reading by the River’ - where the only physical activity involves the 15 minute walk to, and from, the riverbank. He also likes to discuss what he reads, so I thought I’d give this a go.
First Watch is the start of Dale Lucas’s series, The Fifth Ward. It’s essentially a murder mystery set in a medieval fantasy world populated by “drug dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being typical humans”, amongst others.
Our heroes are Torval, “a dwarf who's handy with a maul and known for hitting first and asking questions later”, and Remeck, a runaway nobleman from the North.
When Torvals’s Watch Warden partner, Freygaf is murdered, he and Rem team up to trawl the underbelly of Yenara, a largely iniquitous port city, to find his killer. The pairs’ investigation leads them through the city’s Wards, exposing all manner of vice and corruption, including a vile human trafficking ring.
Our heroes are Torval, “a dwarf who's handy with a maul and known for hitting first and asking questions later”, and Remeck, a runaway nobleman from the North.
Torval is the cynical, grumpy elder, and Rem the wide eyed ingenu, resulting in moments of humour in the vein of ‘mismatched cop buddy’ stories everywhere. I liked both characters, though neither were particularly surprising, nor unique.
While the main plot involves Torval and Rem’s search for Freygaf’s killer, they are often sidetracked by their work as Watch Wardens, the complicated politics of the city, and the occasional bar brawl and street fights. I thought Lucas did a decent job of bringing all the threads together to create a cohesive story.
I found the pace a little uneven in First Watch though, partly I suspect because of Lucas’s need to establish the world and its rules. At times the exposition got in the way of the story’s rhythm, and I found myself skimming on occasion.
Unsurprisingly, my son enjoyed this more than I did. He especially liked it’s D&D flavour. I thought it was okay.
diesmali's review against another edition
3.0
A fun, fast, and easy read. It reminded me of a kind of cop tv-series in a big city, just place it in a fantasy world with elves, dwarves, and orcs and you're on the right track.
A bit naiveté, some plot holes, but nothing major. Could do with some more central and strong female characters.
First in a series, but you can stop reading here.
For fans of Michael J Sullivan, Nicholas Eames, etc.
A bit naiveté, some plot holes, but nothing major. Could do with some more central and strong female characters.
First in a series, but you can stop reading here.
For fans of Michael J Sullivan, Nicholas Eames, etc.
jaxboiler's review against another edition
4.0
Another book by an author that I had never tried. It was a fun beach read.
barb4ry1's review against another edition
4.0
Humans, orcs, mages, elves, and dwarves all jostle for success and survival in the cramped quarters of Yenara, while understaffed Watch Wardens struggle to keep its citizens in line.
Men at Arms is one of my favorite books ever written. I just don’t tire while reading about night watch adventures. The books touch serious issues but di it with lots of humor that Pratchett’s fan worldwide love so much. New book by Dale Lucas features City Watch as well. While it’s not as light as Pratchett’s books it’s definitely leans to the lighter side of fantasy and that’s highly appreciated. I like serious books but after reading few in a row I feel an itch, developing need to reread Pratchett. Happily there are new books that can bring some relief between too realistic books.
The story follows two partners – human nobleman who fleed his family and riches to build his life in Yenara and his dwarf partner – Torval. As members of the Wardwatch, they’re responsible for keeping the peace in a city teeming with drug dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being humans. Rem and Torval are a great duo – they complement each other even their personalities don’t match on first sight. They exchange some nice banter and we can observe as their mutual trust and sympathy grow. On their first night together, they stumble across a corpse that turns out to be one of watchwardens. They set out to find who is responsible for this . Along the road they fight with assassins, discover illegal slavery and corruption in parts of the city.
I deeply enjoyed the book for many reasons. Above all it’s entertaining read that got me hooked from the first page. The writing and pacing made me flip page after page and if I didn’t have a work and family I think I would’ve been able to finish this book in one go. It is entertaining. It combines high and low fantasy in great way. Yenara is violent and bad things are happening to it’s habitants. We can observe darkest secrets of the city (slaves, debauchery, violence) but we discover city through narration that uses humor (often dark), distance and sarcasm to balance things a bit. Bare in mind that plot is really simple – basically protagonists walk through the city from place to place, have some fights and then after big reveal we have final battle scene. There’s not a lot of nuances here. But I think this is also the strength of the book – it throws you into action and developing relationships and you just follow it.
I’m sure it’ll appeal to people looking for some comic relief in books touching serious issues. I haven’t read Nicholas Eames Kings of the Wyld yet, but I think these books may share a public.
Some of you may wonder why I’ve given the book 4 stars if I enjoyed it that much. Well, the ending disappointed me a little. It was easy to guess who the bad guy was but I don’t mind as the story kept me entertained throughout. The ending though and explanation of few things didn’t please me. Ending was rather naïve (although leaving reader in a good mood). The thing that bothered me most was a thing I can’t write about without spoiling. While I try not to overanalyze books, I see some logical fallacy in this one that bothers me just a little bit.
It changes nothing though – I’ll preorder sequel as soon as it’s available.
Men at Arms is one of my favorite books ever written. I just don’t tire while reading about night watch adventures. The books touch serious issues but di it with lots of humor that Pratchett’s fan worldwide love so much. New book by Dale Lucas features City Watch as well. While it’s not as light as Pratchett’s books it’s definitely leans to the lighter side of fantasy and that’s highly appreciated. I like serious books but after reading few in a row I feel an itch, developing need to reread Pratchett. Happily there are new books that can bring some relief between too realistic books.
The story follows two partners – human nobleman who fleed his family and riches to build his life in Yenara and his dwarf partner – Torval. As members of the Wardwatch, they’re responsible for keeping the peace in a city teeming with drug dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being humans. Rem and Torval are a great duo – they complement each other even their personalities don’t match on first sight. They exchange some nice banter and we can observe as their mutual trust and sympathy grow. On their first night together, they stumble across a corpse that turns out to be one of watchwardens. They set out to find who is responsible for this . Along the road they fight with assassins, discover illegal slavery and corruption in parts of the city.
I deeply enjoyed the book for many reasons. Above all it’s entertaining read that got me hooked from the first page. The writing and pacing made me flip page after page and if I didn’t have a work and family I think I would’ve been able to finish this book in one go. It is entertaining. It combines high and low fantasy in great way. Yenara is violent and bad things are happening to it’s habitants. We can observe darkest secrets of the city (slaves, debauchery, violence) but we discover city through narration that uses humor (often dark), distance and sarcasm to balance things a bit. Bare in mind that plot is really simple – basically protagonists walk through the city from place to place, have some fights and then after big reveal we have final battle scene. There’s not a lot of nuances here. But I think this is also the strength of the book – it throws you into action and developing relationships and you just follow it.
I’m sure it’ll appeal to people looking for some comic relief in books touching serious issues. I haven’t read Nicholas Eames Kings of the Wyld yet, but I think these books may share a public.
Some of you may wonder why I’ve given the book 4 stars if I enjoyed it that much. Well, the ending disappointed me a little. It was easy to guess who the bad guy was but I don’t mind as the story kept me entertained throughout. The ending though and explanation of few things didn’t please me. Ending was rather naïve (although leaving reader in a good mood). The thing that bothered me most was a thing I can’t write about without spoiling. While I try not to overanalyze books, I see some logical fallacy in this one that bothers me just a little bit.
It changes nothing though – I’ll preorder sequel as soon as it’s available.
anatl's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book but oh what a snooze fest. If you've never read Tolkein or played Elder's Scroll or World of Warcraft than maybe this book will seem fresh to you, to me it seemed to hackneyed and mundane. There was a lot of potential to the story, if only it didn't spend so much time describing the setting of a world I've already seen a hundred times before.
I like Orcs, dawrves and elves but they come established in a presupposed world which has very little use for women, the main thing to take away from this book is that women are mostly helpless victims and that everything can be solved by violence.
Beside no feminist brownie points, there is not enough character between the two male leads to keep my interest going. Both Rem and Torvall were totally stereotypical and bland, the interaction between them was classic buddy cop fair, the innocent rookie taken under the wing of a more worldly cynical and experienced cop. The experienced cop rejects him at first and then changes his mind and they begin build a camaraderie between them, solving crimes and upholding the law. The only original "edgy" thing in this book is the description of the elves as something out of the Rockey Horror Show. And did I mention that it took half a book to get some action going?
I didn't mean for this to come out so full of snark. It was a decent enough read, just simply uninspiring.
I like Orcs, dawrves and elves but they come established in a presupposed world which has very little use for women, the main thing to take away from this book is that women are mostly helpless victims and that everything can be solved by violence.
Beside no feminist brownie points, there is not enough character between the two male leads to keep my interest going. Both Rem and Torvall were totally stereotypical and bland, the interaction between them was classic buddy cop fair, the innocent rookie taken under the wing of a more worldly cynical and experienced cop. The experienced cop rejects him at first and then changes his mind and they begin build a camaraderie between them, solving crimes and upholding the law. The only original "edgy" thing in this book is the description of the elves as something out of the Rockey Horror Show. And did I mention that it took half a book to get some action going?
I didn't mean for this to come out so full of snark. It was a decent enough read, just simply uninspiring.
murcatto's review against another edition
3.0
Shame, I was looking for a light and fun series to read, but I just couldn't find it in me to care about these characters.
lazydog40223's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this book actually between 4.25 to 4.5 but alas I cannot do that. What I loved about the book was the perspective of the main character which was a person who runs afoul of the law but ends up in the ward watch. This part joining the watch is rather unique as it is not done very often so it was rather refreshing. My favorite character is Torvald as I felt he was a more enjoyable character with his rowdy dwarvish ways. I would immediately recommend this book to anyone and I am looking forward to the next book.
dmooney's review against another edition
3.25
Easy fantasy – somewhere between Tolkien, Pratchett and Lindsay Davies; but it was fun to read, full of action, the characters were engaging, the excitement built as the book progressed and it kept me entertained.
hannahsatreat's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite new fantasy series! I loved Rem and Torval and all the seedy characters they encountered. I so look forward to continuing the series. Thank you, Dale Lucas!
thefool's review against another edition
4.0
Lucas is a very good storyteller. The patches of backstory the reader receives, along with the details of the mysteries encountered are very good! It kept me on my toes wanting more.
I'm not a huge fan of battle scenes - they were abundant here, but it didn't detract from the story enough to turn me completely off. After all, battles are expected with the profession of watchwarden. It's interesting to see things from the perspective of the protectors of the peace. I wish we had more stories to that degree and less with the chosen ones or fated heroes of the same variety.
I did find it curious how aggressive the dwarf was in his approaches with hostels. It is a little triggering when knowing of the current events of the modern day police force. It didn't exactly help that the dwarf was most aggressive toward a race of beings he was quite prejudiced against. Police cannot do what they please when they please, even when it comes to making progress with any one investigation! Sweet mercy.
Alas, it was still a good story.
I'm not a huge fan of battle scenes - they were abundant here, but it didn't detract from the story enough to turn me completely off. After all, battles are expected with the profession of watchwarden. It's interesting to see things from the perspective of the protectors of the peace. I wish we had more stories to that degree and less with the chosen ones or fated heroes of the same variety.
I did find it curious how aggressive the dwarf was in his approaches with hostels. It is a little triggering when knowing of the current events of the modern day police force. It didn't exactly help that the dwarf was most aggressive toward a race of beings he was quite prejudiced against. Police cannot do what they please when they please, even when it comes to making progress with any one investigation! Sweet mercy.
Alas, it was still a good story.