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theamazingmrg's review against another edition
4.0
It follows the typical buddy cop formula a little too closely at times, but the setting, characters and action scenes are impressive.
Good stuff.
Good stuff.
mferrante83's review against another edition
3.0
A solid action-packed story. The character work can be a bit thin at times but the pace is so blistering fast that you hardly notice. Hopefully future volumes give Rem a bit more backstory and expand on the world some.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
4.0
First Watch was an unexpected pleasure. I rarely read fantasy anymore, and while this had some elements of fantasy (namely, the various races and magic), it wasn’t much different than your usual mystery.
Remick (Rem) is a young, wealthy man who leaves his family home searching for an adventure. He decides to stay awhile in The Fifth Ward, and ends up becoming a night warden after an unfortunate night in jail. His partner, Torval, a dwarf, in unhappy about their pairing after the recent disappearance of his partner, Freygaf.
The story weaves around the two searching for Freygaf, as well as their search for a missing girl who was supposed to meet Rem the night he was jailed. It’s set at a fast pace, and I found myself trying to stay awake at night to keep reading just one more chapter.
I’ve never read anything by this author before, but he’s a skillful writer. Some people have drawn comparisons to Lethal Weapon, and they aren’t wrong. But similarities aside, this is just a great buddy cop book with two interesting mysteries to solve. I’ll definitely read the next one in this series!
Remick (Rem) is a young, wealthy man who leaves his family home searching for an adventure. He decides to stay awhile in The Fifth Ward, and ends up becoming a night warden after an unfortunate night in jail. His partner, Torval, a dwarf, in unhappy about their pairing after the recent disappearance of his partner, Freygaf.
The story weaves around the two searching for Freygaf, as well as their search for a missing girl who was supposed to meet Rem the night he was jailed. It’s set at a fast pace, and I found myself trying to stay awake at night to keep reading just one more chapter.
I’ve never read anything by this author before, but he’s a skillful writer. Some people have drawn comparisons to Lethal Weapon, and they aren’t wrong. But similarities aside, this is just a great buddy cop book with two interesting mysteries to solve. I’ll definitely read the next one in this series!
colbyjackcheese's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Police brutality, Murder, Racial slurs, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Misogyny, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
old_tim's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fairly light hearted buddy cop fantasy. Think 48 Hours without the racism or weird sexist jokes. It's not going to change the world, but it's a fun read.
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2017/10/well-its-no-87th-precinct.html
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2017/10/well-its-no-87th-precinct.html
preiman790's review against another edition
4.0
Fantasy buddy cop story, yes please.
Rem is new to the city of Yenara, leaving his old life behind for reasons that frankly don’t matter, because in this city no one cares why you came, so long as you’ve either got money to buy, or something to sell. Unfortunately Rem has neither of these things, what he does have is a sense of honor and the kind of luck that can both get him throne into a dungeon and then get him a job in the watch. Paired with a gruff cynical dwarf named Torval, the two almost immediately get off on the wrong foot, but when Torvel’s old partner turns up dead, the two mismatched watchman must find out what happened to him, and how it is tied into the abductions of young attractive men and women around the city.
The fantasy world of The Fifth Watch is nothing terribly unique, it has its own little quirks, but over all it could be the generic fantasy world of a million paperback novels, video games, and D&D campaigns, but in this case that works to The Fifth Ward’s advantage. Using the traditional fantasy tropes and trappings to tell a familiar story in a setting we’re not used to seeing it in. By mixing together two well warn genres, Dale Lucas has managed to create something that feels new and different, and yet at the same time, familiar and comfortable, and highly enjoyable.
Rem is new to the city of Yenara, leaving his old life behind for reasons that frankly don’t matter, because in this city no one cares why you came, so long as you’ve either got money to buy, or something to sell. Unfortunately Rem has neither of these things, what he does have is a sense of honor and the kind of luck that can both get him throne into a dungeon and then get him a job in the watch. Paired with a gruff cynical dwarf named Torval, the two almost immediately get off on the wrong foot, but when Torvel’s old partner turns up dead, the two mismatched watchman must find out what happened to him, and how it is tied into the abductions of young attractive men and women around the city.
The fantasy world of The Fifth Watch is nothing terribly unique, it has its own little quirks, but over all it could be the generic fantasy world of a million paperback novels, video games, and D&D campaigns, but in this case that works to The Fifth Ward’s advantage. Using the traditional fantasy tropes and trappings to tell a familiar story in a setting we’re not used to seeing it in. By mixing together two well warn genres, Dale Lucas has managed to create something that feels new and different, and yet at the same time, familiar and comfortable, and highly enjoyable.
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.