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Low Town: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.03) - 732 listener ratings
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Drug dealers, hustlers, brothels, dirty politics, corrupt cops . . . and sorcery. Welcome to Low Town. In the forgotten back alleys and flophouses that lie in the shadows of Rigus, the finest city of the Thirteen Lands, you will find Low Town. It is an ugly place, and its champion is an ugly man. Disgraced intelligence agent. Forgotten war hero. Independent drug dealer. After a fall from grace five years ago, a man known as the Warden leads a life of crime, addicted to cheap violence and expensive drugs. Every day is a constant hustle to find new customers and protect his turf from low-life competition like Tancred the Harelip and Ling Chi, the enigmatic crime lord of the heathens. The Warden’s life of drugged iniquity is shaken by his discovery of a murdered child down a dead-end street . . . setting him on a collision course with the life he left behind. As a former agent with Black House—the secret police—he knows better than anyone that murder in Low Town is an everyday thing, the kind of crime that doesn’t get investigated. To protect his home, he will take part in a dangerous game of deception between underworld bosses and the psychotic head of Black House, but the truth is far darker than he imagines. In Low Town, no one can be trusted. Daniel Polansky has crafted a thrilling novel steeped in noir sensibilities and relentless action, and set in an original world of stunning imagination, leading to a gut-wrenching, unforeseeable conclusion. Low Town is an attention-grabbing debut that will leave readers riveted . . . and hungry for more.
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"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 Rigus, as he investigates the murders of a number of children. Managing to track down one of the killers, he witnesses first-hand as the man is killed by some sort of supernatural creature, similar to something he'd seen many years before on the battlefield and suggesting a magic user is somehow involved. A very atmospheric and exciting book."
— Craig (4 out of 5 stars)
Low Town Listener Reviews
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" Noir fantasy done better than I've seen it done before. Quite good. "
— Brennan, 2/18/2014 -
" excellent. strange mixture of fantasy and pulp noir. loved it! "
— Courtney, 2/7/2014 -
" Pretty good mix of noir and fantasy. It covered most of the bases here with swords and magic instead of revolvers and fedoras -- a mysterious yet upright protagonist, with a deeply cynical worldview, who in spite of himself tries to do the right thing; the corrupt police force (in this case involving real torture); a journey through social classes, from the very poorest to the wealthy and useless aristocracy; the society of another racial type, foreign to the protagonist.... Part of the fun of the book is seeing how well these tropes of 30s and 40s noir fiction map onto a fantasy world with magic. I thought it was reasonably successful and a good page turner. I did guess the ending a while before it ended, and I thought the book's treatment of women could've used some work, but that's common enough in noir. I'll be interested to see what Polanksy comes up with next. "
— Zvi, 2/1/2014 -
" Former soldier and spy turned drug dealer becomes a reluctant detective after literally stumbling over a child's body. His quest takes him from the scum-filled slums to corrupt castles and pits him against the monsters, both human and non, who inhabit those landscapes. "
— Laura, 1/18/2014 -
" Really a 4.5 a thoroughly enjoyable book. "
— Corey, 1/18/2014 -
" I really liked it, but I thought it left a few too many loose ends towards the end. I guess that was intentional, but I would have liked a bit more closure.. "
— Smithygreg, 1/10/2014 -
" Solid first novel that takes gritty crime drama and sets it in a low-fantasy world. Highly enjoyable. I hope Polansky enjoys a long and distinguished careers. "
— Berin, 12/18/2013 -
" Jops, el final del libro no me ha gustado demasiado :( "
— Beleth, 11/16/2013 -
" 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. "
— Zachary, 10/9/2013 -
" Pretty good read though I sort of lost interest in the the end, but maybe I got caught up in other things. I liked the setting and writing, though sometimes it seemed conflicted and uneven. "
— Josiah, 9/8/2013 -
" Liked it, but everyone sneered a lot, weird "
— Tanya, 6/9/2013 -
" Fantastic voice. My favorite kind of characters: flawed, struggling, complicated. This is one up there with Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie. "
— Myke, 2/27/2013 -
" This book is dirty, gritty and fab "
— Drapeta, 11/5/2012 -
" Good not great. Sometimes the diction is great and sometimes it seems thesaurus driven. The action and noir parts are well done. I'll probably read the sequel when it's published in the US. "
— Michael, 10/23/2012 -
" a very interesting book combining the elements of noir with fantasy. I wish the world was fleshed out a little more but i guess the ambiguous nature of the world is part of its charm "
— Ian, 10/22/2012 -
" Very, very cool. Looking forward to more from Mr. Polansky. "
— Stéphanie, 8/2/2012 -
" First book of the challenge... I liked it more or less, though it has a lot of innecesary swearing and a VERY predictable end. "
— Rosa, 1/27/2012 -
" Noir fantasy done better than I've seen it done before. Quite good. "
— Brennan, 11/8/2011 -
" Noir mystery mixed with fantasy. Strange, but it totally worked. The ending surprised me in a good way. Daniel Polansky, you da man. Nice first book! "
— Agathafrye, 10/26/2011 -
" a very interesting book combining the elements of noir with fantasy. I wish the world was fleshed out a little more but i guess the ambiguous nature of the world is part of its charm "
— Ian, 9/30/2011 -
" Liked it, but everyone sneered a lot, weird "
— Tanya, 9/17/2011 -
" This was a cross between the King's Landing parts of A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wire, and a cheap airport paperback. I wanted to like it, but I felt like the author focused on the least interesting parts of the story. "
— Sarah, 9/16/2011 -
" Pretty good read though I sort of lost interest in the the end, but maybe I got caught up in other things. I liked the setting and writing, though sometimes it seemed conflicted and uneven. "
— Stargrave, 9/10/2011 -
" Fantasy noir will always make me think of Jonathan let hem, but this is closer to Perdido Street Station, or how i remember perdido street station plus it's pre-industrial but urban magic feel. Hmmm... Martha wells there too?<br/><br/>At any rate,suitably engrossing, hence theater rating. "
— Nita, 9/9/2011
About Daniel Polansky
Daniel Polansky was born in Baltimore in 1984. His first book, Low Town, was released in 2011. Two sequels followed, Tomorrow, the Killing (2012) and She Who Waits (2013). His follow up series, the Empty Throne, began with Those Above (2015) and concluded with Those Below (2016). His novella, The Builders, was nominated for the 2016 Hugo Award. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
About Rob Shapiro
Rob Shapiro is a musician, writer, voice actor, and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He performed several seasons of radio comedy on Minneapolis Public Radio and voiced the titular lion in Leo the Lion. He is a musician and composer with his critically acclaimed band Populuxe. He is also a business consultant and software system designer.