[DiapDealer]

I finished up Low Town (Daniel Polansky) and thoroughly enjoyed his debut fantasy novel. And I think there's still plenty of room for improvement, as well. In fact, I got the distinct impression that Polansky may have been "dumbing down" his prose at times (for the sake of the first-person context)... but still couldn't quite help himself at times:

"His face took on a wistful quality that tends to augur monologue, and, sure enough, the pregnant pause gave birth to soliloquy."

And of course, classic noir bread & butter such as:

"I slumped back against the wall, hoping that last shot hadn't broken a bone, the agony in my side suggesting that such optimism was unfounded."

Low Town is a seedy, noir mystery wrapped in a fantasy setting—the setting providing backdrop and ambiance for the story, rather than using it for plot. It features a drug-dealer "hero" who is an ex-agent of the Throne (cop) who has fallen from grace (and dips regularly into his own stock), but isn't completely morally bankrupt (and that plagues him). Someone is kidnapping/murdering children in his neighborhood (a post-industrial urban slum) and he gets entangled in the mystery. It had a few slight pacing problems here and there, but the relative shortness of the book made those easy to overlook/forgive.

You're "dunked" into Polansky's world instead of slowly indoctrinated, though. Some don't like that, but I always find it more refreshing than brick-by-brick world-building. The argot can be cryptic early on—but Polansky always manages to bail the reader out contextually before it can get annoying. Magic is prevalent, but it's never systemized at the expense of good story-telling.

I solved a big piece of the mystery early, but thankfully, I put almost as much emphasis on the manner in which all is revealed as I do the mystery itself. Otherwise... I wouldn't read many mysteries. Polansky executed his payoff with exciting flair (even if it didn't completely "sixth-sense" me).

I'm sure a few male readers will be quick to rush to the defense of women everywhere by attributing more importance to perceived, fictional misogyny than the women they're claiming to defend would attribute themselves. But I've found that most males are terrible judges of what does and what doesn't offend women, so I choose to respect them enough to let them make their own decisions about it. That said: I do consider it a guy's book, but have no more compunction about reading it (or Polansky writing it) than I do about wearing "guy's pants", or "guy's jackets." Watching "guy movies", going to "stag gatherings", or putting on "guy's shoes." I'm a guy. Sue me.

I'm now getting ready to read my first books in the Star Wars universe since Splinter of the Mind's Eye was published. I've chosen Zahn's Thrawn trilogy as my introduction. Unless someone has a compelling reason why I should start somewhere else... Heir to the Empire... here I come.