Customer Reviews

Dragon Precinct

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hey, I like Keith R.A. DeCandido's genre work elsewhere. He's done some great stuff in the Trek universe, particularly with Klingons in the IKS Gorkon series. But here, in his first novel with original characters, he doesn't quite measure up to his previous efforts.

We are introduced to Danthres and Torin, two lieutenants in the City Guard of Cliff's End. She's a human/elf hybrid, and none too happy about that fact. He's from a family of civilized deep thinkers but wanted to see the world and bust some heads. Together, they make up...well, a couple of world-weary seen-it-all cops in a fairly generic fantasy setting.

On their current case, they're investigating the murder of a famous hero from a band of epic adventuring types. Said hero was minding his own business when he dropped dead in his room at an inn, his neck broken. The wizard detached to civic service says that there are no traces of magical involvement, so evidently the big galoot just...uh...had a bad neck. Or something. Needless to say, the investigators are a bit dubious about the "naturally spontaneously snapping neck" theory and they press on to find answers. And to collect overtime pay.

Meanwhile, we also follow several other cases, which are being pursued by the colleagues of Danthres and Torin. Their comrades include Old Grizzled Vet, Obnoxious Incompetent Newbie, Snarling One-Eyed Captain, Faux Rastafarian, and Generic Guy. Various leads are checked out and witnesses interrogated. And papers are filed and the brass downtown keeps getting in the way of hard-working guards.

So, yeah, it's pretty much a police procedural with a fantasy twist. Is it successful? Well...blandly so. The investigations and their resolutions aren't altogether compelling and the setting isn't really too well-drawn. Efforts at conveying street talk are mainly just embarrassing. And many characters frankly just seem like buffoons or legends in their own mind (although one of the leads gets to reveal the Dark Secret that has made them who they are). Largely, the book serves as the launchpad for a series that the author clearly hopes will follow, where we can see both the protagonists and their environment developed in greater detail.

It's not a bad foray into this type of thing. It's just not that great. I prefer Martin Scott's Thraxas series, but your mileage may vary. At any rate, at less than 300 pages, this novel at least won't suck up a lot of your precious time, so you make the call.

Keith R.A. DeCandido is best known for his Star Trek books, of which there are many. Now, however, he's decided to branch out into his own world, at least for a little while. Dragon Precinct is his first original novel, and here's hoping there are some more. Should he write more in this particular series? I'm not sure how many it can sustain, but I wouldn't mind seeing some of these characters again. Dragon Precinct takes a lot of fantasy conventions (elves, halflings, dwarves, and magic) and uses them for an interesting murder mystery. The solution comes a little out of left field, but that doesn't hurt the book too badly.

Gan Brightblade is one of the world's biggest heroes. He and his friends have defeated many a monster and evil wizard, including the ultra-evil wizard Chalmraik. They are in Cliff's End for an unknown reason, but Gan is destined to stay there: dead. Half-elven detective Danthres Tresyllione and her partner, Torin ban Wyvald, are tasked with finding out who murdered him and, more importantly, how. No magic of any kind can be detected and he has no visible wounds. Even worse, Gan was a friend of the Lord and Lady of Cliff's End, and they are putting great pressure on the detectives to solve the mystery quickly. What do Gan's friends know about this, and will any of them survive to tell? Is Chalmraik back from the dead? And can they solve the murder before Danthres herself kills somebody?

Dragon Precinct is a very quick read, but that's not a bad thing. DeCandido gives us some interesting characterization that bends the molds of the typical fantasy characters. Some of it is old-hat (both elves and humans hate half-elven offspring, elves are rather haughty people), but there are just enough differences that the book doesn't feel derivative. Danthres has a chip on her shoulder that would seem impossible to carry around with her, but she's still fun to read about. Her temper gets the best of her at times, even with her friends. We learn early that she didn't have the best childhood, being one of those rare half-elves that survive past birth, and given the worst facial features of both races. Unfortunately, we don't find out the reason why until the very end of the book, where she deigns to explain everything to her friends. This felt a little awkward, though unloading herself does finally give her some of the freedom she needs to be a better person.

Torin is also intriguing, with his ex-soldier background. He once served with the current commander of the police force in the army and he carries some of that baggage around with him. He has his own informants in various shady areas of town, is able to use some of his military skills in his job, and he makes a very good foil for Danthres. He's also occasionally her lover, though that doesn't seem to have affected their working relationship. It's a very casual relationship which jumps off the page. He's the only one who can talk sense into Danthres when she's willing to lose her job rather than apologize to somebody.

The rest of the characters are given interesting hooks and are fairly well-rounded, but the book isn't really about them. There are two other sets of partners who figure prominently in the book, perhaps too prominently. The inclusion of their cases gives the book almost a "day in the life" feel which doesn't really fit with the plot itself, almost as if there wasn't enough plot to fill even the 237 pages that there are in the book. They're interesting characters, but they seem a bit out of place other than to flesh out the precinct. Osric, the captain, plays the typical gruff captain's role, being there mainly to yell at his detectives or for them to report to.

The other problem with the book is that the solution seems to come from nowhere. A chance comment from the forensic wizard all of a sudden sparks a thought that ends up solving everything. Even worse, it's a comment that the wizard, if he wasn't so arrogant, would probably have made earlier, though of course it may not have meant anything to the detectives earlier. It's really the only fault of the mystery part of the story. As for the other detectives' cases, they are solved rather perfunctorily as well. Actually, even more so. While Torin and Danthres' case takes center stage, the other cases are in the book just enough to detract from it, making the book seem a bit disjointed.

Even with these problems, Dragon Precinct is an enjoyable read. DeCandido's prose is fairly solid and the dialogue is quite good as well. He seems to let loose with the swear words a little bit, as if he's felt inhibited doing too many Star Trek books, so if swearing is a problem for you, stay away from it. The good characters help save the fact that their cases are solved way too easily, making only the end of the book weaker than it really should be. If a lot of Danthres' background that's revealed in the last few pages had been sprinkled throughout the rest of the book, I don't think any part of the book would have dragged. If a police procedural in a magical fantasy world sounds like your cup of tea, you really can't go wrong with Dragon Precinct.

David Roy

What a clever idea. I've read a gazillion fantasy books and this is fresh and fun. I love all the cool fantasy characters staying true to their stereotype during a murder mystery. It cracks me up.

Imagine you lived in the world of generic light fantasy -- the world of arrogant wizards, smelly but fearless barbarian heroes, lightfingered halflings, that world. If you've ever played a game of Dungeons and Dragons, you've seen it. Now, imagine that you lived in that world but you were one of the *other* people in it -- the tavernkeeper who has to clean up after the inevitable barfight, the urchin who made the mistake of picking a wizard's pocket, somebody like that. How would you feel about those heroes?

Dragon Precinct does a wonderful job evoking that feeling. When Detective Danthres is informed that two halflings, a barbarian, a priest, and three warrior types took a room at an inn together, she mutters "Lord and Lady, not another heroic quest". This is a world where heroes really are heroes, and ordinary people get shoved to the side, and know it.

Dragon Precinct goes over the same ground as Terry Pratchett's Night Watch series, but while there is plenty of humor, DeCandido's world is more gritty and serious. The universe itself is rather generic (especially in comparison to Discworld!) but that actually helps to highlight the broader issues of heroism, justice, and meaning. Not that this is a heavy psychological work -- it is light fantasy, and should appeal to most fans of Terry Pratchett or Joel Rosenberg.

On the whole, an enjoyable story in what I hope will be a continuing series. The world could use some fleshing out, but that can be saved for future books in the series. Danthres and Torin are made all the more interesting because they are mere protagonists in a land of heroes, and DeCandido clearly knows how to keep a plot moving.

This was an excellent and enjoyably unique take on a police procedural. Even thought it is set in a fantasy world it has a nice level of believability for me. I highly recommend this.

Life is short and time to read is shorter, so here's some good news: the next time you're trying to decide whether to read that new fantasy or the new mystery, you can combine both of your favorite genres by getting "Dragon Precinct." I don't know if an official name exists for this imaginative hybrid, but let's call it a fantasy-police procedural for this review.

DeCandido hits a home run with a hard-boiled detective story set in a fantasy city-state where precincts have names like Dragon, Unicorn, Mermaid and Goblin. Lieutenants Danthres Tresyllione (female--half elf, half human) and Torin ban Wyvald (male--human) are partners who work together like a well-oiled machine while trading in the clever, sardonic humor readers so appreciate. World-weary and realistic, yet committed to justice, they make the perfect partners.

They operate in a world where Sam Spade, Gimli, Emma Peel, V.I. Warshawski, Aragorn and even Voldemort would feel right at home. The novel is steeped in reverence for "The Lord of the Rings" while remaining highly irreverent. But you don't need to understand the references or to be knowledgeable about J.R.R. Tolkien to enjoy every word. I won't spoil the story by giving away the plot, but let me just say it involves a Brotherhood of Wizards, a fellowship of unlikely adventurers allied in a noble cause, and serious crimes that need Danthres' and Torin's masterly detective skills to resolve.

I hope "Dragon Precinct" becomes a series. I can hardly wait for the next installment.

Keith has long been one of my favorite Star Trek writers, so I was looking forward to reading his first original story, a "police procedural in a fantasy universe." The very idea intrigued me, and I was happy to secure a copy (personally autographed, no less) at Shore Leave this year.

Please don't hate me, Keith, but I didn't find the story to be as compelling as I thought it would be. That's not to say it wasn't a fun read, but there just didn't seem to be much depth or complexity, both to the plot or to the characters themselves. Much of the dialogue seemed forced or overdone, and in a land where magic was afoot, I would've liked to have seen more, well, magic afoot. It seemed almost *too* "police procedural," if that makes any sense. None of the "cops" seemed willing enough to go outside the box even just a smidge.

That said, Keith has produced another story in this universe, "Unicorn Precinct," which I also purchased at Shore Leave, and I'm really hoping this next one will be meatier. It's been seven years since "Dragon," seven years of Keith maturing as an origial writer, seven years of him simply *maturing,* so I'm hopeful I'll be better satisfied with this next installment.

Keith R.A. DeCandido never met an entertainment franchise that he didn't like. I've heard it rumored that he's pitched a series of novels focusing on that former fat-guy Jerod from all of those "Subway" commercials ... and that may end up being more entertaining fare than his fantasy-themed riff on CBS's juggernaut "CSI" franchise with "Dragon Precinct," a largely tepid but thankfully quick read.

Don't get me wrong: DeCandido (and others) has done a scholar's work in sinking the "Star Trek" franchise into the worst level of vanity publishing, but I was looking forward to his creative "stretch" here with an original novel, and, on some levels, it actually succeeds. There's a unique intrigue to the world of fantasy populated by elves, trolls, wizards, and common folk, and, had he stayed firmly grounded in the tongue-in-cheek humor that only occasionally pops up in this tale of exploring the "mystery in a box" theme, he may have hit a homerun. When he hits some farcical moments, the tale spins nicely; unfortunately, those moments are very, very, very few and far between.

Sadly, the procedural isn't that strong, and methinks KRAD could have spent more time reading those instead of the fantasy/science fiction realm he's so often dabbled in. The narrative within the chapters flips wildly from character to character, and, at times, it gets a bit difficult to follow. By the conclusion, I found myself caring less and less about the lead characters and more and more about simply seeing it all finished.

Hopefully, there will be no follow-up, though a few ends are dangled. Methinks he'd best stick to "Star Trek" where, at least, he's guaranteed an audience.

Although some might enjoy this book, I just couldn't. After about the first 3 chapters, I simply quit and put the book in the give away pile. In some instances, he is somewhat like Terry Pratchett,but doesn't even come close. There are the Guards (police) in a medieval type city, along with dwarfs, elves, trolls, etc. The detective guards must solve an apparent murder of a national hero who was presumably getting ready to go off on a "quest" with his coterie. I was really looking forward to enjoying this book, but it just becaue too boring.

This book is awsome!!!! It really has a Dungeons and Dragons or Lord of the Rings feel.Alought people say its like Harry Potter but i dont think so. If u like Fantasy or Mystery books this is the book for u.

I hav had trouble finding books like this were its like a fantasy world like Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons were anything can happen and this is the kind of book.
The only thing i hav to say thats bad about it is that there r not that many books like it and there should be more!!!