Dragon Precinct

Cliff's End, Book 1

By: Keith R.A. DeCandido

Narrated by: Michael Page

Humans and elves, dwarves and gnomes, wizards and warriors all live and do business in the thriving, overcrowded port city of Cliff's End, to say nothing of the tourists and travelers who arrive by land and sea, passing through the metropolis on matters of business or pleasure - or on quests. The hard-working, under-appreciated officers of the Cliff's End Castle Guard work day and night to maintain law and order as best they can.

Gan Brightblade is one of the world's greatest heroes and a personal friend of the Lord and Lady of Cliff's End. So when he's brutally murdered in grubby lodgings in Dragon Precinct, on the eve of a great quest, the Captain of the Guard puts his two best investigators on the case.

©2004 Albe-Shiloh, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"All in all, this is a fascinating excursion in genre-bending; worth a try even for readers who usually take either their procedurals or their fantasies unadulterated." (Booklist)

"Dungeons and Dragnet... As a take-off of the standard crime drama, Dragon Precinct succeeds nicely. Dressed in sword-and-sorcery trappings, the cliches of the genre are given a fresh twist. I would like to see more stories in this same setting." (The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society)

Fun listen

Story, is good, fun characters with lots of room for creative growth. Micheal Page, is an excellent narrator that I personally put in the same class as Micheal Kramer and Kate Reading who, all do a great job of bringing characters to life. Will definitely continue the series.

Not average fantasy fare

Where does Dragon Precinct rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I very much like the narrator. I also like that although this is a shorter book, it's a very neatly told story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dragon Precinct?

It's hard to pick just one. I'll go with the scene where the little kid helps the Guard for free because they're trying to catch his mother's rapist.

Which scene was your favorite?

At the brothel where Grovis finds out his brother isn't all that righteous.

Any additional comments?

Although this book seems to have the setup of a dungeons and dragons adventure, it reads more like a police drama. There are humans, elves, dwarves, etc. but they are fantasy-world policemen trying to solve crimes, and the nature of their job isn't romanticized. The characters are world-weary and cynical, and therefore relatable.

This story is not fond of its characters

The only character alive after the first chapter who is not portrayed as abrasive, corrupt, or deceitful (or, in a few cases, all three!), is the human male partner in our lead detective duo. Torin barely has a personality beyond cajoling his partner Danthres away from the kind of resentment-fueled bullying that better suits an antagonist than the protagonist.

KRAD writes evocative scenery and snappy dialogue, but I am used to well-rounded characters from an author who likes the story he is telling. This one's just resentment from end to end.

Red anything else by this author.

Not my usual kind of read, and I loved it!

Police procedurals are not a genre I normally reach for, but attending a convention with the author as a panelist had me eager to read Dragon Precinct.

I do not regret it in the least! DeCandido has created an amazing culture in a fantasy city that has the same sorts of problems we do in the real world. He actually made me care about the cops of such a place. How they approach crimesolving in a world where magic exists, where different fantasy races coexist... it's vibrant and a joy to read!

You can bet I'll be picking up the rest of the series.

If you like police procedurals

And I mean word for word police procedurals, in a world of wizards, gnomes, and elves. With all the same scenarios: overbearing wealthy, demanding captains, sniping coworkers, prostitutes, petty thieves and grifters. The crime has to be magic but everyone swears there is no magic. The victims are withholding important information. There are red herrings and prejudice and motivations straight out of Mickey Spillane.

So if you enjoy the same old same old set in a magical world, you probably will enjoy this. My opinion is colored by my personal annoyance with people in a completely different environment using the same old worn-out dialogue and tropes.