The Fifth Ward: First Watch

By: Dale Lucas

Narrated by: Simon Vance

The grit of grimdark meets a police procedural in this rollicking debut fantasy series where two watchmen protect the streets of one of fantasy's most dangerous cities.

A member of the Yenara City guard has gone missing. The culprit could be any of the usual suspects: drug-dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, or humans being typical humans.

It's up to two reluctant partners -- Rem, a miscreant who joins the Watch to pay off his bail, and Torval, a maul-wielding dwarf who's highly unimpressed with the untrained Rem -- to uncover the truth and catch the murderer loose in their fair city.

"A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can't help but root for." -- Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"A glorious tour through fantasy's seamier side. A wilder ride than Middle Earth, and you'll love every minute of it!" -- Jon Hollins, author of the Dragon Lords series

Critic reviews

"If you're looking for a book that will give you everything you love about fantasy in a way you haven't seen before, you've found it."—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

"A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can't help but root for."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"A glorious tour through fantasy's seamier side, complete with irreverent dwarves and rabble-rousing orcs, mages, and humans. A wilder ride than Middle Earth, and you'll love every minute of it!"—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Jon Hollins, author of the Dragon Lords series

"[An] entertaining story.... A real page-turner."—RT Book Reviews

"Great fun ... [First Watch] injects new life into a well-established formula ... [a] thoroughly splendid debut."—The Eloquent Page

"Fans of diverse cityscapes, mismatched buddy cops, and high adventure will relish this fantasy series launch... tantalizing."—Library Journal

"A well-written adventure."—Cannonball Read

"Dale Lucas tells a rambunctious tale that sends the two watchmen into the worst parts of Yanara, fighting orcs and dealing with elves. The case is far bigger than either expected and leads to villainy that is actually illegal in the city. I can't wait for the next case."—University City Review

"I could have read this story for eternity, the characters and world building are that good ... every scene is brought to life with blazing imagery that is tied to constant movement. The characterization is superb and continues to surprise as events unfold."—Koeur's Book Reviews

"First Watch is a thrilling adventure, it's a buddy action movie masquerading as a fantasy book... an awesome read."—The Tattooed Book Geek

Brilliant!

Great story and interesting characters. Well written adventure and an exciting start to a series. So glad I discovered this author!

Good stuff.

I enjoyed this book. There are improvements I'd suggest, but I enjoyed the listen and would consider work by this author and / reader again.

A fun and interesting tale

I got to really like the two main characters. And I thought the author told a great story

Better than I expected.

This had popped up in my suggestions a few times but I ignored because the cover reminded me a bit of that awful R.I.P.D. movie. Excellent narration and good story line. Some moderate twists without it seeming contrived. I'm actually on the third book at this point.

a good fantasy read

this book isn't going to blow you away and parts of the story are cliche but a nice police drama set in a fantasy world is quite an enjoyable read. the world is beautifully described and the book leaves you wanting more stories from the Wards.

the performance is top notch. a good listen for fantasy fans