Dragon Precinct

by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743467701
• ISBN13: 9780743467704
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Pocket Star Books
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

this is a awsome book

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!!!

A very enjoyable read

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.

A day in the life of the Dragon precinct house?

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'

Police procedural in the land of heroic fantasy

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.

It's a fantasy! It's a police procedural! It's both!

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.