Dragon Precinct

By Keith R. A. DeCandido

"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 on Dragon Precinct

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.

"Dungeons and Dragnet... As a take-off of the standard crime drama, Dragon Precinct succeeds nicely. Dressed in sword-and-sorcery trappings, the clichés 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 Authors and Editors

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Quest Books
• Release date: Mar 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781498965620

Keith R. A. DeCandido

Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians. He has written over two dozen novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, and comic books, most of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Marvel Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Resident Evil, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, Farscape, Xena, and Doctor Who. His original novel Dragon Precinct was published in 2004, and he's also edited several anthologies, among them the award-nominated Imaginings and two Star Trek anthologies. Keith is also a musician, having played percussion for the bands Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, Boogie Knights, and Randy Bandits, as well as several solo acts. In what he laughingly calls his spare time, Keith follows the New York Yankees and practices kenshikai karate. He still lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two insane cats.

Reviews for Dragon Precinct

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good. I like the story, like the characters (more or less) - it's just a trifle awkward in some of the phrasing, both dialog and description. But the city is great, the setup of the guards is neat, and all of it is just begging for more stories.

[simonw11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The best lines are quoted in the blurb, there is not much point proceeding beyond it. A party of adventurers about to embark on a quest are being killed off before they start, the local precinct investigates. It is then a police procedural with a fantasy twist. A lacklustre attempt at straddling two stools.