Thursday, September 22, 2011

What is Daniel Polansky reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Daniel Polansky, author of Low Town.

The entry begins:
I just finished reading The Old Regime and the Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville, which was the first part of what was meant to be a meditation on the French Revolution comparable to his epic work Democracy in America, but which death stopped him from completing. I'm really fascinated by the French Revolution, and obviously Tocqueville is one of the great historical thinkers of all time so this was really...[read on]
Among the early praise for Low Town:
"Polansky is a deft, sensitive dramatist with the blackest sense of humor—and Low Town is brilliant proof. Here’s hoping that sequel comes quickly. Polansky has managed to craft an assured, roaring, and rollicking hybrid, a cross-genre free-for-all that relishes its tropes while spitting out their bones. And he does it all while spinning one hell of a gripping mystery. Much like its grim, perversely charismatic antihero, Low Town stakes a narrow turf—then completely owns every inch of it."
A.V. Club (The Onion) (Jason Heller)

"Low Town is a strong, confident debut that should go down well with readers who enjoy their fantasy on the noir side. It’s a novel you can enjoy for its atmosphere as well as its story, full as it is of well-drawn scenes from the city’s underbelly... Low Town delivers a fast, entertaining story in less pages than it takes some major epics to get out of the realm of basic exposition. I had a blast with Low Town, and I’m definitely keeping an eye out for whatever Daniel Polansky comes up with next."
—Tor.com (Stefan Raets)

"This debut by Maryland native Daniel Polansky is a fantasy-crime hybrid with serious noir chops. Gritty, cryptically funny and relentlessly inventive."
Winnipeg Free Press

"[A] maniacal page turner."
Newark Star Ledger
View the Low Town trailer.

Learn more about the book and author at Daniel Polansky's website.

My Book, The Movie: Low Town.

Writers Read: Daniel Polansky.

--Marshal Zeringue