001 - The Soft Touch - Low Town novella

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0100

This is a fresh, off the press book review that was very much unplanned. For you see, I have been starting this blog post without a success for about seven months. Probably even longer if I count the many interations of my return-to-blogging ideas. I read a lot of books (on an average 3-4 a month) and I really wanted to share some ideas I got while reading them. If for no other reason than for myself in some distant future. However, some more or less lame excuse would rear its ugly head and I would not do it.

So, here we are, seven months since the Markdown file for this blog post was first written with some “Lorem ipsum” on it so that I can see if my design changes work or not. The initial idea was to write a review of a book “A City Dreaming” by Daniel Polansky. The book I saw reviewed, I think, in the Grimdark Magazine [GdM hereafter]. I was getting a little tired of reading Warhammer novels at that point, as if someone was chasing me to read all of them, so I’ve decided to try something new.

Anyway, I got myself a copy of “A City Dreaming” and I got hooked after the first chapter. My general rule is that if the book doesn’t get me hooked by page 50 chances are it never will. That doesn’t mean I give up reading. I have yet to drop a book. I may stop reading and come back again, give it another go, but I never give up on the book.

After “A City Dreaming” I wanted more. I went on and decided to give his Low Town series a go. A grimdark fantasy in a world no so different from our own, yet different enough. With dangerous magic available to those giften, but with a price that may be too steep for most. Intrigue, characters with all the fifty shades of grey and more. I got easily hooked.

I think I’ve read all three Low Town books in a week. I simply wanted to know more after each chapter. And then those books ended. In a very grimdark way, as expected. I still yearned for more.

Saying that I was excited when I saw the announcement on the GdM that Mr. Polansky is going to release a new novella this summer would be underselling it. So, when the book got out two weeks ago I got my digital copy the same afternoon. I didn’t get to read it right away because I was reading the new Dan Abnett book, The Hive, which I will review at some point.

I will do my best to avoid any spoilers for anyone wanting to read all four books. It is going to be very tought, but here it goes.

The Soft Touch takes us some fifteen years into the future after the ending of the third book in the series. Our main character returns to the city of Rigus, the crown of the empire and to its lowest part - the Low Town. Everything is different, yet everything is exactly the same. The world of Low Town is very similar to our own world which makes it easy to visualize all the streets and buildings the author describes.

What got me hooked to Daniel’s writing was his character building. All his characters, no matter how insignificant in the story, feel very real and tangible. He description of their looks, mannerisms, gestures… the author paints such a vivid picture of each of them, which makes it very easy for us, readers, to either love or hate them from the get go.

Another great talent that the author posesses is knowing how to write a good antihero. That is not an easy thing, as we may have seen in the films made in the last ten or so year. Modern, high budget films simply don’t know how to make an antihero. Being edgy and annoying doesn’t make one antihero.

Now, the Soft Touch doesn’t come with an antihero. I would dare to say that, at least for now, our hero is a hero. Yes, it is obvious that he has some hidden agenda, and knowing what we know from the first three books we can expect it to be a very devious agenda, however, in this novella he is a hero.

I am stopping myself from reviewing the previous three books in this post and making comparisons with a ton of spoilers. I will leave that for some future writings.

The Soft Touch takes us to a world in turmoil, on the very edge of things. All the stories in this world feel as if at five minutes to the end at all the times. In this story, however, he dials it a bit down. Or at least that was my impression. This story feels lighter. Yes, the world is brutal, and yes, the things are awful for an awful lot of people, but compared to the previos three stories this one feels lighter.

Each previous book has told us multiple stories at the same time. Sometimes as a memory from a long ago wars, or plagues, or just violence. And each story was there to put the light onto the current events. I find it funny that the story of the war with the Dren, an enemy from far away that didn’t bend the knee, is still present in this new story. Fifteen years after the events of the last book and much more since the war ended. There is a new ruler in Rigus - the Young Queen. However, the whole empire is ran by the secret police of the Black House. As I list these things it becomes obvious that nothing much has changed in this world of Low Town. Thousands have died in the most brutal way, of course, but in the essence, nothing has changed. Only the names of those that pull the strings. Feels to familiar.

The plot feels like an introduction to a new series of books, which I certainly wish for. The empire on the edge, secret service plotting to keep the power in their hands, criminals plotting to take control over yet another quarter of the city from the rival gangs, magic users blowing up buildings by accident…and it all ends where the first book starts.

It may seem like this book requires you to read the previous three books. No, I don’t think that there is a need for that. The book is self-contained to a degree that you don’t need the original trilogy. However, I encourage you to read those books first. It will make this read so much more fun.

As I said, this new story feels much lighter than the previous three. The blame is, perhaps, to be put onto our hero - Wren, of whom I will not spoil much. Though, even mentioning his name is a kind of a spoiler. He is a different Wren than the one we’ve left in the previous trilogy. He is, at least on the outside, positive. Light. Even naive. It is, of course, all a game (for he is Alpharius), but that fact alone keeps the mood of the story much lighter than it deserves to be. It lightens the darkness that is obviously everywhere.

And I appreciate it. Sometimes all it takes is a soft touch to mask the grim darkness of the world.

Judgement: 

Fantasy on Nightmare Artist

001 - The Soft Touch - Low Town novella