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The Fifth Ward: First Watch by Dale Lucas
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The Fifth Ward: First Watch

$29.39

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Simon Vance

This audiobook uses AI narration.

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Length 11 hours 9 minutes
Language English
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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

Dale Lucas is a novelist, screenwriter, civil servant, and armchair historian from St. Petersburg, Florida. When not writing at home or trapped in a cubicle at his day job, he loves travel, great food, and buying more books than he'll ever be able to read.

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Shop the sale

In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Donโ€™t miss outโ€”purchases support your local bookstore!

Shop now

Reviews

"[An] entertaining story.... A real page-turner."โ€”RT Book Reviews "Great fun ... [First Watch] injects new life into a well-established formula ... [a] thoroughly splendid debut."โ€”The Eloquent Page "Fans of diverse cityscapes, mismatched buddy cops, and high adventure will relish this fantasy series launch... tantalizing."โ€”Library Journal "A well-written adventure."โ€”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."โ€”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."โ€”Koeur's Book Reviews "First Watch is a thrilling adventure, it's a buddy action movie masquerading as a fantasy book... an awesome read."โ€”The Tattooed Book Geek "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."โ€”B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog "A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can't help but root for."โ€”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!"โ€”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 Expand reviews
Celebrate indie bookstores with our limited-time sale! Shop the sale