The Fifth Ward: Friendly Fire

By: Dale Lucas

Narrated by: Simon Vance

The second book in a series featuring two misfit partners working a case in a crime-ridden city filled with orcs, humans, elves, dwarves, and mages -- The Lord of the Rings meets Lethal Weapon.

In the most dangerous district of the city, the Fifth Ward, Rem and Torval have been perfecting their good cop, bad cop routine while protecting residents from drug-dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being typical humans.

But when a perplexing case of arson leads to a series of gruesome, unsolvable murders, the two partners must challenge their own assumptions and loyalties if they are to preserve their partnership, wrest justice from the chaos, and keep their ward from tearing itself apart.

"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

For more from Dale Lucas, check out The Fifth Ward: First Watch.

Critic reviews

"A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can't help but root for."—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, on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"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!"—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, on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"Great fun ... [First Watch] injects new life into a well-established formula ... [a] thoroughly splendid debut."—The Eloquent Page on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"Fans of diverse cityscapes, mismatched buddy cops, and high adventure will relish this fantasy series launch."—Library Journal on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"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."—University City Review on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"A well-written adventure."—Cannonball Read on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"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."—Koeur's Book Reviews on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"[An] entertaining story.... A real page-turner."—RT Book Reviews on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

"First Watch is brilliantly written. Action, intrigue, and humor... Genuinely, CSI: LOTR."—Reality's a Bore on The Fifth Ward: First Watch

Fantasy Adventure

As usual Lucas creates an exciting story. Law Enforcement meets Fantasy Medieval. The main characters being a human and dwarf partners.

formatting.

narrator should have enough knowledge of word or how they are pronounced. Maybe even go deeper into the plot

Great story

Dale Lucas has knocked it out of the park again! He has an amazing way of drawing you in and immersing the reader/listener into the world of these two complex and exciting characters. Can't wait for book 3!

wounderful book!

nothing much to dislike, it's a very easy to understand, all all around great book! just like the first one, I am looking forward in buying the 3rd!

Fantastical buddy cops are as good as it sounds

I recommend this book to those that enjoyed the first as well as anyone that thinks a buddy cop story taking place in a swords and sorcery fantasy setting sounds as amazing as it is novel.

Since Friendly Fire is a sequel, this book has our two protagonists’ relationship fully figured out and developed, so it is not the focus this time around. What is the focus is Torval’s own life and relationship with his past, as well as that of two factions within the Fifth Ward. The plot, while certainly fantastical at its roots, is one that has happened throughout real life history and even in current days as a powerful guild goes up against the dwarf community. This setup, which is explained in the synopsis, actually kept me from the book for a year because I didn’t want to deal with that kind of thing in my escapism. This was quite honestly a mistake and you shouldn’t make the same one. The message and action are certainly poignant, but it isn’t preachy or distracting from the story of Rem and Torval being given a case and told to solve it no matter what.

So if you liked the first book, police procedurals with a spin, and a serious book with a good peppering of humor, I would go ahead and continue this series. I know I will, and I won’t wait a year this time around.