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The Long Way Down Daniel Faust Volume 1 Craig Schaefer 9780990339311 Books

Download As PDF : The Long Way Down Daniel Faust Volume 1 Craig Schaefer 9780990339311 Books

The Long Way Down Daniel Faust Volume 1 Craig Schaefer 9780990339311 Books

ANALYSIS: The Long Way Down is the first book of the Daniel Faust series and while this book wasn't my introduction to Craig's books or even to Daniel Faust's world. It is a good place to start and enter the dark, crazy world that Craig has envisioned.

This book (as I've learned from reading all of the Daniel Faust titles released so far) have multiple plots running together. The story opens up with Daniel introducing the reader to his world in Las Vegas. This is a city that thrives on illusions and we learn that it just goes deeper than the ones that we see. Faust's world is one of magic but it's hidden and one can't really access it. The story follows the usual UF tradition of having a first person narrative. Faust introduces the readers to his friends in the Tiger's Garden, a hangout place which is only accessible to those in tune with magic & other supernatural latencies of the world. He gets approached by an old Minnesotan man to find his grand daughter who has gotten into porn and has now gone missing. Further complicating matters is the fact that she was forced to participate in some heinous films and whose director is knee deep into seedier aspects.

There's a few more plot complications (such as Caitlin's introduction, the main big bad, etc) which further fuel the the story and keep the readers guessing as to where the story might end up. All through out this, the author keeps on laying the groundwork for the sequels as well as the character cast besides Daniel. We are given glimpses of his past and introduced to those whom he considers friends and family. We also get to meet the people he has associated with in the past as a criminal. He still does odd jobs and is a person who operates on the other side of law. But he has his rules and while he's not one to shy away from murder and deceit, he still tries to hold to a moral line of only killing folks who deserve it.

Craig Schaefer really effuses the story with lots of twists and the best way I can think of describing this book and the series is Richard Stark's Parker meets The Dresden Files. The main character and the rest of the characters that are introduced aren't heroes but they sure are heroic in their deeds. They regularly work as thieves and are often the type that would be featured as antagonists or at least working in the shadows. But to the author's credit, the story works and Faust is an absorbing narrator. I loved how the author goes about expanding the story and world while keeping the narrative tightly focussed.

The main mystery gets resolved however the other plot twists get introduced and the story takes a whole new path, leading on to a frightful climax. The story does end on a sombre note and there's enough potential shown within that I wanted to read the second book immediately. The action is more on a personal level and the big battle towards the end does make up a lot for the start. However this book does have some inertia, particularly in the first third wherein the plot is set up and all the characters are introduced.

The author tries his best but considering this is his debut, there's some rough spots in the book which might slowdown the read for many a reader. For me, this book was a decent but slightly slow read but since I had read THE WHITE GOLD SCORE previously. I soldiered on knowing that the once the plot finds its groove, it would be worth it and it definitely was. The story has a good mix of action, plot twists and character drama, and the author hints at certain things that might play out in future books. There are some plot threads and twists which just seem to be resolved easily but this is done with the long haul in mind and something I as a reader could overlook.

Craig Schaefer does that admirably as he leads up to a big climax which does solve most of the plot threads while setting up the sequels. The epilogue is a kicker and hearkens back to very first plot thread and brings it to a solid, fitting conclusion. Still I would rate this book as a three & half star effort, because after reading the sequels I know how good they are and in comparison, this book while absorbing, does its job of introducing the series, characters and world appropriately.

CONCLUSION: The Long Way Down is an admirable debut that introduces the readers to a world wherein the heroes aren't really heroic but charismatic nonetheless, the bad guys are evil but not entirely misguided and the stakes are truly world-shattering. It was a debut that left me admiring the author's ingenuity & writing skills in spite of the flaws within. Give this book a shot if you love urban fantasy and want to read something darker than most titles that have been published so far.


Tags : The Long Way Down (Daniel Faust) (Volume 1) [Craig Schaefer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Nobody knows the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas like Daniel Faust, a sorcerer for hire and ex-gangster who uses black magic and bullets to solve his clients' problems. When an old man comes seeking vengeance for his murdered granddaughter,Craig Schaefer,The Long Way Down (Daniel Faust) (Volume 1),Demimonde Books,0990339319,FICTION Fantasy Paranormal,FictionFantasy - Dark Fantasy,FictionHorror - General,FICTION Fantasy Urban

The Long Way Down Daniel Faust Volume 1 Craig Schaefer 9780990339311 Books Reviews

Im tired of decent UF books ruined by cheesy romance.

The Long Way Down started decent enough- darkish, gritty, with an interesting semi-anti-hero. The story worked well up to Faust's dream sequence and then it starts to break down. Faust takes on a case of finding the killer of a dead girl. This case quickly spirals and is less of a murder mystery and more of a world-ending-calamity situation.

While the book has a layered plot it fells to deliver on the other areas of detail- mainly descriptions of the magic and characterization. What ruined the book for me was the budding-YA-romance and Faust's relationships in general.

Positives
+ Not-So-Good MC.
+ Interesting World. Demons etal. World has depth and looks like it could provide setup for interesting followup novels.

Negatives
- Poorly explained magic.
- Counter-intuitive to his 'bad-guy' persona, Fausts relationships with the other magicians seem over the top and unrealistic.
- Cheesy Romance (minor spoilers follow) The relationship between Faust and Caitlin is ridiculous. Faust goes from fearing for his life/pissing-his-pants scared, and Caitlin goes from serious bad-ass to both muttering mind-numbing lines straight out of an eye-rolling YA romance novel. There is no setup or build up, just a 180 into cheesy land.
This is an Average Joe's review of the first book as well as the entire series.

Pros
-Action Packed
-Short and to the point
-Entertaining

Cons
-Lack of Character development outside of the protagonist(this is a big one)
-Lack of understanding of how this world with magic works.
-Lack of unique magical concepts

The Daniel Faust series is an entertaining yet forgettable experience, this review is specifically about the first book but many of my points carry on throughout the set. In the Long Way Down you are thrown into a world of magic and mystery given the explanation of basically 'that's just how it is'. The protagonist Daniel Faust(If you haven't guessed that already) is a talented magician/wizard who is also a career criminal who is standing just over the wrong side of line that separated right and wrong. He is fun to follow and watch as he makes his way though his adventures but the book the book just lacks that special something that will truly make it worth while. You get a firm understanding of what kind of man Faust is, but throughout his adventures there's many characters who are significant in the story who feel significantly underdeveloped and given a one page backstory and left at that.

Overall it's entertaining but quickly forgotten about, 3.75/5 stars.

P.S. If you are coming from or have read the Dresden files or Name of The Wind and want a depth comparison The Long Way Down is like Lake Michigan, the Dresden files is the Atlantic Ocean and NOTW is the Pacific.

P.S. #2 While there is adult content in this novel, it plays a very, very small part.
ANALYSIS The Long Way Down is the first book of the Daniel Faust series and while this book wasn't my introduction to Craig's books or even to Daniel Faust's world. It is a good place to start and enter the dark, crazy world that Craig has envisioned.

This book (as I've learned from reading all of the Daniel Faust titles released so far) have multiple plots running together. The story opens up with Daniel introducing the reader to his world in Las Vegas. This is a city that thrives on illusions and we learn that it just goes deeper than the ones that we see. Faust's world is one of magic but it's hidden and one can't really access it. The story follows the usual UF tradition of having a first person narrative. Faust introduces the readers to his friends in the Tiger's Garden, a hangout place which is only accessible to those in tune with magic & other supernatural latencies of the world. He gets approached by an old Minnesotan man to find his grand daughter who has gotten into porn and has now gone missing. Further complicating matters is the fact that she was forced to participate in some heinous films and whose director is knee deep into seedier aspects.

There's a few more plot complications (such as Caitlin's introduction, the main big bad, etc) which further fuel the the story and keep the readers guessing as to where the story might end up. All through out this, the author keeps on laying the groundwork for the sequels as well as the character cast besides Daniel. We are given glimpses of his past and introduced to those whom he considers friends and family. We also get to meet the people he has associated with in the past as a criminal. He still does odd jobs and is a person who operates on the other side of law. But he has his rules and while he's not one to shy away from murder and deceit, he still tries to hold to a moral line of only killing folks who deserve it.

Craig Schaefer really effuses the story with lots of twists and the best way I can think of describing this book and the series is Richard Stark's Parker meets The Dresden Files. The main character and the rest of the characters that are introduced aren't heroes but they sure are heroic in their deeds. They regularly work as thieves and are often the type that would be featured as antagonists or at least working in the shadows. But to the author's credit, the story works and Faust is an absorbing narrator. I loved how the author goes about expanding the story and world while keeping the narrative tightly focussed.

The main mystery gets resolved however the other plot twists get introduced and the story takes a whole new path, leading on to a frightful climax. The story does end on a sombre note and there's enough potential shown within that I wanted to read the second book immediately. The action is more on a personal level and the big battle towards the end does make up a lot for the start. However this book does have some inertia, particularly in the first third wherein the plot is set up and all the characters are introduced.

The author tries his best but considering this is his debut, there's some rough spots in the book which might slowdown the read for many a reader. For me, this book was a decent but slightly slow read but since I had read THE WHITE GOLD SCORE previously. I soldiered on knowing that the once the plot finds its groove, it would be worth it and it definitely was. The story has a good mix of action, plot twists and character drama, and the author hints at certain things that might play out in future books. There are some plot threads and twists which just seem to be resolved easily but this is done with the long haul in mind and something I as a reader could overlook.

Craig Schaefer does that admirably as he leads up to a big climax which does solve most of the plot threads while setting up the sequels. The epilogue is a kicker and hearkens back to very first plot thread and brings it to a solid, fitting conclusion. Still I would rate this book as a three & half star effort, because after reading the sequels I know how good they are and in comparison, this book while absorbing, does its job of introducing the series, characters and world appropriately.

CONCLUSION The Long Way Down is an admirable debut that introduces the readers to a world wherein the heroes aren't really heroic but charismatic nonetheless, the bad guys are evil but not entirely misguided and the stakes are truly world-shattering. It was a debut that left me admiring the author's ingenuity & writing skills in spite of the flaws within. Give this book a shot if you love urban fantasy and want to read something darker than most titles that have been published so far.