Dragon Precinct, by Keith R.A. deCandido, paperback, 0743467701
After being linked to this Kickstarter project (for a prequel story, by way of Laura Anne Gilman IIRC), I was rendered curious, and requested this book from my library system. It arrived eventually; the system only holds three copies, and all three were initially missing. Finally they found this one — "missing" was written on the request label when I received it.  Good on that branch for not giving up. :)
Anyway, this is clearly (as the author bio in the back puts it) a first original novel, as opposed to a tie-in. But I think it has potential, even though it really feels like a Forgotten Realms-style setting and (sometimes) novel. (Forgotten Realms is a tabletop gaming setting, probably most famous as the setting of the Drizzt books. In a reading context, at least.) I think I am going to pass on the Kickstarter (which is funded, BTW, and you still have about 2 hours to get in on that if you want to), but I am interested enough to give the next book in the series a try.Â
I did enjoy this take on the fantasy procedural. I have mixed feelings about the thematic racial tensions, mostly from a sense that they were emphasized too much. (Which is different from thinking that it was messing with my escapism, or whatever. Just that they were not handled very subtly ... but maybe this is part of the setup for later books and the author wanted to make sure that it was impossible to miss.)
Oh, and for anyone who was wondering, the font used in this edition is Wilke. (What can I say — the unusual Q caught my eye.)
