The Long Way Down

Daniel Faust, Book 1

By: Craig Schaefer

Narrated by: Adam Verner

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

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, what looks like a simple job quickly spirals out of control.

Soon Daniel stands in the crossfire between a murderous porn director; a corrupt cop with a quick trigger finger; and his own former employer, a racket boss who isn't entirely human. Then there's Caitlin: brilliant, beautiful, and the lethal right hand of a demon prince.

A man named Faust should know what happens when you rub shoulders with demons. Still Daniel can't resist being drawn to Caitlin's flame as they race to unlock the secret of the Etruscan Box, a relic that people all over town are dying - and killing - to get their hands on. As the bodies drop and the double-crosses pile up, Daniel will need every shred of his wits, courage, and sheer ruthlessness just to survive.

Daniel Faust knew he was standing with one foot over the brink of hell. He's about to find out just how far he can fall.

©2014 Demimonde Books (P)2014 Demimonde Books

I love this book

The plot is amazing. More let turns then a round about. If this was a movie, I'd watch it in a heart beat. Or a tv show since it feels like it has so many small stories to make one large one.

Good Story, Awful Narrator

I like the characters and the story. It’s a great start to a series.

But I’ve listened to 100s of audiobooks at this point and I’ve never come across a narrator who was so awful with female voices. It took a lot away from the listening pleasure. To the point where I’m 50/50 on continuing the series.

Fun Vegas Detective Story with Magic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I couldn't stop listening to this book and ended up getting all the books in the series and whipping through them. The story is a Mickey Spillane type story, but filled with magic and demons both good and bad. Daniel Faust is the sorcerer detective that keeps getting involved with saving humanity with the help of his magic friends and demon girlfriend. Fun characters and great narration.

Have you listened to any of Adam Verner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Loved Verner's reading, so natural and full of emotion.

One thing

This book was good but what pushed it into GREAT was that the author never said "the house always wins" in a book set in Las Vegas

God that must have been hard

Pretty solid fantasy detective novel

This was a pretty solid fantasy detective novel. There are a lot of the gumshoe detective tropes but they are used well and that's what makes a genre. The style and narration need a little polishing but are for the most part pretty good. Solid first installment and I will likely read the next one.

Just to address this, a lot of other commenters compare this to the Dresden files, and there are some similarities especially at the beginning but Jim Butcher does not have a monopoly on the genre. Every magical detective novel is likely to have some overlap but the style of this author is different and thus far it's pretty good.

Urban fantasy noir. Done right..

As the title states this is an excellent urban fatsy noir novel. Think what if Mike Hammer was a wizard. Be warned this not Dresden or Iron Druid. There are no cute pets or funny sidekicks, and no pop culture references.This is dark stuff and I love it!

If I didn't make it clear earlier, this is not for the kids. The whole thing starts around the murder of a porn starlet and spirals quickly into the dark from there. No one really gets a happy ending, although some do better than others. The story leaves a lot of room for future novels (Please write fast!) but ties up most loose ends by the end of the novel.

The narrator does a good job and has a fairly good range of distinctive voices. The only problem is he has one of the worst creole/Caribean accents ever. This is only is small problem though, and takes nothing away from the book.

The characters are well developed and fun to read. the world and magic system are left purposely vague. I usually like a better formed magic system for novels, but in this case it helps to maintain the myster of the series. If you like Dresden and Iron Druid this will be a much more dark, adult alternative for you. Don't miss this one.

Can't Wait for the Next One in This Series!

The main question I ask myself about each book is: Did I become emotionally invested in the characters? So many books these days fail that test. I'm happy to say that this one meets that test with flying colors. Daniel Faust is a very likable protagonist.The book got me interested in the very beginning , and the story is riveting throughout..whatever the audible equivalent of "I couldn't put the book down" is, applies here.

If you are a fan of the Harry Dresden books, you will love this book. I can't wait for the next one in the series! I give this book my highest recommendation.

Didn't scratch that Dresden Files itch

I don't do much urban fantasy. Dresden Files is my main exposure there. I found this on sale and decided to experiment outside the Dresden box. The writing was very competent and the pacing was decent, but I felt like I lacked that consistent, rule-based universe that unfolds in Dresden files or books like Mistborn. I didn't feel like I knew the rules the protagonist has to play by in this magical universe that well, which made it less interesting to see the magic unfold.

Also, the protagonist didn't really interest me as much as I had hoped. It's dark and edgy and I can see others who really dig urban fantasy enjoying this book a great deal, but it wasn't quite my cup of tea.

Back to waiting for Dresden Files #16, again.

Faust or Dresden

Would you consider the audio edition of The Long Way Down to be better than the print version?

I adore audio books

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The religious overtones

Have you listened to any of Adam Verner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

I recently read some of the Dresden files, and there is a lot of overlap between these two which (perhaps unfairly) forced me to compare the two.

To be honest, I couldn't come down on either one as being better or worse, but I think that on the whole I'm more tempted to read more Faust. They both had a good focus on real-world issues despite being about magic, they both had action, but I think I was impressed by the use of LGBT chrs in a book which is not about that.

It was alright

I won't say anything negative about the book, but, I can't say that it was good. I didn't relate to the characters and I lost interest in the plot. I'm not going to get the next book in the series.