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Daniel Faust #1.5
The White Gold Score
When a high roller dies in his Vegas penthouse suite, that's a problem. When his ghost refuses to leave, that's a bigger problem. Daniel Faust is the solution. Called in to clean up the casino's mess, the modern-day sorcerer soon learns that the restless spirit isn't going down without a fight. To set things right, he'll have to delve someplace even seedier, even more treacherous, than the Vegas Strip: the Los Angeles music industry.
In a snare between a scheming record producer, an embattled songstress and a lethal drug cartel, Daniel and his crew hit the streets of LA. Opportunity is knocking. There's a score to be had. And with a quarter of a million dollars on the table, this murder mystery just became a heist in the making.
(The White Gold Score is a 46,000-word novella in the Daniel Faust series, a side-story that takes place between The Long Way Down and Redemption Song.)
In a snare between a scheming record producer, an embattled songstress and a lethal drug cartel, Daniel and his crew hit the streets of LA. Opportunity is knocking. There's a score to be had. And with a quarter of a million dollars on the table, this murder mystery just became a heist in the making.
(The White Gold Score is a 46,000-word novella in the Daniel Faust series, a side-story that takes place between The Long Way Down and Redemption Song.)
158 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 29, 2016
85 people are currently reading
551 people want to read
About the author
Craig Schaefer
43 books1,332 followersCraig Schaefer's books have taken readers to the seamy edge of a criminal underworld drenched in shadow (the Daniel Faust series), to a world torn by war, poison and witchcraft (the Revanche Cycle), and across a modern America mired in occult mysteries and a conspiracy of lies (the Harmony Black series).
Despite this, people say he's strangely normal. Suspiciously normal, in fact. His home on the Web is www.craigschaeferbooks.com.
Despite this, people say he's strangely normal. Suspiciously normal, in fact. His home on the Web is www.craigschaeferbooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
May 26, 2025
➽ And the moral of this rereread is: Cait says stuff like “Don’t leave without me, just let me hose off the blood and I’ll meet you at the airport” and I get all...
👋 Until next time and stuff.
[February 2020]
🃏 Get Those Magic Decks Of Cards Out of Storage We're Doing the Danny-Boy-IS-MINE Thingie Again Buddy Read (GTMDoCOoSWDtDBIMTABR™) with the MacHalos and Stuff 🃏
➽ And the moral of this rereread is: hosing blood off + Wagyu steak + clusters of damned souls driven mad with hunger + weird, fucked-up dates + looking forward to chopping people's heads off + demon girlfriends flirting with blood magic-practicing ex-girlfriends + hypothetically massacring fedora-wearing men + bad people not giving a fish about not being good people + playing chaperone being a whole bloody shrimping lot scarier than facing demons + copious amounts of most illegally and cunningly earned dough + assorted scumbags and assholes = most glorious couple's vacation ever, courtesy of My Danny Boy.
You got that right, Gertie Dear.
[January 2018]
☢ Daniel Faust is Mine Mine Mine Buddy Reread with my MacHalo Wives and Daughters and Stuff (DFiMMMBRwmMWaSaS™) ☢
➽ And the moral of this reread is : ain't no first date like a Daniel Faust first date. Especially when it involves a wood chipper. Just ask Caitlin.
[Original review]
Actual rating: 8 stars. Damn right.
This novella is Pure Condensed Undiluted Daniel Faust Perfection (PCUDFP™). It has it all:
✔ My Yummy and Slightly Cunning Danny Boy (MYaSCDB™)
✔ My Ruthless and Exquisitely Demonic Caitlin Girl (MRaEDCG™)
✔ Leading characters withno little morals and a delightful addiction to all things somewhat illegal and kind of reprehensible.
✔ A beautiful array of deliciously shady individuals.
✔ Blood and gore, YAY!
✔ Noir meets magic meets humour meets awesome everything.
✔ Stuff.
And all this right here ↑↑, my Little Barnacles, is what makes Daniel Faust one of the best UF series you'll ever read. And all this right here ↑↑, my Little Barnacles, is what makes Daniel Faust THE best UF series with a male lead you'll ever read. Hell yeah.
In case you were wondering: yes, this is my slightly excited face. And yes, this is my natural hair colour.
» And the moral of this Crappy Non Review is: you can measure an author's talent by the quality of his/her short stories. See my rating? Get it? Good.
» And the other moral of this Crappy Non Review is: will you read this series already?!
· Book 1: The Long Way Down ★★★★★
• Book 2: Redemption Song ★★★★★
• Book 3: The Living End ★★★★★
• Book 4: A Plain-Dealing Villain ★★★★★
• Book 5: The Killing Floor Blues ★★★★★
• Book 6: The Castle Doctrine ★★★★★
• Book 6.1: Sweet, Blissful Certainty ★★★
• Book 7: Double or Nothing ★★★★★
• Book 7.1: A Drive in the Country ★★★★
• Book 7.2: Sixty Six Seconds ★★★★
• Book 8: The Neon Boneyard ★★★★★
• Book 9: The Locust Job ★★★★★
· Book 10: Down Among the Dead Men ★★★★★
· Book 11: Dig Two Graves ★★★★★
👋 Until next time and stuff.
[February 2020]
🃏 Get Those Magic Decks Of Cards Out of Storage We're Doing the Danny-Boy-IS-MINE Thingie Again Buddy Read (GTMDoCOoSWDtDBIMTABR™) with the MacHalos and Stuff 🃏
➽ And the moral of this rereread is: hosing blood off + Wagyu steak + clusters of damned souls driven mad with hunger + weird, fucked-up dates + looking forward to chopping people's heads off + demon girlfriends flirting with blood magic-practicing ex-girlfriends + hypothetically massacring fedora-wearing men + bad people not giving a fish about not being good people + playing chaperone being a whole bloody shrimping lot scarier than facing demons + copious amounts of most illegally and cunningly earned dough + assorted scumbags and assholes = most glorious couple's vacation ever, courtesy of My Danny Boy.
You got that right, Gertie Dear.
[January 2018]
☢ Daniel Faust is Mine Mine Mine Buddy Reread with my MacHalo Wives and Daughters and Stuff (DFiMMMBRwmMWaSaS™) ☢
➽ And the moral of this reread is : ain't no first date like a Daniel Faust first date. Especially when it involves a wood chipper. Just ask Caitlin.
[Original review]
Actual rating: 8 stars. Damn right.
This novella is Pure Condensed Undiluted Daniel Faust Perfection (PCUDFP™). It has it all:
✔ My Yummy and Slightly Cunning Danny Boy (MYaSCDB™)
✔ My Ruthless and Exquisitely Demonic Caitlin Girl (MRaEDCG™)
✔ Leading characters with
✔ A beautiful array of deliciously shady individuals.
✔ Blood and gore, YAY!
✔ Noir meets magic meets humour meets awesome everything.
✔ Stuff.
And all this right here ↑↑, my Little Barnacles, is what makes Daniel Faust one of the best UF series you'll ever read. And all this right here ↑↑, my Little Barnacles, is what makes Daniel Faust THE best UF series with a male lead you'll ever read. Hell yeah.
In case you were wondering: yes, this is my slightly excited face. And yes, this is my natural hair colour.
» And the moral of this Crappy Non Review is: you can measure an author's talent by the quality of his/her short stories. See my rating? Get it? Good.
» And the other moral of this Crappy Non Review is: will you read this series already?!
· Book 1: The Long Way Down ★★★★★
• Book 2: Redemption Song ★★★★★
• Book 3: The Living End ★★★★★
• Book 4: A Plain-Dealing Villain ★★★★★
• Book 5: The Killing Floor Blues ★★★★★
• Book 6: The Castle Doctrine ★★★★★
• Book 6.1: Sweet, Blissful Certainty ★★★
• Book 7: Double or Nothing ★★★★★
• Book 7.1: A Drive in the Country ★★★★
• Book 7.2: Sixty Six Seconds ★★★★
• Book 8: The Neon Boneyard ★★★★★
• Book 9: The Locust Job ★★★★★
· Book 10: Down Among the Dead Men ★★★★★
· Book 11: Dig Two Graves ★★★★★
April 26, 2017
For fans of Faust, this will prove a satisfying entry into the Faust series that takes place between book one and two. When a house detective asks for Faust's 'special' kind of help in removing a ghost, it sounds like a simple matter. In the tradition of all dectective books, he soon discovers there's more than meets the eye. He finds himself headed to Hollywood, and soon Caitlin is able to join him on the investigation. Faust has to call on even more of his friends as the investigation becomes more complex.
There's a fair amount of smart-assery here, perhaps more than the usual Faust book. Occasionally, it's funny:
"My magic is all about life, and growth, and nature."
I lifted my glass halfway to my lips and arched an eyebrow at him. "You were a disciple of the Order of the Septic Blossom, until they kicked you to the curb. You work with mold and fungus."
"Which are living things, thank you very much."
In the afterword, Schaefer shares how he found himself mildly over-committed to a publishing schedule when his series was picked up, and how he didn't want to leave readers without a Faust story for over a year. As a fan, I appreciate his thoughtfulness, but as a reader, I wish it could have been a bit more polished. A couple of lines also felt overly meta-referential. The villain was Extra Special Bad Guy, so of course there was no problem with the ethics. Not deal-breakers by any means, but the sort of think that keeps a book from being amazing. I definitely appreciate Schaefer's efforts in getting it out, buy maybe at week of rework might have been better.
Solid three and a half stars.
There's a fair amount of smart-assery here, perhaps more than the usual Faust book. Occasionally, it's funny:
"My magic is all about life, and growth, and nature."
I lifted my glass halfway to my lips and arched an eyebrow at him. "You were a disciple of the Order of the Septic Blossom, until they kicked you to the curb. You work with mold and fungus."
"Which are living things, thank you very much."
In the afterword, Schaefer shares how he found himself mildly over-committed to a publishing schedule when his series was picked up, and how he didn't want to leave readers without a Faust story for over a year. As a fan, I appreciate his thoughtfulness, but as a reader, I wish it could have been a bit more polished. A couple of lines also felt overly meta-referential. The villain was Extra Special Bad Guy, so of course there was no problem with the ethics. Not deal-breakers by any means, but the sort of think that keeps a book from being amazing. I definitely appreciate Schaefer's efforts in getting it out, buy maybe at week of rework might have been better.
Solid three and a half stars.
June 9, 2017
A buddy read with Orient and Craig. Well, I am the late one.
This novella convinced me to switch this series from grim dark urban fantasy into urban fantasy with dark humour. Reminds me of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach with anti-hero MC. Three stories I've read and each of them has mandatory heist theme that have atmosphere that reminds me of Ocean's Eleven .
This novella is a fun episode of Daniel Faust series without much character development or high stakes for the recurring characters. And not too scary. If not for occasional magical power or ghost appearance, this is basically a crime story.
This novella convinced me to switch this series from grim dark urban fantasy into urban fantasy with dark humour. Reminds me of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach with anti-hero MC. Three stories I've read and each of them has mandatory heist theme that have atmosphere that reminds me of Ocean's Eleven .
This novella is a fun episode of Daniel Faust series without much character development or high stakes for the recurring characters. And not too scary. If not for occasional magical power or ghost appearance, this is basically a crime story.
December 21, 2021
I’m not a big fan of campy stories—I prefer my fiction with a little more bite—and some of the urban fantasy I’ve read was fairly cheesy. Too often throwing a veritable smorgasbord of monsters at the wall to see what sticks - à la Charlaine Harris. However, the first book in this series thankfully bucked that trend by maintaining a dark and gritty tone throughout. But in this installment Faust seems to have lost his edge . . . or maybe it was all an illusion, to begin with.
The White Gold Score picks up shortly after the events of the first novel when Daniel Faust, a paranormal detective, is tasked with exorcising a ghost from the penthouse suite of a Vegas casino. He spends the night in the room in an attempt to reach the spirit but wakes to a terrifying vision of its last moments of life—apparently, the ghost had ample reason for being upset. Faust knows the only way to set the spirit at rest is to catch the one responsible for its untimely demise. A job that requires a deft hand able to probe the seedy underbelly of the LA music scene without causing too much of a stink. Lucky he has a few associates with unique skill sets ready and willing to lend a hand . . .
This story was serviceably written—not great but not terrible—probably par for the course for this genre. My issues lie mainly with the plot, which was dirt simple and read like the laziest Law and Order episode imaginable, and the so-called mystery, which was nonexistent. There were no missteps—the first suspect was the last suspect was the only suspect—and all the pieces conveniently fell into place, while nearly every facet of the plan to collar the perpetrator went according to the script.
Faust found a couple of musicians, who didn’t know him from Adam, ready to jump through hoops to assist in the investigation. One even agreed to help after catching Faust in multiple lies, and another allowed him to re-record two songs from her unreleased album in an effort to entrap the son of a bitch—even knowing that any leaked songs could potentially sink the album.
Also, the character development was too thin for the book to work well as a standalone. I imagine the characters would seem shallow and one-dimensions to anyone unfamiliar with their backstories and motivations. At one point, Faust flies his dads in from Vegas for literally five minutes worth of work that any bum off of the street could have handled. The pointless expenditure seemed to be merely a ham-fisted way to cram a cameo into the tale.
In the afterword the author noted that he felt bad about leaving his readers with no new Faust story for nearly a year, so he carved out what little time he could find in his busy schedule to pen this side story to tide them over. So I won’t judge him too harshly for this throwaway story, nor close the door on potentially revisiting the series in the future. But he needs to cut the shit and bring his A-game!
The White Gold Score picks up shortly after the events of the first novel when Daniel Faust, a paranormal detective, is tasked with exorcising a ghost from the penthouse suite of a Vegas casino. He spends the night in the room in an attempt to reach the spirit but wakes to a terrifying vision of its last moments of life—apparently, the ghost had ample reason for being upset. Faust knows the only way to set the spirit at rest is to catch the one responsible for its untimely demise. A job that requires a deft hand able to probe the seedy underbelly of the LA music scene without causing too much of a stink. Lucky he has a few associates with unique skill sets ready and willing to lend a hand . . .
This story was serviceably written—not great but not terrible—probably par for the course for this genre. My issues lie mainly with the plot, which was dirt simple and read like the laziest Law and Order episode imaginable, and the so-called mystery, which was nonexistent. There were no missteps—the first suspect was the last suspect was the only suspect—and all the pieces conveniently fell into place, while nearly every facet of the plan to collar the perpetrator went according to the script.
Faust found a couple of musicians, who didn’t know him from Adam, ready to jump through hoops to assist in the investigation. One even agreed to help after catching Faust in multiple lies, and another allowed him to re-record two songs from her unreleased album in an effort to entrap the son of a bitch—even knowing that any leaked songs could potentially sink the album.
Also, the character development was too thin for the book to work well as a standalone. I imagine the characters would seem shallow and one-dimensions to anyone unfamiliar with their backstories and motivations. At one point, Faust flies his dads in from Vegas for literally five minutes worth of work that any bum off of the street could have handled. The pointless expenditure seemed to be merely a ham-fisted way to cram a cameo into the tale.
In the afterword the author noted that he felt bad about leaving his readers with no new Faust story for nearly a year, so he carved out what little time he could find in his busy schedule to pen this side story to tide them over. So I won’t judge him too harshly for this throwaway story, nor close the door on potentially revisiting the series in the future. But he needs to cut the shit and bring his A-game!
May 20, 2025
Completely enjoyable and in the spirit of the series. The perfect length and a great bridge to the rest of the books that follow. You can't help but fall for Daniel and Caitlin - they are adorable together!
May 17, 2016
The White Gold Score was another super fun entry into the always awesome Daniel Faust series. It had all the stuff that we love about the Faust stories. Fast paced action, cool supernatural happenings, hilarious dialogue, likeable characters, and some dark happenings that keeps the reader on their toes.
The best thing about this novella was that it was not particularly short. It was about half the size of a regular book in the Faust series. It is set between the 1st and 2nd books in the series and is a fun self contained story that does not impact on the overall story arc of the series.
Word of Faust's ghost-busting in the first novel has gotten around and so he finds himself being contracted to get rid of a ghost that is terrifying guests in a plush Vegas hotel. Faust soon finds himself caught up in a murder investigation that leads him to Hollywood. While there he jumps on the chance to deal with the ghost problem AND score a little extra cash on the side. As an additional bonus Faust takes his new girlfriend along on the trip!
The story was pretty fun. It featured most of the familiar secondary characters that we have grown to love as Faust called upon their special help at various points in his plans.
All in all this novella was a very enjoyable read.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Adam Verner is perfect for Faust.
The best thing about this novella was that it was not particularly short. It was about half the size of a regular book in the Faust series. It is set between the 1st and 2nd books in the series and is a fun self contained story that does not impact on the overall story arc of the series.
Word of Faust's ghost-busting in the first novel has gotten around and so he finds himself being contracted to get rid of a ghost that is terrifying guests in a plush Vegas hotel. Faust soon finds himself caught up in a murder investigation that leads him to Hollywood. While there he jumps on the chance to deal with the ghost problem AND score a little extra cash on the side. As an additional bonus Faust takes his new girlfriend along on the trip!
The story was pretty fun. It featured most of the familiar secondary characters that we have grown to love as Faust called upon their special help at various points in his plans.
All in all this novella was a very enjoyable read.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Adam Verner is perfect for Faust.
May 22, 2017
A great continuation to BR with Craig and Jokoloyo :)
“The White Gold Score” is a nice addition to the Faust series. I read this novella after book 2 so some of the twists concerning book two weren’t so potent, as it should be read after book one. I liked “The White Gold Score” way more than book two.
In “The White Gold Score” I found a gripping story with exorcism, really interesting event, sneaks peaks into show business and the darkly alluring world. Faust's interesting nature gives craziness to this UF story. Charming in a rough and secretive way, driven by his own moral compass, Faust is a character I look forward in my reads and what stuns me is that in most cases I am on his side, even though his choices aren’t the most lawful.
I knew about some twists in the story, but still it was an interesting read with some tough action scenes. The dark but exciting character from Russian mythology was a great addition.
Can’t wait to see if Mr. Schaefer includes more of such personalities from myths in further books. I’m not sure, was it the length of the story or no, but it was way more better paced than the second book for me and I got more exciting action scenes.
I have only one issue, concerning Faust’s and other goodies POV regarding coke.
Can’t wait to read the third book as I’m intrigued for sure :)
December 3, 2019
Fun as usual.
Humans are hardwired to respond to shows of authority, and we are, as a species, allergic to confrontation. A person’s natural reluctance to say no, or ask potentially uncomfortable questions, is a predator’s greatest weapon.
There’s no con more convincing than the one you play on yourself.
Humans are hardwired to respond to shows of authority, and we are, as a species, allergic to confrontation. A person’s natural reluctance to say no, or ask potentially uncomfortable questions, is a predator’s greatest weapon.
There’s no con more convincing than the one you play on yourself.
September 9, 2019
A very nice novella. I read it after book #4 and probably I had even more fun this way because the characters have really grown on me, but it can be read anytime after book #1. There is another interesting con running here, and the tones are somehow lighter (duh, cherries aside), it would have made for a perfect interlude after the end of the first trilogy since book #4 is, too, a bit less dark and very focused on the heist part of the story.
“Nothing drives ambition like desire,” Caitlin mused. “And the more foolish the desire, the more fervent the drive.”
“Nothing drives ambition like desire,” Caitlin mused. “And the more foolish the desire, the more fervent the drive.”
December 27, 2018
This was a fun and fast-paced novella in the world of Daniel Faust. The music industry backdrop had a refreshing feel to it, and the plot had all sorts of twists and turns. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as The Long Way Down, but I suspect that had more to do with the shorter length not allowing as much character development. Overall, this is definitely worth a read!
October 17, 2016
Note to self: if you ever find yourself in the world of an urban fantasy book, get a woodchipper.
October 11, 2022
1st Re-read: May 16-18, 2022
Original Review:
Daaamn! That was one great first date/first couples vacation. Nothing says "fucking romantic" like bloody, brutal & smart justice. *swoon*
♥ BR with my fellow MacHalo foodies Shrimpy (a.k.a Sarah) & Choko ♥
Original Review:
Daaamn! That was one great first date/first couples vacation. Nothing says "fucking romantic" like bloody, brutal & smart justice. *swoon*
♥ BR with my fellow MacHalo foodies Shrimpy (a.k.a Sarah) & Choko ♥
February 18, 2020
A straightforward caper that was fun and exciting. I'm really liking this series. And Craig Schaefer's writing and worldbuilding.
June 2, 2016
Okay, so in the afterward, the author says he wrote this novella to appease his readers as they wait for the next full-length Daniel Faust book in late 2016. I guess I read this out of order, since I’ve only read the first book (The Long Way Down), and this one is book 1.5 in the series. I don’t think I lost anything in reading this book second, and it made perfect sense to me since Faust and his crew talk about the events from their book one caper.
The plot is simple: Bad things happen at a hotel, Faust is called in to fix these bad things, things get weird, then bad, then fun. Unsurprisingly, it turns from a quick fix to a con/heist that solves everything in one fell swoop.
If you have read any books in the series, you are already aware of what you are getting into: basically the protagonist is a magician and a conman, and he is hired to fix “problems”, sometimes causing great grief to the people who cause these problems. This novella is really no different than the others in that regard. This story does fill in a bit of backstory for a few of the main characters while teasing even more of a backstory for others.
While I wouldn’t recommend this particular book as the first read in the series, I would wholeheartedly recommend it as the second. If you are looking for an interesting mash-up of genres, this one fits the bill: take an Ocean’s 11 caper, a twist of Sam Spade noir, mix with a heavy dose of magic, and you end up with Daniel Faust and his crew working their cons. Fun stuff!
On to the next one: Redemption Song!
The plot is simple: Bad things happen at a hotel, Faust is called in to fix these bad things, things get weird, then bad, then fun. Unsurprisingly, it turns from a quick fix to a con/heist that solves everything in one fell swoop.
If you have read any books in the series, you are already aware of what you are getting into: basically the protagonist is a magician and a conman, and he is hired to fix “problems”, sometimes causing great grief to the people who cause these problems. This novella is really no different than the others in that regard. This story does fill in a bit of backstory for a few of the main characters while teasing even more of a backstory for others.
While I wouldn’t recommend this particular book as the first read in the series, I would wholeheartedly recommend it as the second. If you are looking for an interesting mash-up of genres, this one fits the bill: take an Ocean’s 11 caper, a twist of Sam Spade noir, mix with a heavy dose of magic, and you end up with Daniel Faust and his crew working their cons. Fun stuff!
On to the next one: Redemption Song!
February 22, 2020
Buddy Read with the MacHalosAnother freaking amazing Daniel Faust story. Man of Mystery!
March 5, 2022
More great stuff. I really like Jennifer (which means she's probably gonna die at some point). I'm hoping these stay entertaining without becoming formulaic. Fingers crossed!
January 6, 2018
Well, that was fun. I read it in one sitting and have this nearly irresistible desire to buy the next book in the series straight away and start reading it.
White Gold Score is basically a heist story, with a lot of running around conning people and other assorted mayhem. If you've read the first Daniel Faust book (The Long Way Down), you'll be glad to see - as well as Daniel - lots of Caitlin, and Jennifer gets some decent page time too.
This is dark urban fantasy, for fans of Harry Dresden who want something with a bit more bite. There's humour - but it's dark, and with more blood and fewer pop culture references than you'd find in the Dresden Files. Daniel Faust is a career criminal, and killing is part of the deal. Violence is what he does, and to some extent, there are no good guys: there are the bad guys and the worse guys. Although written later, this book is positioned early in the series, and I'm a latecomer to the party - so I don't know where it will go. But I have high hopes. I like it.
White Gold Score is basically a heist story, with a lot of running around conning people and other assorted mayhem. If you've read the first Daniel Faust book (The Long Way Down), you'll be glad to see - as well as Daniel - lots of Caitlin, and Jennifer gets some decent page time too.
This is dark urban fantasy, for fans of Harry Dresden who want something with a bit more bite. There's humour - but it's dark, and with more blood and fewer pop culture references than you'd find in the Dresden Files. Daniel Faust is a career criminal, and killing is part of the deal. Violence is what he does, and to some extent, there are no good guys: there are the bad guys and the worse guys. Although written later, this book is positioned early in the series, and I'm a latecomer to the party - so I don't know where it will go. But I have high hopes. I like it.
Read
May 21, 2016I liked this almost as much as a regular Faust book. It had all the pluses of the books in the series and it was pretty long. I really enjoyed it.
February 1, 2022
I read the first in this series last year and liked it enough to eventually grab the next. I don’t know if this novella is required reading—I think it was probably written after the series had an established following—but I was glad to see how things picked up after the events of the first book and how the relationships continued to develop. Jennifer, who was my least favorite character in the first book, was a decent addition here, and I’m curious to know more about how her magic works. Daniel’s adoptive fathers made an appearance in kind of a contrived way (but Daniel pretty much said himself it was contrived), but I like them both (and without knowing much about the series yet, I’m guessing they’re fan favorites), and I was glad to see them. The plot was good, and easy to sink into. It got extremely violent in the end, which I’ll need to remember to be ready for with future installments, as well as the protagonists’ ruthlessness with their enemies/targets. Every kill isn’t in self-defense, which I think is how a lot of urban fantasy authors justify most killing their heroes do. This bunch is a scrappy crowd with super iffy morals, and we cheer for them because the other guys are worse, and because they’re likeable con artists whose cons are fun to watch play out. Daniel’s magic with his deck of cards is original and interesting—appropriate for the Vegas setting—and I hope to learn more about its origins as the series progresses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2025
THE WHITE GOLD CAPER is a spinoff novel from the Daniel Faust series that follows the titular magus on a mission to cleanse a Las Vegas penthouse of a particularly nasty spook. This results in him going up against a music producer who has an immortal unkillable henchman. I really enjoyed this work and think it's every bit as enjoyable as the original THE LONG WAY DOWN. These low stakes stories are fantastic.
May 25, 2020
Now this is what I call a good Sunday afternoon read - fast, sweet, and interesting. No extra drama or anything. A quick and straightforward heist and revenge story. Even Caitlin and Faust weren't too saccharine sweet in this and didn't make me want to slap them. I am now willing to give book 2 a second try.
April 26, 2018
4 stars
June 6, 2025
3.5 stars
November 10, 2025
I've always enjoyed a good con-heist plot, and this was fun.
March 13, 2016
Review on booklikes!
July 16, 2020
Faust definitely has an interesting moral compass. Tied in with his rag tag friends, one can be sure it’s going to be a hell of a ride. Fun, entertaining and a bit of gore to spice things up. This novella did not disappoint.
May 22, 2022
Fun and exciting novella. The magic system has yet to make a real introduction but I'm in love with the characters and story so far. If you like Jim Butcher you'll like Craig Schaefer's writing too tough the main character is a little more morally questionable - which I like. I'll defenitely continue with this series.
January 10, 2017
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The White Gold Score by Craig Schaefer is not a prequel novella however serves as an exciting introduction to the crazy world of Daniel Faust. This novella is actually set between the events of The Wrong Way Down (book 1) & Redemption Song (book 2) however is a good starting point (because of the standalone nature of its plot) for those readers who want to dip their toes before jumping all in this exciting series.
For me this novella was just perfect, as I wasn’t all too thrilled by The Long Way Down, the first Daniel Faust book but this novella completely changed my mind about this series and boy am I glad for that. The Long Way Down was an interesting introduction to Daniel and his world however suffered from many of the foibles that cling to introductory works. The White Gold Score doesn’t share any of those and focuses on Daniel Faust, sorcerer and low-level conman who gets asked to rid a top class hotel suite of its resident ghost. Thinking that this ghost exorcism will be the easy kind, leads Daniel to underestimate the seriousness of the extra-corporal inhabitant (I’m being vague about the gist of the story as that way lie spoilers). Daniel quickly learns what exactly happened for the ghost’s raison d'être and soon gets sucked in to the Hollywood music scene and the crazy shenanigans that this job unravels. This novella neatly showcases the dark side of the music industry while also getting you hooked on to Daniel Faust.
I have to thank Craig Schaefer for writing this novella, because if I hadn’t read it. I most certainly wouldn’t have entered the darkly alluring world that he has created. The story setting is a bit different from the regular series books as majority of the plot unfolds in Hollywood and showcases the power trappings & underhand dealings of the music industry. This being an urban fantasy story we get a proper eyeful of the craziness that the Daniel Faust's life entails. Also while most of the books (except book 4) are centered around Las Vegas, this short provides a nice side-angle view out in the world beyond the deserts of Nevada. Daniel Faust is a fascinating narrator as the first person voice hooks us in with his rogue-ish charm and moral ambiguous choices. He makes us believe that not only is his action plan the correct way but also the only way to do such things. However amidst all of this grey narrative, there is a heroic streak to him as well as a loyal core which makes him that much more conflicting as a character to root for.
Overall I liked how this novella introduced some major plot twists (with some nifty hat tips to classic hardboiled stories) and had a grim but fascinating take on Slavic/Russian mythology. I can’t wait to see if the mythological character introduced in this story, shows up in the main DF books (mini-spoiler: after reading further in the series, he does). The plot is smoothly paced and some terrific action packed into it, this is especially true of the climax. Also kudos to the author for giving us such well-developed characters and a fascinating magic system within this 46K-plus word novella.
The White Gold Score is an absolute blast to read and serves as an excellent stepping stone to the world of Daniel Faust. I heavily recommend that you read this novella and also the rest of the series to see how crazy good it is. I devoured the six books (that have been released so far) in rapid succession & now I strongly believe that Craig Scahefer’s books are a serious contender to the granddaddy of urban fantasy Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files. DO NOT MISS this book or any other ones by Craig Schaefer, I’m hooked and will be reading anything and everything that the man writes in the future.
July 20, 2017
Read the full review at my site https://wp.me/p89tYT-g1
He held out his hand. “Give it to me,” he hissed as his fingernails lengthened into claws. “If you insist,” I said. Then I shot him in the face.
The "Daniel Faust” series, written by Craig Schaefer, is an urban fantasy starring an anti-hero. The series consists of 7 books and a novella so far. Unlike other urban fantasy series like The Dresden Files, this series is far more violent, gritty and is noir in its approach to this setting. The protagonist, the eponymous Daniel Faust, is a violent con-man and sorcerer who has few moral qualms remaining but guards those jealously. In one way, you could of this of as The Saint moved to modern times, with a lot of occult and magic thrown in. This series is also a backbone for the universe, Craig Schaefer is building, with multiple references to the 'Revanche Cycle' and 'Harmony Black' characters and series.
But enough about the setting and comparisons, what is this series really like?
I had a blast reading the series. It was unique, funny, violent and profane. It has all the elements that I now expect from the author. The pacing is brilliant and the characters are well fleshed out. You end up caring about all the main characters and even the ones on the sidelines.
Read the full review at my site https://wp.me/p89tYT-g1
He held out his hand. “Give it to me,” he hissed as his fingernails lengthened into claws. “If you insist,” I said. Then I shot him in the face.
The "Daniel Faust” series, written by Craig Schaefer, is an urban fantasy starring an anti-hero. The series consists of 7 books and a novella so far. Unlike other urban fantasy series like The Dresden Files, this series is far more violent, gritty and is noir in its approach to this setting. The protagonist, the eponymous Daniel Faust, is a violent con-man and sorcerer who has few moral qualms remaining but guards those jealously. In one way, you could of this of as The Saint moved to modern times, with a lot of occult and magic thrown in. This series is also a backbone for the universe, Craig Schaefer is building, with multiple references to the 'Revanche Cycle' and 'Harmony Black' characters and series.
But enough about the setting and comparisons, what is this series really like?
I had a blast reading the series. It was unique, funny, violent and profane. It has all the elements that I now expect from the author. The pacing is brilliant and the characters are well fleshed out. You end up caring about all the main characters and even the ones on the sidelines.
Read the full review at my site https://wp.me/p89tYT-g1
October 19, 2016
Fast paced action and magic, a good combination with characters to root for. My first Daniel Faust book, won't be the last.
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