Listen Up! Black City Saint & Black City Demon by Richard Knaak

Back in Dec of 2016 and March of 2017, I reviewed two books in a then-new series by Richard Knaak– Black City Saint and Black City Demon. But before I could read Black City Dragon, the third book in the series, I experienced some life and job changes, and my mode of reading went from mainly ebooks to mainly audio. So I was excited to see the two books come out in audio recently. With them, I’m going to launch a new feature called Listen Up! specifically for reviewing audiobooks.

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Title: Black City Saint
Author: Richard A. Knaak
Series: Black City Saint, Book 01
Publish Date: March 1, 2016, Pyr
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Narrator: Joshua Saxon
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: For more than sixteen hundred years, Nick Medea has followed and guarded the Gate that keeps the mortal realm and that of Feirie separate, seeking in vain absolution for the fatal errors he made when he slew the dragon. All that while, he has tried and failed to keep the woman he loves from dying over and over.

Yet in the fifty years since the Night the Dragon Breathed over the city of Chicago, the Gate has not only remained fixed, but open to the trespasses of the Wyld, the darkest of the Feiriefolk. Not only does that mean an evil resurrected from Nick’s own past, but the reincarnation of his lost Cleolinda, a reincarnation destined once more to die.

Nick must turn inward to that which he distrusts the most: the Dragon, the beast he slew when he was still only Saint George. He must turn to the monster residing in him, now a part of him…but ever seeking escape.

The gang war brewing between Prohibition bootleggers may be the least of his concerns. If Nick cannot prevent an old evil from opening the way between realms…then not only might Chicago face a fate worse than the Great Fire, but so will the rest of the mortal realm.

Title: Black City Demon
Author: Richard A. Knaak
Series: Black City Saint, Book 02
Publish Date: March 14, 2017 by Pyr
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Narrator: Joshua Saxon
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: Since he became the guardian of the Gate between our world and Feirie sixteen hundred years ago, Nick Medea, once Saint George, has battled to keep the darkest Feirie–the Wyld–from invading the mortal plane. With the dragon an unwilling part of him, Nick maintains balance between realms, often at great cost to him and those nearest to him.

Nick and his ragtag confederates—including the shape-shifter Fetch and Nick’s reincarnated love, Claryce—have battled the Wyld, but not mortals as sinister as the darkest Feirie. Now, with Prohibition in full swing and bootlegger wars embattling Chicago, a murderous evil born of the mortal world has turned its attention to the power of the Gate… and Nick himself.

Nick must turn again to his most untrustworthy ally: the dragon within. Yet even together they may not be enough to face what was once a man… but is now a creature even dragons may fear.

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

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Invested Ivana says…

Story: The Black City Saint series is set in Prohibition-Era Chicago, so any fan of that era will find plenty to like. It is an urban fantasy that mixes detective noir, a dash of Christian mythology, and a dark, gritty version of Feirie.

The main character, Nick Medea, is ostensibly a ghost breaker, but the reader sees him more often in his guise as Keeper of the Gate between the mortal world and the world of Feirie. He’s centuries old, a loner, grumpy as hell, and a downright ass sometimes. He has a huge backstory and has collected around himself a cast of very interesting human and non-human characters. His job is to keep the mortal world safe from Feirie incursions, which are sometimes small and sometimes huge.

Nick’s personal conflicts come from his own suspicious nature, his inability to forgive his own murderer, and the reincarnating soul of the love of his life, a princess whom he once rescued and who is now determined to rescue him.

The main book plots and the backstories of the characters are very engaging and leave me wanting to know more. The plot, or maybe the action, can feel a bit complex sometimes. I did find myself re-listening to parts of the story to be clear on what was happening. Overall, though, I found it to be a lot of fun.

You can read my previous review for Black City Saint and Black City Demon to see more of my comments on the story.

Narration: Joshua Saxon narrates with a deep, gritty voice that is perfect for the genre and for Nick Medea. He uses several accents, which helps a lot in differentiating the characters. In fact, in the second book, one of the character voices changes a bit, taking on a more cultured accent and voice than in the first book, which is actually helpful for distinguishing the character, so I appreciate the change.

I do wish his female voices were differentiated a bit more. There are really only two female characters in this story, and while it’s clear Saxon is trying to make their voices distinctive, they weren’t really that different than Nick’s voice. It wasn’t too difficult to tell when these two characters were speaking based on their speech patterns alone, but I did find myself wishing for a bit more vocal variation.

I would say this book is narrated rather than performed, but the narration is good, and I’ll be checking out other books narrated by Saxon.

Overall: Overall, I’m very happy with the experience of these audiobooks and would recommend them to fans of the genre. I’m very much looking forward to Black City Dragon coming out in audio.