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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.
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.
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.
Black City Demon by Richard A. Knaak
What can happen when a bad person gets control of a lot of power? Isn’t that what many Americans are asking themselves these days? Black City Demon tackles that question as well when an old enemy of Chicago gets his hands on the power of Feirie.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: Black City Demon
Author: Richard A. Knaak
Series: Black City Saint, Book 02
Publish Date: March 14, 2017 by Pyr
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Provided by the publisher
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.
Invested Ivana says…
This is a great follow-up to Black City Saint. Nick, Fetch, Kravayik, Claryce, and the Dragon have another mystery to solve, one even more insidious than the last.
I like how Knaak wove real Chicago history into this book. This particular historical figure seems to be popping up quite often in books and TV lately. He is an interesting psychological case study so I can see the fascination.
This book, even more than the first, truly establishes Nick as a curmudgeon. He is grumpy, and he can hold a grudge for a LONG time. I’m looking forward to the book where he can accept himself and all of his friends, including Claryce, and stop being so short and grumpy with them. However, a lot of urban fantasy detectives are grumpy; so are a lot of noir detectives. So that may never come to pass.
Knaak has a lot of really good side characters in this series. I really like Detective Cortez. I’m hoping he becomes part of the inner circle eventually. I love Fetch, of course, even when his true nature peaks through. Kravayik fascinates me, too. I’d love to learn more about his conversion to Christianity. I even like Diocles; the backstory between Nick and Diocles fascinates me. There are so many interesting stories that could come from that relationship.
I hope this series continues for a while. I think there are some great stories here worth telling.
Percy Procrastinator says…
The second book in the series starts slow but once it gets going, it’s non-stop action and fun!
A long time ago, I read a review of a movie and the reviewer spoiled the movie. The reviewer didn’t go out of his way to spoil movies, but if he had to do so for his review, he didn’t shy away from them. He did so because, in his opinion, if a movie can’t stand on its own even after a spoiler, it must not have had much to it.
With that, I get to my review, and while I won’t directly spoil the book, I could be giving enough information that other readers might feel I spoiled it.
This book picks up a few weeks after the events of the last book. This means prohibition is in full swing and the threat of a mob war lingers. Even with the threat to Feirie gone, Feirie has not let Nick go and still meddles. Nick returns to doing what he does—dealing with Feirie trespassers—and avoids Claryce, which is one of my issues with the book.
Nick is fifteen hundred years old. He would have seen many strong women in that time, and attitudes toward women go up and down throughout history. Indeed, he thought highly of his own Cleolinda from his mortal life. However, he treats Claryce no different than many men of the time treated women. He’s not telling her the whole truth, he’s trying to protect her and keep her out of danger, and he’s taking some choices from her about when she can help or not. I get it. He doesn’t want to lose Claryce, nor Cleolinda’s reincarnation. It annoys me because I take it as a lack of trust on his part that she will do what she can and not try to do too much.
Claryce is trying to clear up some business from her former employer, including selling old properties. One person interested in those properties has Nick on edge and worried that Claryce is going to be pulled into his world again. Here is my spoiler and what it did to me. Unfortunately, I recognized the buyer’s name, and if you do not recognize it, I suggest you not Google it. The first half of the book is finding out the identity of the buyer and because I knew, it made the book a tougher read than it should have been. This is one of those times when the author’s use of detail works against him.
Once that was done, though, this was a great read. The same details that were spoilers for me do pull me into the story later. His use of slang via Fetch helps immersion, as does his use of the everyday terms for appliances back then. I’m still fascinated by the realm of Feirie that the author has created and how it works. I want a bit more detail but not so much that the mystery is gone!
Even with the spoiler, I give this a solid four. I don’t think it would have gotten a five because Nick’s attitude toward Claryce still grates on me, but this is a good book.
Our reviews in this series…
- Black City Saint, Book 01
- Black City Demon, Book 02
Other recommendations
For another 1920’s urban fantasy, check out Ari Marmell’s Mick Oberon series.
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Black City Saint by Richard A. Knaak
I purchased Black City Saint when it first came out because urban fantasy in 1920’s Chicago—oh, yeah! Plus the lovely art-deco cover. As happens with many books, however, I didn’t get to it right away. But the next book, Black City Demon comes out in March and I wanted to be ready. I’m glad I did; Black City Saint is a great read.
Title: Black City Saint
Author: Richard A. Knaak
Series: Black City Saint, Book 01
Publish Date: March 1, 2016, Pyr
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Provided by the publisher
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.
Possible spoilers beyond this point.
Invested Ivana says…
Mix a little bit of Christian mythology and Roman history with a little bit of Faerie and Prohibition-era Chicago, and you have an idea of what Black City Saint feels like. Richard A. Knaak, whose name may be recognized by table-top and computer gamers alike, has created a new world just for readers that is gritty, magical, and full of the romance and intrigue of the Roaring ’20s.
Nick Medea guards the gates between our world and Feirie. His job is to keep the two worlds separate and eliminate those things that slip through. Masquerading as a ghost breaker, he hunts down creatures who have slipped through the gate, keeping the humans on our side safe.
However, Nick has a lot of challenges. First, there is a dragon residing in his head, one whose agenda is often at odds with Nick’s duty. Second, he’s haunted by the ghost of his murderer who needs his forgiveness to pass on to Heaven. Third, the few “reformed” creatures from Feirie he has allowed to live in our world see him as some sort of savior and lord, which sounds nice, but often makes him feel guilty. And finally, the love of his life keeps reincarnating, only to die over and over and over, and Nick can’t seem to stop it.
On top of all that, someone is trying to open the Way between our world and Feirie, to meld the two worlds together, subjugate humans, and claim both worlds as his own; and Her Majesty, Queen of Feirie, is royally pissed. Poor Nick has his hands full!
Black City Saint is a great introduction to a new UF series. I had a ton of fun reading it, and can’t wait to see what challenges Nick has to face in Black City Demon.
Percy Procrastinator says…
This book starts with Nick dealing with a creature from Shadow or Feirie Realm and it really sets the tone for this book. Nick’s character shines through of him wanting to help others. I really liked how people find him, as a paranormal detective.
Once this is finished, Nick finds his lost love and gets distracted from more important things, although it’s understandable. The author also sets up the city of Chicago in the 20s and I was impressed. In language and in roles, we see how Chicago is divided along lines of race and class. It took me a while to catch on to the slang used and while I didn’t verify its veracity, it works well regardless for the image I have of the 1920s.
The middle of the book is where I found myself floundering. I knew I would finish the book but the middle took its time setting up what would be the main villain and the rest of the plot. It never worked for me as well as I hoped. I think this was because it got very surreal.
Nick starts questioning what is real, if the plots were only imagined were actually happening, and if he was only being used. As we are getting this from Nick’s perspective, having him question himself meant that I questioned it all as well. I didn’t know, as a reader, what had really happened in the past, what games the fae had played on Nick, why he didn’t want to go by George anymore, and the lines blurred for me as well as Nick. If that was the author’s intent, he succeeded! I found it a mess.
Once that part is over, though, and Nick figures things out, we get back to safe ground. With the surreal out of the way, Nick can focus on what has happened and what he needs to do. The story actually widens the mythology at this point, which I enjoyed. As the denouement approached, the betrayal surprised me but had a good conclusion, as did the main story.
The end of the book ends with a lot of good questions. How is it that some people can overcome Nick’s magic? Exactly how much magic does he have? Or is it all borrowed? Are the people he’s interacting with going to keep remembering more than they should? I look forward to getting answers!
A solid four for me. Perhaps a reread of the book, knowing the whole story, would make the surreal parts better for me but I’m rating it based on my first read through.
Other recommendations…
For a lighter urban fantasy set in the Roaring 20’s, check out the Mick Oberon series by Ari Marmell. If you haven’t read them yet, I’d certainly recommend The Dresden Files for a modern UF with fae set in Chicago. I’d also recommend the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. It has a different magic system and locale, but it has a similar sort of gritty feel as Black City Saint.
One Book Two 