A historical urban fantasy set in Prohibition-era Chicago, which combines action, mystery, and romance against a backdrop of gangland wars and the threat of supernatural horror.For sixteen hundred years, Nick Medea has guarded the gate between our world and Feirie, preventing the Wyld–the darkest Feirie of all–from coming into Chicago to find human prey. But since he defeated Oberon, more and … Oberon, more and more Wyld have been slipping through. Nick and his Feirie companion, the shapeshifter, Fetch, have been busy hunting them down.
Nick keeps coming across the Dacian Draco, the sign of his ancient enemy Galerius, including a tattoo worn by a human thug. Unfortunately, every trail ends as if years old. Claryce, Nick’s reincarnated love, has narrowly escaped two attempts on her life, and when Nick sees her wearing a broach with the Draco on it, he knows they must look more deeply into her former lives.
With Wyld and gangsters wreaking havoc in Chicago, Nick and Claryce must confront the secrets of their pasts if they are to have any hope of finding out Galerius’s plans before it’s too late to stop them. Nick will need the help of all his friends, both human and Feirie, and the powers of the dragon within him, to keep Galerius from endangering the gate, Chicago, and all of humanity.
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Black City Dragon is the third installment in the series, one I have been waiting for since I first came across it. Nor was I disappointed.
*** What to expect
This novel deal a lot with the protagonist’s past (Nick Medea, aka St George). As such it is imperative to read the first two volumes first – just so you’d get that the build-up of excitement to the backstory dealt with in this volume. Here we learn more about Nick’s past, with his relationship of the dragon and Cleolinda as well as more about the complex world he lives in. As more is revealed about the world, about Feirie and other powers, it also raises new questions – a perfect setup for the next book in the series.
There is also an extra short story at the end, Black City Shadows, which was originally published in Grimdark Magazine. Who doesn’t love great bonus material?
*** What I liked
I absolutely love the hardboiled detective style first-person narration mixed in with high and mighty fantasy elements. The fact that it is on the background of an exciting historical period is just the cherry on top. Speaking of which, Knaak certainly brings Chicago of the 1920’s to life with amazing research and trivia (from slang, to gangs, to architecture). This all gels together for a rich and immersice world in which his wonderful and unique characters thrive.
*** What to be aware of
There are definite elements of alternate history (besides the obvious inclusion of magic), so bear with the author. However, the period is depicted extremely well which includes the attitudes of the protagonist towards women. Don’t mistake them for the attitudes of the author – all his characters are strong and capable – but some might find issues with it.
As this is book three and references previous events, I would strongly recommend you read them in order.
*** Summary
If the idea of a noir-historical-fantasy-detective blend appeals to you, this is definitely a good read. It does a great job of bringing together elements of urban fantasy into the historically-accurate 1920’s Chicago setting. An excellent novel – which you would know if you read the first two (and you should read in order).
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Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic – for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
BLACK CITY DRAGON is the third book of Richard Knaak’s Black City series, which I’ve been enjoying since the first volume of BLACK CITY SAINT. It is an urban fantasy series that centers around Nick Medea, the 1920s incarnation of Saint George, who investigates the supernatual during the Great Depression while protecting the gateway to Fairyland. It’s a unique series that I really love the quirky and oddball cast of. It reminds me a bit of the Dresden Files but Nick is a much more serious character who has lived millennia of tragedy.
The premise of Black City Dragon is that Nick has recently discovered that he may have been viewing his immortality the wrong way. For Claryce, the reincarnation of his long lost love, has recently discovered that her endless tragic deaths may not have something related to her constant re-entering Nick’s life. Indeed, it was (as Al Capone would say) enemy action. Worse, the city is being overrun with invaders from Fairyland. Despite Nick’s victories over Oberon and other forces, he’s made it even harder for Chicago’s inhabitants as there is now no one keeping them in line.
Anyone who had read Richard Knaak’s previous work know that he’s a master of combining oddball bands of misfits into functional groups that play off one another. Here, Nick Medea is about the only sane man in a group full of fairy dogs, ghosts, and the dragon that lives inside his head. However, compared to Claryce, he’s about as odd as everyone else in his collection. After two books, we’ve got a pretty established cast and can now get into the deep backstory that affects the setting.
I think what I like most about the Black City series is that Richard Knaak manages to combine ancient Roman history with a period snapshot of the Roaring Twenties. The use of accurate research is something that I don’t necessarily demand from my urban fantasy but helps enrich the storytelling here. Historical figures are used but sparingly, not overwhelming the narrative with Capone or Elliot Ness, but letting you know events are happening outside of the hero’s activities. We also have a similar use of things like the Great Chicago Fire, Iroquois Theater Fire, and other disasters.
World-building wise, I have to say I really enjoyed the combination of Christian, Anglo-Shakespearian, and Roman mythology that permeates the series. Richard doesn’t try to replace what he established in the first book but keeps working on expanding existing concepts. I mention this because I felt like the Dresden Files got overwhelmed with things like demons, outsiders, and more. Ditto the Southern Vampire Mysteries once fairies were introduced. Here, it’s mostly focused on the original threats Nick was fighting and questions like, “can he ever forgive the man who betrayed him and is literally haunting him?”
Action-wise, this book doesn’t disappoint but I should note that it’s actually a fairly book series. While so many others are doubling down on the gore and violence, this still feels like a PG series. I really liked the villain this time around and felt that the events in previous books made an excellent build-up to give a personal connection to Nick. I’ve mentioned I really enjoy the supporting cast and everyone gets a much needed dose of the spotlight. I think the dragon (or perhaps “Eye I think the dragon”) may be the smartest person in the group, though, since most of the problems could be solved by copious use of fire.
In conclusion, I strongly recommend Black City Dragon. Obviously, you should read the previous volumes of the series but I detect no sign of the typical sophomore slump that usually accompanies trilogies. If you liked the first two books of the series then you’ll probably like the third book. In fact, I think it’s probably better than the previous two as the previous villains were a bit too removed from Nick’s personal comfort zone while this feels much more intense. This series is an obvious labor of love and has two thumbs up.
8.5/10