Black City Saint

January 11, 2016
In Knaak’s entertaining urban fantasy, set in Chicago about 50 years after the Great Fire, Nick Medea, aka Saint George, guards the Gate between the human world and the land of Feirie and does some ghostbusting on the side. When Nick meets Claryce Simone, the most recent incarnation of his long-ago love Cleolinda, she leads him to William Delke, a powerful man who is much more than he seems. Soon Nick is dodging Delke’s goons and creepy creatures from the realm called the Wyld while trying to keep the Gate from collapsing altogether. The 1920s Chicago setting is nifty, and it’s hard not to like Nick. This capable hero shares his body and consciousness with a dragon he slew centuries ago, whose powers he can call on. Nick’s shape-shifter sidekick, Fetch, is irresistible, but Claryce doesn’t do much more than follow Nick around, and her insistence that she come along coupled with her passivity once she’s included makes her more annoying than compelling. Nonetheless, Nick’s adventures are fast-paced and fun, and urban fantasy fans will enjoy the inventive setting.

December 15, 2015
A legendary figure-turned-paranormal investigator protects Prohibition-era Chicago against otherworldly influences in the first of a series by an author best known for his epic fantasy (The Horned Blade, 2015). Sixteen hundred years ago, Georgius, a soldier in the Roman emperor Diocletian's army, slew the dragon charged with guarding the Gate separating our world from Feirie. After the emperor executed Georgius, aka St. George, for refusing to repudiate his Christianity, heaven returned George--now housing the spirit of the resentful dragon--to life and made him Gatekeeper. In the 1920s, Georgius, now calling himself Nick Medea, lives in Chicago and fends off Feirie incursions. As Oberon, former Feirie ruler, prepares to merge the two realities, Nick must combat the sinister plot while fighting his feelings for Claryce Simone, the latest incarnation of his much-reincarnated beloved, Princess Cleolinda. The market is flooded with urban fantasy noirs starring investigators with tortured pasts, burdened with a destiny and knowledge of the supernatural that they must hide from the mundanes. The usual coping mechanisms are heavy doses of snark and cynical humor. Nick breaks this mold by being a gloomy, pompous buzzkill. His relationship with Claryce is rather thinly drawn; we don't know anything about Cleolinda other than that he loved her and she dies a lot. Nick also makes a point of saying that he's falling for Claryce for herself, not for her previous selves, but Claryce is such a flat character (we know she's brave, persistent, and a good shot, but she still barely registers) that it's hard for the reader to share Nick's perspective. The time period and location should add color to the story, but mostly they serve as a source of cookie-cutter mob thugs to menace Nick and his friends. Melodramatic and forgettable.

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February 15, 2016

Nick Medea guards the gate between the human world and the Feirie realm; his constant internal companion is the dragon he slew centuries before when he was St. George (yes, that dragon of medieval legend). A curse has left the essence of the dragon living inside him, struggling to get free and take control of the body they share. Nick works in Prohibition-era Chicago these days as a kind of supernatural PI, taking care of any creatures that breach the gate from Feirie. New client Claryce poses an unexpected problem for Nick--not only is she a reincarnation of a former love whom Nick has lost throughout the centuries, but her case heralds an escalation of a war in Feirie that could spill into our reality. VERDICT It seems the Jazz Age is quite popular these days (see Lee Kelly's A Criminal Magic and Victor LaValle's The Ballad of Black Tom, reviewed below). Knaak is best known for video game tie-in fiction, and while Nick is compelling, the rest of the characters are more two-dimensional. The world and relationships of Feirie are sketched in, and the pacing slumps among action sequences, wasting a colorful setting.--MM

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Knaak ventures into new territory with his first urban fantasy, set in Prohibition-era Chicago. Monsters, swords, and even a dragon (who do you think started the Great Chicago Fire?) play prominently in the story, so Knaak fans will definitely be comfortable here, but throw in Al Capone's gangsters fighting a fallen angel, and surprises are certainly in store. Nick Medea, formerly Saint George of George and the dragon fame, is charged with guarding the gate between the mortal and feirie worlds. He spends his days destroying horrifying Wyld trespassers until he gets a call from Claryce, his reincarnated true love. He quickly finds himself embroiled in a sinister plot that could once again destroy the city and the woman he loves. There's a lot to digest in this fast-paced, unpredictable world with a surprisingly well-developed cast of characters, including a lovable shapeshifter, an honest detective in a dishonest city, feirie royalty, and a kelpie made of Lake Michigan waters. Urban fantasy fans who enjoy Jim Butcher's Dresden Files will be hoping to see more of Nick Medea.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)