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.
Industry Reviews
"Black City Saint is first-rate urban fantasy. Richard A. Knaak has mixed myth with real-world history to create a fast-paced, unpredictable story filled with intriguing characters, terrifying monsters, and sinister magic. Readers in search of the next Harry Dresden should join Nick Medea on what is sure to be the first of many adventures." --Richard Lee Byers, author of The Reaver, Blind God's Bluff, and Dissolution
"I LOVE this book! Black City Saint is a delightfully creepy and at the same time jaunty urban fantasy, a wild ride through Chicago of the gangster era in which the pace never flags, the stakes get ever higher, and the reader gets to spend time with a truly engaging, intriguing bunch of characters that I for one want to spend more time with. So, sequels please? I'm prepared to beg!"
--Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms(R)
"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. Because of many resemblances to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, urban fantasy fans will be hoping for more from Nick Medea."
--Booklist
"Black City Saint is jam-packed with awesome -- cursed Roman emperors, incorporeal dragons, paranormal detectives, a shapeshifter from the Feirie realm trapped inside a dog's body, and one very tormented unsaintly Christian saint -- all set in prohibition-era Chicago. Knaak's latest is fast-paced and funny, frightening and more than a little fiendish, a brilliant mash-up of Ghostbusters, The Da Vinci Code, and the ancient story of St. George and the Dragon."
--Brian Staveley author of The Emperor's Blades
"From the first page of Black City Saint to the last, you know you're in the hands of a creative and expert storyteller. From setting the scenes to populating them with interesting and believable characters, Richard Knaak knows his stuff."
--Mike Resnick, Hugo Award-winning author of The Prison in Antares
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