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New York #1
New York by Knight
THE STREETS OF MANHATTAN...WHERE DRAGONS WALK BY NIGHT
Now the showdown has begun. On a planet called Earth and the city known as New York, knight and dragon confront each other in one final battle. As the deathly dance begins, the city of asphalt and steel slowly wakes to the magic in its midst. Beneath the streets the tattered subway dwellers meet in secret convocation to worship the Dragon as God. In Spanish Harlem a young boy is apprenticed to a great warrior. On Fifth Avenue hardened cabbies tremble as a Nightmare parades the streets. And in St. Patrick's Cathedral the Dragon takes control of the greatest city on Earth....
Now the showdown has begun. On a planet called Earth and the city known as New York, knight and dragon confront each other in one final battle. As the deathly dance begins, the city of asphalt and steel slowly wakes to the magic in its midst. Beneath the streets the tattered subway dwellers meet in secret convocation to worship the Dragon as God. In Spanish Harlem a young boy is apprenticed to a great warrior. On Fifth Avenue hardened cabbies tremble as a Nightmare parades the streets. And in St. Patrick's Cathedral the Dragon takes control of the greatest city on Earth....
252 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 2, 1986
1 person is currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Esther M. Friesner
264 books711 followersEsther M. Friesner was educated at Vassar College, where she completed B.A's in both Spanish and Drama. She went to on to Yale University; within five years she was awarded an M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish. She taught Spanish at Yale for a number of years before going on to become a full-time author of fantasy and science fiction. She has published twenty-seven novels so far; her most recent titles include Temping Fate from Penguin-Puffin and Nobody's Princess from Random House.
Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Aboriginal SF, Pulphouse Magazine, Amazing, and Fantasy Book, as well as in numerous anthologies. Her story, "Love's Eldritch Ichor," was featured in the 1990 World Fantasy Convention book.
Her first stint as an anthology editor was Alien Pregnant By Elvis, a collection of truly gonzo original tabloid SF for DAW books. Wisely, she undertook this project with the able collaboration of Martin H. Greenberg. Not having learned their lesson, they have also co-edited the Chicks In Chainmail Amazon comedy anthology series for Baen Books, as well as Blood Muse, an anthology of vampire stories for Donald I Fine, Inc.
"Ask Auntie Esther" was her regular etiquette and advice column to the SFlorn in Pulphouse Magazine. Being paid for telling other people how to run their lives sounds like a pretty good deal to her.
Ms. Friesner won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 1995 for her work, "Death and the Librarian," and the Nebula for Best Short Story of 1996 for "A Birth Day." (A Birth Day" was also a 1996 Hugo Award finalist.) Her novelette, "Jesus at the Bat" was on the final Nebula ballot in the same year that "Death and the Librarian" won the award. In addition, she has won the Romantic Times award for Best New Fantasy Writer in 1986 and the Skylark Award in 1994. Her short story, "All Vows," took second place in the Asimov's SF Magazine Readers' Poll for 1993 and was a finalist for the Nebula in 1994. Her Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Warchild, made the USA TODAY bestseller list.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, two rambunctious cats, and a fluctuating population of hamsters.
Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Aboriginal SF, Pulphouse Magazine, Amazing, and Fantasy Book, as well as in numerous anthologies. Her story, "Love's Eldritch Ichor," was featured in the 1990 World Fantasy Convention book.
Her first stint as an anthology editor was Alien Pregnant By Elvis, a collection of truly gonzo original tabloid SF for DAW books. Wisely, she undertook this project with the able collaboration of Martin H. Greenberg. Not having learned their lesson, they have also co-edited the Chicks In Chainmail Amazon comedy anthology series for Baen Books, as well as Blood Muse, an anthology of vampire stories for Donald I Fine, Inc.
"Ask Auntie Esther" was her regular etiquette and advice column to the SFlorn in Pulphouse Magazine. Being paid for telling other people how to run their lives sounds like a pretty good deal to her.
Ms. Friesner won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 1995 for her work, "Death and the Librarian," and the Nebula for Best Short Story of 1996 for "A Birth Day." (A Birth Day" was also a 1996 Hugo Award finalist.) Her novelette, "Jesus at the Bat" was on the final Nebula ballot in the same year that "Death and the Librarian" won the award. In addition, she has won the Romantic Times award for Best New Fantasy Writer in 1986 and the Skylark Award in 1994. Her short story, "All Vows," took second place in the Asimov's SF Magazine Readers' Poll for 1993 and was a finalist for the Nebula in 1994. Her Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Warchild, made the USA TODAY bestseller list.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, two rambunctious cats, and a fluctuating population of hamsters.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 21, 2008
This was a pretty good tale! Better than I had expected, actually. Set in 'modern day' New York, A knight and a dragon battle it out in their one final conflict. Interesting premise, and well-delivered.
October 18, 2008
A knight rides into New York City. NYC is only the latest place in a fearsome dragon's destructive rampage across worlds. While the knight tries to regain the armor and weapons he lost, the dragon builds his strength, taking over first one person's mind, then another. Eventually, the dragon controls St. Patrick's Cathedral and half the city.
A wide cast of characters, each as poorly written as the last, comes together to defeat the dragon and free the knight from his dreadful burden. The plot was mediocre, the characterization laughable, and the dialog simply pitiable. Don't bother.
A wide cast of characters, each as poorly written as the last, comes together to defeat the dragon and free the knight from his dreadful burden. The plot was mediocre, the characterization laughable, and the dialog simply pitiable. Don't bother.
March 31, 2011
knight finds help to slay a very nasty dragon
September 5, 2014
Fun entertaining quick read nothing special.
August 4, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wouldn't say it was a literary masterpiece, but it is a very entertaining read, with some unexpected turns.
October 27, 2025
An urban fantasy where a magical knight and dragon end up in New York and prepare themselves for a final confrontation, this is a brisk, fun bit of pulp.
The biggest problem is that the dragon is far more interesting than any of the other characters... he has much more "fun" growing in power before rampaging through the city... the world's reaction to him when he makes his presence known is quite entertaining, especially the way some people try to thwart him.
The knight just kinda wanders around trying to find his stolen gear from op shops and recruiting other people (who are all New York caricatures, but fun enough if sometimes racially stereotypical). At one point his crew end up in a ghost world and a chick from NY bangs an elf zombie like 20 times or something.
Anyway, as I said, a brisk and fun enough read with some unexpected twists here and there. I should warn it does have a dark edge though, since one of the dragon's powers is getting into people's minds and making them kill themselves. Also there is some kind of gay subtext between the knight and dragon? Except creepy because the knight was a kid at the time.
The biggest problem is that the dragon is far more interesting than any of the other characters... he has much more "fun" growing in power before rampaging through the city... the world's reaction to him when he makes his presence known is quite entertaining, especially the way some people try to thwart him.
The knight just kinda wanders around trying to find his stolen gear from op shops and recruiting other people (who are all New York caricatures, but fun enough if sometimes racially stereotypical). At one point his crew end up in a ghost world and a chick from NY bangs an elf zombie like 20 times or something.
Anyway, as I said, a brisk and fun enough read with some unexpected twists here and there. I should warn it does have a dark edge though, since one of the dragon's powers is getting into people's minds and making them kill themselves. Also there is some kind of gay subtext between the knight and dragon? Except creepy because the knight was a kid at the time.
May 27, 2022
I heard that this was one of the first urban fantasies so I had to check it out. And--It wasn't bad, but not that great either.
It did a good job of making you hate the villain, but the rest of the characters and relationships fall flat. There's even an insta-love that is unbelievable even in a fantasy book.
There are way too many characters, which distracted from the heroes who never get to see developed.
The cover is nice though. Only check it out if you want to see one of the first urban fantasies.
It did a good job of making you hate the villain, but the rest of the characters and relationships fall flat. There's even an insta-love that is unbelievable even in a fantasy book.
There are way too many characters, which distracted from the heroes who never get to see developed.
The cover is nice though. Only check it out if you want to see one of the first urban fantasies.
December 13, 2019
Esther Friesner can write superlative fantasy, and she can write dross. This belongs in the latter category. It also belongs firmly in the period it was written (1986). A lot of POV changes, pop psychology, and unbelievable characters.
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September 7, 2020Must have a ton of books from Canada... anyway, not by RoC, but published by Signet/New American Library. Cover and page count correct.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews