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Black Knight Chronicles #6
Man in Black
The latest book in the award-winning Black Knight Chronicles is a raucous ride through the city of Charlotte's seedy underbelly with the most unlikely crime lord ever.
Jimmy Black's knack for stumbling into the right place at the wrong time has landed him his dream job or worst nightmare--Master Vampire of the City.
Almost everyone that works for him wants him dead.
His best friend isn't speaking to him.
His girlfriend is now his ex-girlfriend.
And the Vampire Council has appointed a watchdog who'll decide if he lives past Thursday.
He has a kidnapping to solve, monsters and demons to fight, and a whole new crime empire to figure out.
Then there's Lilith . . . .
Join Jimmy as he tries to put his (un)life back together and stay alive long enough to save the world. Again.
Author John G. Hartness is the Epic and Manly Wade Wellman Award-winning writer behind The Black Knight Chronicles from Bell Bridge Books, as well as the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter and Bubba the Monster Hunter series. In his copious free time, John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees, and playing Magic: the Gathering..
Jimmy Black's knack for stumbling into the right place at the wrong time has landed him his dream job or worst nightmare--Master Vampire of the City.
Almost everyone that works for him wants him dead.
His best friend isn't speaking to him.
His girlfriend is now his ex-girlfriend.
And the Vampire Council has appointed a watchdog who'll decide if he lives past Thursday.
He has a kidnapping to solve, monsters and demons to fight, and a whole new crime empire to figure out.
Then there's Lilith . . . .
Join Jimmy as he tries to put his (un)life back together and stay alive long enough to save the world. Again.
Author John G. Hartness is the Epic and Manly Wade Wellman Award-winning writer behind The Black Knight Chronicles from Bell Bridge Books, as well as the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter and Bubba the Monster Hunter series. In his copious free time, John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees, and playing Magic: the Gathering..
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2016
37 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
John G. Hartness
191 books592 followersJohn G. Hartness is a teller of tales, a righter of wrong, defender of ladies’ virtues, and some people call him Maurice, for he speaks of the pompatus of love.
He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles (Bell Bridge Books), the Bubba the Monster Hunter comedic horror series, the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter dark fantasy series, and many other projects.
In 2016, John teamed up with a pair of other publishing industry ne’er-do-wells and founded Falstaff Books, a small press dedicated to publishing the best of genre fictions “misfit toys.”
In his copious free time John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees and playing Magic: the Gathering.
For free short stories and to follow his activities and appearances on his newsletter, follow this link - http://eepurl.com/fV4In
He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles (Bell Bridge Books), the Bubba the Monster Hunter comedic horror series, the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter dark fantasy series, and many other projects.
In 2016, John teamed up with a pair of other publishing industry ne’er-do-wells and founded Falstaff Books, a small press dedicated to publishing the best of genre fictions “misfit toys.”
In his copious free time John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees and playing Magic: the Gathering.
For free short stories and to follow his activities and appearances on his newsletter, follow this link - http://eepurl.com/fV4In
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 5, 2016
meh...the ending felt rushed and too perfect...plus one thing really irritated me.
August 21, 2016
So after a lot of manipulations from Lillith and some very bad decisions on James’s part – he is now Master of the City
And there’s a lot of people, not least of which the global vampire council. And while James would probably be willing to step down, there is no abdicating – just death. Which means, just as all of his friends have stepped back away from him, James finds himself defending his life by defending a title he didn’t ask for.
So Jimmy is now master of the city. And some of this I really like
I like how he walks the moral tightrope. After all, the last book saw Sabrina leave him because she couldn’t tolerate his ruthlessness, she refused to accept his willingness to fight, hurt and even kill people. She thought he had gone to the dark side.
To a degree she’s correct – he is much more ruthless than he was. He does fight and hurt and kill. He leaves a swath of destruction in his wake and it does worry him. He does worry about what he’s become
At the same time he isn’t apologetic because he knows he didn’t kill when he could have and it’s a bit more complicated than just descent into darkness
Especially when we look at his proposed replacement as Master of the city who is very much in favour of killing everyone who challenges him, not acknowledge humans as people and generally willing to leave a pile of bodies in his wake. Jimmy gives second chances, Jimmy enforces his rules and is even a strict, iron fisted ruler – but without killing and, if he can, without violence. Jimmy is certainly not a good guy in this book, but he’s way better than the alternative. This moral quandary is one of the best parts of the book
I’m less thrilled with him suddenly spawning major combat powers which allowed him to enforce his reign by simply beating any challengers. It felt like a too-easy cop-out. Equally, him inheriting a super-efficient, all knowing and loyal-from-the-get-go butler also feels like a lazy cop out. Let’s face it, Jimmy was grossly unqualified to become Master of the City – he’s fairly unqualified to become master of a relatively small gaming club. To have him assume the position and then just drop these two major crutches on him feels… too convenient. And, really, it’s a waste. Him being grossly underqualified and having to learn quickly, fail, struggle, appeal for help and succeed because people saw something worth following in him? Hey, that’s a plot line! That’s several books of content right there! Him stepping up, being unqualified and then getting super powers and an extremely useful sidekick is not.
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And there’s a lot of people, not least of which the global vampire council. And while James would probably be willing to step down, there is no abdicating – just death. Which means, just as all of his friends have stepped back away from him, James finds himself defending his life by defending a title he didn’t ask for.
So Jimmy is now master of the city. And some of this I really like
I like how he walks the moral tightrope. After all, the last book saw Sabrina leave him because she couldn’t tolerate his ruthlessness, she refused to accept his willingness to fight, hurt and even kill people. She thought he had gone to the dark side.
To a degree she’s correct – he is much more ruthless than he was. He does fight and hurt and kill. He leaves a swath of destruction in his wake and it does worry him. He does worry about what he’s become
At the same time he isn’t apologetic because he knows he didn’t kill when he could have and it’s a bit more complicated than just descent into darkness
Especially when we look at his proposed replacement as Master of the city who is very much in favour of killing everyone who challenges him, not acknowledge humans as people and generally willing to leave a pile of bodies in his wake. Jimmy gives second chances, Jimmy enforces his rules and is even a strict, iron fisted ruler – but without killing and, if he can, without violence. Jimmy is certainly not a good guy in this book, but he’s way better than the alternative. This moral quandary is one of the best parts of the book
I’m less thrilled with him suddenly spawning major combat powers which allowed him to enforce his reign by simply beating any challengers. It felt like a too-easy cop-out. Equally, him inheriting a super-efficient, all knowing and loyal-from-the-get-go butler also feels like a lazy cop out. Let’s face it, Jimmy was grossly unqualified to become Master of the City – he’s fairly unqualified to become master of a relatively small gaming club. To have him assume the position and then just drop these two major crutches on him feels… too convenient. And, really, it’s a waste. Him being grossly underqualified and having to learn quickly, fail, struggle, appeal for help and succeed because people saw something worth following in him? Hey, that’s a plot line! That’s several books of content right there! Him stepping up, being unqualified and then getting super powers and an extremely useful sidekick is not.
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March 26, 2017
James Black se întoarce în a cincea carte din seria Black Night Chronicles, în poziția de Stăpân al orașului, dar asta nu înseamnă că viața lui devine mai liniștită. Dimpotrivă, fără cel mai bun prieten al său și părăsit de iubită, Jimmy va trebui să se descurce aproape singur cu mafia umană a orașului, o bandă de motocicliști-vampiri, vârcolaci, naga și alte ființe supranaturale.
July 30, 2017
Well I have to say that this book was well worth the wait. I won't give away anything but it was a great tie up to all sorts of loose ends that where left in the last book. Can't wait for the next one although I don't know how he will top this one. If you liked the others in this series then you should really read this one. Well worth the time.
November 23, 2025
Having become the Master Vampire of Charlotte, Jimmy's life should be on the up. Unfortunately, he is estranged from his friends and the local vampires, werewolves and other monsters are out to take his position. Good story as Jimmy struggles to do the right thing, save the day and get his friends back.
August 2, 2017
Loved it
Loved the book, the only issue I had was that it was to short. Other than that it was a great read and I can't wait for the next one!
Loved the book, the only issue I had was that it was to short. Other than that it was a great read and I can't wait for the next one!
March 17, 2018
Very good book best in the series
April 13, 2018
slightly above average, lets hope series end here
August 12, 2018
Really enjoyable, light-hearted read.
February 26, 2020
action packed!
April 23, 2020
Extraordinary
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this latest Black story. I'm glad that the series is still continuing on. More...
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this latest Black story. I'm glad that the series is still continuing on. More...
September 11, 2016
I mistakenly read this thinking it was the 1st in the series, when it is actually the 5th! DUH!! I will re-read and possibly rate differently when I am not in the dark with the story line!!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews