Good Urban Fantasy?

[Bob The Skutter]

Is it my imagination, or does it look like most urban fantasy novels have to deal with vampires?

I'm not saying that's necessarily the case, but it's the first impression I'm getting.

Alex

Depends on what you mean, do you mean that vampires are the main focus of the series, or that vampires appear in the universe and in some of the stories? Dresden Files for instance has 3 different flavours of vampire and

Spoiler: Dresden Files

there is a war with vampires and they may be the focus of individual stories

but for the most part that's just background detail. And as far as I know none of the ones I mentioned have vampires as their main focus either.

 

[Greg Cox]

Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm.

Awesome book. Just excellent. Also, check out Moonheart, Someplace to be Flying, and some of the other novels of Charles de Lint.

Another vote for WIZARD OF THE PIGEONS.

Which is totally vampire-free, btw!

 

[Mistral]

OK, two(or more) suggestions no one touched on.

Ariel by Peter Boyett. Just re-released with new cover art. Great story, stunning. There's a unicorn and Japanese sword play, gangsters and magic set in the ruins of our world. Great story long out of print.

Glen Cook's Metal series. Red Iron Nights. Deadly Quicksilver Lies. Sweet Silver Bells. Detective Noir in a fantasy world. Very urban and gritty.

Also, Stalking the Unicorn by Mike Resnick.

Ariel is by Steven R. Boyett. One of my favorite books. A really nice coming of age story.

Edit: Awesome news! Boyett is finally putting out a sequel! http://www.elegybeach.com/

For high magic and hi-tech you can't go wrong with the Shadowrun books.

Sorry. At least I got the last name right. A sequel? Can't wait.

 

[sojourner]

^ Maybe your wires got crossed and you combined Peter Boyle with Steven Boyett?

 

[Mistral]

^ Maybe your wires got crossed and you combined Peter Boyle with Steven Boyett?

Maybe. If I had wires. Which I don't. Those rumors about me being an android? Totally fabricated. Totally. No, really, I mean it.

 

[Technobuilder]

^Let us know how that is if you would Bob.
Sure, but it might be a while before I get round to it, I'm currently re-reading Codex Alera before Book 6 comes out.

I agree with you about Dresden Files, but your caveat would be true for me too.

No rush...

I am ALSO rereading Codex Alera in preparation for First Lord's Fury. (With side trips through the Honor Harrington Short Story Anthologies and the LitTrek Mirror Universe.)

It's not Urban Fantasy, but I'm going to highly reccomend the Honor Harrington series as just an epic 'character' series with a nice mix of politics, intrigue, humor, and of course action.

Good stuff. (Honor of the Queen - HH#2 is quoted as being Butcher's favorite book as well.)

 

[sojourner]

Honor Harrington, a new Mary Sue for a new age!

 

[JD]

Does anyone here know if the The Hollows, or Mercedes Thompson series are any good?

 

[D Man]

How did the author and editor(s) for the Dresden Files decide that exactly 23 books would be the perfect number for this series? That seems really odd to me. What a strange amount of novels to plan out for an arc that's barely halfway done. Don't tell me he saw the awful Jim Carrey Movie...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

How did the author and editor(s) for the Dresden Files decide that exactly 23 books would be the perfect number for this series? That seems really odd to me. What a strange amount of novels to plan out for an arc that's barely halfway done. Don't tell me he saw the awful Jim Carrey Movie...

Jim Butcher says he has it planned as 20 "case files" and "an apocalyptic trilogy" but that may change depending on if his kids go to college...

 

[Technobuilder]

Honor Harrington, a new Mary Sue for a new age!

It's been said, and on some level I have to agree, but for the most part, I don't really see Honor as a "Mary Sue" character when I'm reading her. She's got her faults, they just tend to be internalized.
She's overly self-conscious, self-flagellating, vengeful, and has a dark killer instinct just itching to play "Jack-In-The-Box". Other than those qualities, I can see the comparison.

How did the author and editor(s) for the Dresden Files decide that exactly 23 books would be the perfect number for this series? That seems really odd to me. What a strange amount of novels to plan out for an arc that's barely halfway done. Don't tell me he saw the awful Jim Carrey Movie...

Jim Butcher says he has it planned as 20 "case files" and "an apocalyptic trilogy" but that may change depending on if his kids go to college...

^Yeah, 23 is a guesstimate based on if his son goes to college, if grad school is in the works... possibly more. But ending the "Case Files" and following that into a Trilogy is the current plan of action.

 

[Tyberius]

Neverwhere.

 

[auntiehill]

I wonder how long it will be before Crusher notices this and thinks she's found the ULTIMATE thread?

 

[Crusher Disciple]

I gotta be honest, I don't think that most of my fantasies about Karl Urban are clean enough to be posted here. Plus, he's married and I'm not into poaching another woman's man.

But Mc Coy, on the other hand- hoo Lordy! Most of my fantasies involve him just getting out of the shower, with a towel around the bottom half of his body. I much prefer scruffy Mc Coy to the slicked down, duty hair cut he has to sport in uniform, so I love the idea of his hair being wet and all mussed up from the shower.


....scuse me, I need to be alone for a while.