Urban Fantasy: Vampire and Witches and Weres, oh my!
- Thread starter JD
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Kelley Armstriong's otherworld series and Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series are some fo my favourites so i will look forward to hearing your opinion on them.
I feel i should mention that Bitten was intended as a stand alone novel its only when she came to write a follow up novel and realised it would become a longer series that Kelley Armstrong broadened the world bringing in other races than werewolves. Some readers say that there is a slight difference in tone or the type of story being told between the first novel and the rest of the series because of this. The only difference i have noticed is that the Bitten seems very insular, the majority of the narrative occurs in or close by the packs home territory of Stonehaven and werewolf issues make up the plot, and that changes in the following novels simply because they involve a much broader more varied world for subsequent characters to have adventures in.
I feel i should mention that Bitten was intended as a stand alone novel its only when she came to write a follow up novel and realised it would become a longer series that Kelley Armstrong broadened the world bringing in other races than werewolves. Some readers say that there is a slight difference in tone or the type of story being told between the first novel and the rest of the series because of this. The only difference i have noticed is that the Bitten seems very insular, the majority of the narrative occurs in or close by the packs home territory of Stonehaven and werewolf issues make up the plot, and that changes in the following novels simply because they involve a much broader more varied world for subsequent characters to have adventures in.
I've been reading that series for several years now and it's safe to say the setting is medieval, I follow the authors blogs and they refer to it that way themselves.
In book 2 of series one, the senior Guildsman in Bela refers to the world being "more advanced" before the great war of the forgotten era, that the war returned the world to a more primitive state.
But from what we know now in series 3, that was only 493 years ago, if there was technology it would not have been entirely hidden.
The implication is that their world (which is another planet 'made' by the Fae many thousands of years ago) was at the mid-Victorian era circa 1845 when the war broke out, with a Human population of several hundred million and the other 5 races around the same, all reduced to thousands of survivors and the world is now approximately 16-17th century with spatters of other periods thrown in.
At best, it's steampunk/magecraft, there's no modern era to their world at all.
But from what we know now in series 3, that was only 493 years ago, if there was technology it would not have been entirely hidden.
The implication is that their world (which is another planet 'made' by the Fae many thousands of years ago) was at the mid-Victorian era circa 1845 when the war broke out, with a Human population of several hundred million and the other 5 races around the same, all reduced to thousands of survivors and the world is now approximately 16-17th century with spatters of other periods thrown in.
At best, it's steampunk/magecraft, there's no modern era to their world at all.
^ I've also read most of the series, and have three reasons why it could qualify as being at least MARGINALLY Urban Fantasy: the fact that it involves the supernatural, the fact that, according to the authors, it's often sorted in the Urban Fantasy sections of bookstores (although, as mentioned, they themselves don't consider it to be Urban Fantasy), and the fact that a lot of the action in several of the books takes place within cities and/or towns, which Wikipedia lists as being a criterion for categorizing something as being of the Urban Fantasy genre.
I forgot that I also picked up The Taken, the first book in Vicki Petersson's new Celestial Blues series, and Angel's Ink, the first book in Joecelyn Drake's Asylum Tales. They were both on sale and few months back and were recommended by one of either Kim Harrison and/or Ilona Andrews, so I picked up for like $3 or $4. Angel's Ink actually is the one I find more intriguing, it follows a warlock/tattoo artist who's hiding out from the other magic witches/warlocks who have forbidden him from using magic.
Urban Fantasy means a supernatural series set in a modern 20-21st century setting after the advent of technology dealing with what it would be like to have magic and monsters exist in the here-and-now of our world.
NDS takes place in a 17th century setting of an alien world decimated as it reached it's early Victorian age, that does not qualify.
It has to involve modern technological cities and settings for that.
^ Actually, here's the Wikipedia definition of Urban Fantasy:
Then only 3 of the 11 current Saga books take place in a city, 'A Wind in the Night' next year will take place largely in the Sky Cutter Range and the northern deserts of the Suman Empire.
Bela is hardly a city, more like a walled town with concentric rings of increasing slums around it, so that leaves almost all of series 1 out.
'In Shade and Shadow' and 'Between Their Worlds' are the only two in the franchise that are urban mystery/murder, with only the first of those really fitting the bill, as the second is entirely on the Guild grounds more than half the book.
Calm a'Seatt is the only real Human city left in their world at all, and as the name shows, it was mostly Dwarven land originally, still boasting a sizable population of them.
2 out of 12 (with only 15 novels in the saga total, last three likely to be in the Empire) doesn't really cut it.
Bela is hardly a city, more like a walled town with concentric rings of increasing slums around it, so that leaves almost all of series 1 out.
'In Shade and Shadow' and 'Between Their Worlds' are the only two in the franchise that are urban mystery/murder, with only the first of those really fitting the bill, as the second is entirely on the Guild grounds more than half the book.
Calm a'Seatt is the only real Human city left in their world at all, and as the name shows, it was mostly Dwarven land originally, still boasting a sizable population of them.
2 out of 12 (with only 15 novels in the saga total, last three likely to be in the Empire) doesn't really cut it.
^ I would consider more than just 2 of the books in the Saga to meet the Wikipedia criteria for Urban Fantasy. Dhampir, Sister of the Dead, and Traitor to the Blood all take place in or near locations that I would consider to fit the 'city' criterion within the context of the series' medieval/fantasy setting.
YMMV, though.
YMMV, though.
I finished up City of Bones earlier today, and I posted my thoughts over in the TrekLit forum. With that done I started Magic Burns, the second Kate Daniels book.
I forgot just how much loved Kate in the other book.
Which brings me to something I've been wondering about. What is it about Urban Fantasy that it seems to attract female writers, and encourages them create such great women protagonists? Bo from Lost Girl, Kate, and Rachel Morgan are perfect examples of what I'm talking about.
I forgot just how much loved Kate in the other book.
Which brings me to something I've been wondering about. What is it about Urban Fantasy that it seems to attract female writers, and encourages them create such great women protagonists? Bo from Lost Girl, Kate, and Rachel Morgan are perfect examples of what I'm talking about.
And does it suck as you expected?
No it's funny. She wrote several books previously about the Midnight Mayor who's very powerful so needed to have hugely powerful adversaries so it all got a bit samey (I picked this up from the reviews). Then she invented this self-help group of losers who have to save London. It's not as weird as China Meiville. Sort of like Discworld characters transferred to London and made more gormless.
Or Misfits would be a good analogy. The heroine talks like Vicky Pollard although she has infinitely more core intelligence. She whines a lot about discovering she's a powerful shaman when nobody asked her if she wanted to be.
Or Misfits would be a good analogy. The heroine talks like Vicky Pollard although she has infinitely more core intelligence. She whines a lot about discovering she's a powerful shaman when nobody asked her if she wanted to be.
