What is urban fantasy? This is a question that I get asked pretty often, mostly because when people ask what I do I say, \u201cI\u2019m a writer\u201d and then they ask what kind of stuff I write, and I say, \u201cUrban fantasy.\u201d And then they say, \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Usually I take the easy way out and say, \u201cIf you like True Blood<\/em> you\u2019ll probably like my book.\u201d But that doesn\u2019t really define urban fantasy.<\/p>\n Wikipedia defines urban fantasy as the following: \u201cUrban fantasy is a subset of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times or contain supernatural elements. However, this is not the primary definition of urban fantasy. Urban fantasy can be set in historical times, modern times, or futuristic times. The prerequisite is that it must be primarily set in a city, rather than in a suburban or country setting, which have their own genre subsets. Many urban fantasy novels geared toward adults are told via a first-person narrative, and often feature mythological beings, paranormal romance, and various female protagonists who are involved in law enforcement or vigilantism.\u201d<\/p>\n Locus<\/em> magazine did a wonderful issue in May of 2009 (just about when I was signing my contract with Ace, actually) wherein various authors and editors talked about their definitions of urban fantasy. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the genre is written (mostly) by women and has (mostly) female protagonists (one notable exception, and one of my personal favorites: Jim Butcher\u2019s Harry Dresden series \u2013 although there are others). <\/p>\n The books (generally) take place in a contemporary fantastic urban setting which may be closed (only the protagonist and the supernatural things that go bump-in-the-night know about the fantastic elements of the story, like my own novel Black Wing<\/em>s) or open (everyone, even the normals, knows there are vampires in the world, a la the aforementioned True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris\u2019 Sookie Stackhouse\/Southern Vampire series).<\/p>\n I tend to think of urban fantasy as a marketing term more than anything. It seems like the definition is pretty flexible and open to interpretation and generally is used as a way for people to find other books like the ones they already enjoy. So if you like True Blood<\/em>, you\u2019ll probably like my book \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n Some good urban fantasy reads (most of these are the first books of series):<\/p>\n Storm Front\/Jim Butcher What is urban fantasy? This is a question that I get asked pretty often, mostly because when people ask what I do I say, \u201cI\u2019m a writer\u201d and then they ask what kind of stuff I write, and I say, … Continue reading
\nDeadtown\/Nancy Holzner
\nDead Until Dark\/Charlaine Harris
\nMoon Called\/Patricia Briggs
\nSomething from the Nightside\/Simon R. Green
\nBlood Price\/Tanya Huff
\nSummon the Keeper\/Tanya Huff
\nSunshine\/Robin McKinley
\nNeverwhere\/Neil Gaiman
\nDead Witch Walking\/Kim Harrison<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"