[Jan 2017] - Urban Fantasy - Discussion Thread

[SugoiMe]

I have an idea...maybe.

[xiagan]

I've never read any Urban Fantasy, let alone written any. Still going to give it a go though.

Mc is badass, regardless of other talents. Town is either big urban, or american midwest crossroad with cacti and tumbleweed. Weres run free, vamps are mean but will still have safe sex with you, mediums are a thing, they're often geeky, and sometimes keep company to witches.
Everyone owns bars, and everyone does their misdeeds at night. Lots of recreational sex, and lots of sheriff county officers. Lots of "ma'am".

Or maybe I don't read enough European UF.

UF doesn't need vampires, werewolves, sex or interspecies romance.
A lot of Paranormal Romance has a UF setting but it's not the other way round.

[Lanko]

UF doesn't need vampires, werewolves, sex or interspecies romance.
A lot of Paranormal Romance has a UF setting but it's not the other way round.

I don't know if that freed me options or limited me... I think I've read three UF stories last year. And two were actually supernatural Horror.

Anyway, the things Nora mentioned were exactly what first came to mind as well, hah.

Just in case I don't have any "serious" ideas, now I'm keeping an empty file with some silly comical title, currently My Dog Is A Werewolf. Oh, it needs interspecies romance. *Switches MC for teen girl protagonist*. Hm, or maybe invert the expected tropes and make it a teen boy and a female dog...

The things we think 

(edited by SB to delete the double quote)

[ScarletBea]

I hardly ever read UF, but last year *someone* made me read the first book of Peter Grant stories (Ben Aaronovitch) and I quite enjoyed it, continue to read the series.
Think of it as a detective/crime story set in London with magic

[The Gem Cutter]

Does Harry Potter qualify as UF? It's really not my thing, at least, I don't think it is.

[Lanko]

Does Harry Potter qualify as UF? It's really not my thing, at least, I don't think it is.

Pretty sure it does. There are various scenes in real London. Harry with his uncle, aunt and cousin. With Ron's family. They buy their wands and brooms in London. Even some battles where some important people die. Hogwarts is a parallel location inside our world. And even to access it you go to a London station. There's also some laws and "police" to prevent/cover magic usage in the "muggle world".

[The Gem Cutter]

I liked the Dresden Files (read 2?) but they didn't move me. I think at the time I was engrossed with Abercrombie's books, to which, a candle, they hold not.

[JMack]

Whoa.

Was looking around for pictures to illustrate my point above, when I fell into the image of @Jmack upcoming UF story (RIGHT???) and at the same time Aktu came to my mind, the words "Rev! REV! turn around!!" came shrieking forth.

Wow. I love this picture.
And the idea of Atku making a non-humorous appearance really appeals.
You're the best, @Nora!
(I mean, the best along with ScarletBea, and M3mnoch, and Gem Cutter, and....

[Lordoftheword]

I just got a start on the Dresden books, so this is very timely  I'm also working on an Urban Fantasy freelance novel, so I'm already in the zone!

I tend to agree with TGC about Jim Butcher's Dresden books - they're not moving me. But I hear they really improve around Book 4 or 5, so maybe I'll slug it out and enjoy a light read. Also agreed that they don't hold a candle to Abercrombie. But really...who does (He's my favourite author by a mile).

I was chucking around a UF Horror idea last Spring and got a 10k word start on a novel about an excommunicated, alcoholic exorcist that struggles with his sexuality. Threw in demons and angels, trapped spirits and the like, and I've been waiting for a reason to get back into it. It was coming along quite nicely, but got thrown in the trunk for reasons I can't explain or remember. I think it's time I write a short story about Malachai (maybe an origin story?) and get the juices flowing again ^^ So excited!!

[m3mnoch]

I tend to agree with TGC about Jim Butcher's Dresden books - they're not moving me. But I hear they really improve around Book 4 or 5, so maybe I'll slug it out and enjoy a light read.

this is precisely why i bounced on dresden.  i'm certainly not a big enough fan of the genre to put in that kind of effort.  hell, i barely read second books in good authors' series.  there's just too much other stuff out there for me to commit that much time to one world.

heh.  but, yeah.  i've even had friends tell me to just skip the first three books.

[Nora]

I'm finishing up my story. Starring a cop and an artist.
I went from writing 900 words of pure dialogue between a mummy and the person working on understanding its restoration to life, to 1,000 words of a completely different nature, without more than a couple of lines of dialogue all told.
I think I'll be happy with this idea once I'm done with it. No one dies or anything in it, it's not too dark, just broody. Go figure.

[Elfy]

To those who couldn't get into Dresden I'd suggest trying Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series. They're UF with a bit of a twist.
Got an idea for this, but only a small one and don't know if I'll be able to come up with a decent conclusion for it. Faeries are a big part of UF today. Tad Williams classifies The War of the Flowers as UF and his Bobby Dollar series. Larry Correia's Monster Hunter books are UF. Emma Newman also refers to her Split Worlds as UF. Simon Green's Secret Histories books, which are a spoof on James Bond are UF.

[Nora]

Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris write great UF, imo. Midnight, Texas is about to get a tv show. Gotta filter, but they do great. Anne Rice half founded the genre.

[tebakutis]

My favorite urban fantasy is probably Terry Brooks' Word and Void Series. While it has ties to his Shannara books, it is set *before* the nuclear cataclysm that remakes the world before the Shannara books begin.

The first book, Running with the Demon, is still one of my favorite books I've ever read by Brooks, and the following books are great as well. But if you're look for "urban fantasy" I heartily recommend it.

[The Gem Cutter]

Anne Rice half founded the genre.

I thought that might be the case, but I am always conflicted with vampires and where they fall, but I suppose there's an area where fantasy and horror overlap.