Fantasy Aficionados discussion

I guess I am confused by the different sub-genres in fantasy. I love magic and sorcery, dragons, etc. I saw in an earlier post that Jim Butcher's Dresden Files are considered Urban Fantasy. If that is true, then are Cassandra Claire's Mortal Instruments books considered Urban Fantasy? I read the first one only because the trailer for the film looked good and I know that movies can ruin a good book. I have also read the second and will continue to read all of her books. I just want to make sure that I understand what is meant by Urban Fantasy.

I would consider the Mortal Instruments Paranormal Romance from what I read of the blurb.

I do not read Claire because she is a plagiarist and I don't support that.

Someone who has read the series would need to chime in for a better categorization.

I did not know about plagiarism. Where did you read this?

Here's a link from a quick google. I think DA has a bunch of links/info, too. I haven't looked into this in years so... I haven't kept links or anything.

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/mortal-in...

Cori wrote: "I guess I am confused by the different sub-genres in fantasy. I love magic and sorcery, dragons, etc. I saw in an earlier post that Jim Butcher's Dresden Files are considered Urban Fantasy. If that..."

Hi Cory, we had a discussion about this earlier this year. You can check it out here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Cori wrote: "I did not know about plagiarism. Where did you read this?"

http://www.journalfen.net/community/b...

There's a full essay written about the incident, by the woman who first noticed the issue in Clare's fanfic, and essentially launched the plagiarism war. Just to warn you - it's a long read.

"I just want to make sure that I understand what is meant by Urban Fantasy."

http://www.goodreads.com/genres/urban...

There's a decent guideline, although really, the definition of urban fantasy is open to interpretation. Some people say it has to be set in the real world - some people would consider a book urban fantasy if the story takes place in any city, real or fantastic.

I would classify Mortal Instruments more as a paranormal romance than an urban fantasy, but it definitely has elements of both genres.

Charles de Lint books :-) I don't quite get why the paranormal romance books got to dominate the genre in later years, I prefer Lint's take on it :-) Fantasy element in an urban setting

Louise wrote: "Charles de Lint books :-) I don't quite get why the paranormal romance books got to dominate the genre in later years, I prefer Lint's take on it :-) Fantasy element in an urban setting"

I agree!

Moonheart by Charles de Lint written in 1984, is considered to be one of the first Urban Fantasy novels. War for the Oaks by Emma Bull is also often cited but it is written in 1987. I have read that Charles De Lint has since started calling his work Mythic Fiction, a term coined by De Lint myself along with fellow author Terri Windling, in order to differentiate it from the type of books that are considered Urban Fantasy nowadays. He's definitely one of my all time favourite authors, but I also love what I have read from Emma Bull, Terri Windling. I much prefer these types of books to all darker "slayer" ( I call them the series with women in tank tops and tight jeans holding a gun or knife on the cover )type series that have since come out.

I like urban fantasy, but prefer the 'earlier' versions of this genre such as De Lint and Emma Bull. There are a few of the more current 'slayer' types I read, many more that I don't care for at all and only a few that I like well enough to keep and re-read. Generally speaking, I'm not a vampire or werewolf fan and "zombie" is almost an automatic 'no read' for me.

I went to a SciFi and Fantasy book convention a few years ago. One of the guest speakers was Jim Butcher. I had never heard of him before then. I picked up a couple of the Dresden Files books there. I fell in love instantly and through Amazon.com purchased the rest! Whenever a new one comes out, it is in my order list! I also remembered something about a TV series so I found that and watched it. Too bad they cancelled after the first season.

Cori wrote: "I went to a SciFi and Fantasy book convention a few years ago. One of the guest speakers was Jim Butcher. I had never heard of him before then. I picked up a couple of the Dresden Files books there..."

I have mixed feeling about the Dresden Fils. I like the Harry Dresden character and also appreciate Jim Butchers writing, however I get tired of all the fighting and the way Harry gets beaten to a pulp in almost every chapter. I have only read 3 of them but feel like I have to read something else in between.

My preference would be that paranormal romance have its own section elsewhere in a bookstore to avoid confusion. IMO, an urban fantasy would be one set in ours or a similar world where magic happens to work. In a paranormal romance, magic works but is a setting feature for a romance story instead of an action/adventure which is what I want.

Cori wrote: "I guess I am confused by the different sub-genres in fantasy. I love magic and sorcery, dragons, etc. I saw in an earlier post that Jim Butcher's Dresden Files are considered Urban Fantasy. If that..."

I consider Cassandra Claire YA Urban Fantasy. Paranormal romance is mainly focused on the romance and usually has tons of sex and the plot is in the background. Urban Fantasy has some romance in it most of the time - although sometimes not at all.

id consider Perdido Street Station urban fantasy as the city is almost the main protagonist in a way.

The city is so detailed and easy to imagine the character walking around the different districts or sitting in a coffeeshop.

I will admit its not a genre that overly appeals to me but im sure i can find the odd book to enjoy

Jim Butcher is a good example of urban fantasy - fantasy that takes place in a modern, setting in our world.

Two books that I think are extremely well-rounded examples of excellent fantasy as well as urban fantasy are:

"Wereling" by Steve Feasey

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

and

"Hold Me Closer Necromancer" by Lish McBride

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

Both are excellent reads. "Wereling" can be a little cheesy sometimes but it has a lot of heart; "Hold Me..." has a lot of comic relief but can also be very serious. I thoroughly enjoyed both and would use them to ease anyone into Urban Fantasy who is not familiar/sure about reading the genre.

Another interesting book would be "The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group", however I wouldn't recommend it as a starter. It can try your patience after awhile, but it does redeem itself in the end (I thought).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

I think urban fantasy is more a new name for different genres than a strict classification. Pretty much anything fantastical that isn't set in another world can be called that, if its tone or tools aren't completely tied to another genre out there (horror, superhero, etc). I suppose it was inevitable, since "contemporary fantasy" just has too many syllables-- and not enough of a cool feel.

As for how often it moves into romance... I think a lot of genres start specializing in either action, romance, or a combination if they catch on; they're just the easiest to market. I do wish it was easier to tell which were drifting how far that way, though.

Still, I wonder how easy it is for a bad translator to render "urban fantasy" as "Sex and the City"? :)

Speaking of good urban fantasy, I just read Fated by Benedict Jacka and thought it was tremendous.