Recommend some "magic in the real world" books

I have a hankering to read some entertaining books that feature magic as it might appear in the real world. Something like the recent “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” movie, where it’s basically our world, but a few people can wield magic. Any recommendations?

Also, quite a few years ago I read a couple of vaguely cheesy books about a female private eye in a reality where sometimes technology worked, and sometimes magic, but never both. The functionality would swing back and forth unexpectedly, and people would have to adjust to whatever was working at the time. I think there were also werewolves and vampires. Anyone know what I’m talking about?

Thanks!

Top of the list for me is Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, following the career of the only wizard with an ad in the Chicago yellow pages.

That’s my recommendation too. There was another series a few years ago about a different wizard in the real world who was also named Harry. I think he was younger, though. A little help here?

Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence maybe? Good quality children’s books, which borrow heavily from mythology and folklore. I recommend starting with the second one, The Dark is Rising. While I quite like the first one, Over Sea, Under Stone, it’s not as good as the subsequent books. The second book barely references the first, and the characters from it don’t appear again until the third volume, so you aren’t losing anything by reading them out of sequence.

The OP’s “sometimes magic sometimes tech” story might be set in the Borderlands universe established by Terri Windling. Two novels by Will Shetterly are set there, and feature a werewolf character, and there are also “vampiric” elves as antagonists.

For actual recommendations:

Dresden Files for really good “traditional” urban fantasy. Start with Storm Front if you are a completionist, or if you don’t mind picking up hints later, start with the first really good one - the third book: Grave Peril.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is more of a fantastical vs mundane world type of experience.

Hounded (first book in Iron Druid series) by Kevin Hearne is also traditional urban fantasy, but MUCH more light-hearted than Dresden Files. Lots of joking around and the bad guys are taken much less seriously.

The Dresden books are what you’re asking for, but I wouldn’t class them as particularly good writing myself. I’d recommend “Kraken” by China Mieville which takes you into a world hidden beneath our own where magic exists (and it’s dealt with in a way which is incredibly interesting, I couldn’t put it down).

Another recommendation for The Dresden Files from me. Maybe there are other urban fantasy novels worth reading, but I haven’t read them.

I recently finished the three Deadtown books and enjoyed them (fourth one is coming out in July). The stories take place largely in “Deadtown”, a part of Boston that’s mostly populated by zombies after some sort of virus killed thousands of people, then reanimated them shortly after. Vampires and werewolves “came out” shortly after that. The protagonist is a woman named Victory who is a shapeshifting demon exterminator. Not nearly as bleak as it sounds, honestly.

Also finished recently that I liked quite a bit less than Deadtown was Grave Witch, whose protagonist can raise shades of dead people and talk to ghosts. Wasn’t written as skilfully as Deadtown, not as interesting, and a frankly laughable love interest and over-long sex scene. I give it a “meh”.

An older series that comes to mind is Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony. If you hate him, you’ll probably hate these books, but I remember liking them when I read them in high school. Magic and technology exist side by side, and Death drives a cool car. They sorta taper off, though; the first book is good, and then is slides downhill. Books 5-7 weren’t any fun.

A series aimed at younger readers that I read recently and really really liked: Skulduggery Pleasant. Set in Ireland, story’s about a detective, who is a skeleton, and the young female apprentice he acquires. Loads of action and really funny at times.

Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Anansi Boys is a bit less of that.

I didn’t like it and won’t get the name right, but a book entitled something like, ‘The Adventures of Mr. Norel and Dr. Strange’ has the only two magicians in the world during the Victorian age and was well reviewed.

I think you mean “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell”.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and I thought of it when I saw this thread but did not reply because I also did not like it and therefore cannot recommend it. Although you are correct about the great reviews.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is Harry Potter (mundane person goes to secret magical school) with the protagonist being an angsty pot-smoking teenager rather than a precocious 10-year-old. It has lots of drinking and drug use and people being mean to each other and a large homage to Narnia, and is generally fantastic.

I also really enjoy The Dresden Files, but they’re basically light fun pulpy reading… which is either good or bad depending on your perspective, I guess.

I feel like I tried to read the first Dresden book several years ago, but couldn’t quite get into it. Maybe I’ll give it a try again. Thanks for the advice.

The Nightside books by Simon R. Green are about a sleazy magical B side to gigantic cities like London or New York. I enjoyed the books, though they are pretty popcorny.

However, if you like popcorn and urban fantasy, you should definitely check out Tanya Huff’s Summon the Keeper Chronicles. They’re about a loose coalition of people known as Keepers tasked with maintaining the metaphysical fabric of the universe. It’s a lot lighter than it sounds and is stuffed with mythological and fantasy references with lots of sarcasm everywhere.

Ms. Huff has another series called The Blood Books about a private detective with retinitis pigmentosa who works with the vampire bastard son of, I think, Henry VIII, to take down various occult threats.

Not modern day but Devil’s Tower and Devil’s Engine by Mark Sumner are two excellent books about magic set in the old west.

The first book didn’t come out all that long ago, but I’m almost positive you’re thinking of the the sort-of-romance Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (and her husband).

As for a recommendation, if you like YA fiction, I just read The Last Dragonslayer which was short, and quite a fun read.

You’re basically looking at the Urban Fantasy genre - all those above are good suggestions (and I especially second Piers Anthony and Jim Butcher). You might also check out Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Stroud, Nicole Peeler, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, F. Paul Wilson, Brandon Mull, Carrie Vaughn, Orson Card, Mike Carey, Mark Del Franco, Harry Connally, Richard Kadrey, Tim Lebbon & Christopher Golden, and Patricia Wrede. That should be enough to get you started. :smiley:

Most of what Tim Powers wrote. My favorites of his are The Anubis Gates and Last Call.

Oh and here’s a really obscure one I haven’t though of in ages but just popped into my mind thinking about this thread: The Flight of Michael Mcbride, by Midori Snyder.

I don’t remember any drug use in the first book. There’s a fairly blunt magic=drugs metaphor in the second book, The Magician King.

Tanya Huff’s Enchantment Emporium is about a family of witches in Canada. I quite liked it, but it was a bit cheesy.