# Modern fantasy that doesn't snub technology **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169 "2016-11-27T16:15:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/21 "2016-11-28T20:42:56Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Harry Potter\> Although you can assume Harry Potter takes place in the 20th century, the most technological thing mention in the books is a car. Inside Hogwarts they never use anything remotely technological. It’s kind of interesting that Fantastic Beasts obviously takes place in 1920’s New York. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/22 "2016-11-28T21:27:09Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Although you can assume Harry Potter takes place in the 20th century, the most technological thing mention in the books is a car. Inside Hogwarts they never use anything remotely technological. > It’s kind of interesting that Fantastic Beasts obviously takes place in 1920’s New York. Dudley blowing up aliens on his computer gets a mention or two in the first book. ---
**Author:** ![justafriend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@justafriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justafriend)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/23 "2016-11-29T15:22:06Z")
The Dresden Files are actually what inspired this thread. Even though they take place in modern Chicago, with all the modern conveniences that implies, technology and magic most definitely do not work together, what with Harry consistently blowing up anything that runs on electricity. Although Thomas (with a long “o”) is maybe an example of magic being used in a mundane way. And yeah, Harry Potter doesn’t even remotely count. All the wizards of their world hide, cower, and/or generally ignore the modern muggle world around them and meanwhile haven’t advanced past steam engines -which begs the question of how they got there and then decided that was far enough. I have the first two books of The Laundry Files on my Kindle but haven’t read yet. I’ve also read Off To Be the Wizard, but wasn’t aware that it was the first in a series. Just bought Wizard of 4th Street and Rivers of London. (Ooh a graphic novel!) Are the Shadowrun books generally regarded as well-written? I’ve heard of them, but was under the impression that they’re kind of bottom of the barrel… ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/24 "2016-11-29T16:12:55Z")
> [@justafriend](#): > > Are the Shadowrun books generally regarded as well-written? I’ve heard of them, but was under the impression that they’re kind of bottom of the barrel… There are a lot of Shadowrun novels, and they vary in quality from quite good to…not so good. I’m not going to offer my opinion (especially since I wrote one of them–check out _Borrowed Time_ if you want to take a look at it)–but in general, the ones fairly universally acknowledged as the best are Nigel Findley’s _2XS_, _Lone Wolf_, and _House of the Sun_, Tom Dowd’s _Burning Bright_, and Michael Stackpole’s _Wolf and Raven_. For the rest, it really depends on your preferences. I love some of them that a lot of people consider bad, while others swear by ones I couldn’t finish because I hated them. So it’s a YMMV thing. None of them are literary masterpieces, but most of them are fun reads. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/25 "2016-11-30T00:00:25Z")
I’d recommend California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout. Modern Los Angeles, just in a world where magic is known, commonplace but highly restricted. > **[California Bones (Daniel Blackland, #1)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490594-california-bones)** > > When Daniel Blackland was six, he ingested his first bo… Also most mythical creatures existed at one point but are now extinct and magic is derived from their bones. I quite liked the book. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/26 "2016-11-30T05:19:05Z")
The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Witches and magic aren’t the main part of the stories, but they are there. Mercy is a coyote “shifter” who is an auto mechanic by trade. The werewolves like to get together and have LAN parties where they play some made up pirate game. The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. The main character is a 2000 year old druid who lives in Tempe, Az. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/27 "2016-11-30T05:21:37Z")
The Twenty-Sided Sorceress series by Annie Bellet is about a sorceress who’s also a nerd/gamer, and hangs out with shapeshifters. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/28 "2016-11-30T05:25:58Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Although you can assume Harry Potter takes place in the 20th century, the most technological thing mention in the books is a car. Inside Hogwarts they never use anything remotely technological. There’s a fanfic out there called _Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality_ that I quite liked, though I found it a tad hard to follow around the midpoint since it relied on familiarity with the novels and their seemingly endless supply of supporting characters. Having never read any of them, I got lost fairly quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/29 "2016-11-30T08:31:56Z")
Brandon Sanderson’s \*Wax and Wayne \*books - the sequels to his _Mistborn_ trilogy - are set in a world with roughly late 19th-Century/early 20th Century technology, meaning cars, trains, revolvers, electric lights and so on. Magical talents are considered a normal and accepted part of life, to the degree that nobody calls it magic - it’s just abilities certain people have, involving well-understood natural forces, with defined rules and limitations. Sanderson takes great ways in thinking of ways these powers can be used in day-to-day life, and even more of how they can be used in gunfights. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/30 "2016-11-30T13:41:29Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The game Arcanum is Fantasy crossed with Steampunk. Yes, but it definitely runs contrary to what the OP is looking for. In \*Arcanum \*magic & tech stand directly opposite each other, heavy use of tech destroys magic and vice versa (and you’ve got the traditional dichotomy of magic/primeval/nature/origins vs. tech/cities/corruption/dangerous). It’s even a factor in gameplay, since magic attacks can fail against gearheads and wizards can prove simply unable to use tech items. And vice versa - gearheads don’t care about magic items at all. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/31 "2016-11-30T17:22:37Z")
> [@justafriend](#): > > Just bought Wizard of 4th Street and Rivers of London. (Ooh a graphic novel!) There are five or six books in the Rivers of London series. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/32 "2016-11-30T17:39:03Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The Shadowrun games and books are all set in a universe in which magic and tech coexist; they’re antagonic in some respects, complementary in others. Likewise for the World of Darkness games/books which (at least in their original iteration; I assume they’ve streamlined since) had vampires, werewolves, mages, faeries, ghosts and lesser players like mummies, revenants and golems wandering around our modern world. I’d say the scope of it all went well past just “horror” and into full-fledged fantasy in a modern setting, albeit a fantasy occurring out of view of most mere mortals. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/33 "2016-11-30T23:07:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Blish’s \*Black Easter \*posits a modern world where magic exists. The monks have computers and use them when it is easier to do than performing magic. Not technically “fantasy” but there’s something similar in _Doctor Strange_; the titular character is at a Nepalese monastery housing an ancient order of mystical monks who can do magic and is given a piece of paper with a word on it - which turns out to be the Wi-Fi password. ---
**Author:** ![Feint\_of\_Spades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Feint\_of\_Spades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feint_of_Spades)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169/34 "2016-12-01T13:41:47Z")
I’ll highly recommend The Amber Chronicles by Zelazny. Great mix of both with great writing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-fantasy-that-doesnt-snub-technology/773169.md?page=1)