# Urban Fantasy... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538 "2010-03-23T21:24:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/1 "2010-03-23T21:24:52Z")
Ok…since I was suckered into Sookie and company while finding Sookies first book in an airport…which provoked a thread I started about whether I had just _shudder_ read and _shuddershudder_ enjoyed a romance novel… > **[Need advice - is Dead Until Dark a romance novel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=516687)** > > I found this book at the airport, sitting on a seat. I wasn’t liking the book I brought so I picked it up and started read, The book is Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. Now, being a red blooded American Male, I am supposed to be revolted by... I have sought out interesting and similar books. I have also found out it has a name…urban fantasy. Now, I really like SF but never got into fantasy. Now that it takes place in what is our world or close, I find myself liking it. I have picked up (besides Sookie) and enjoyed the most: Kat Richardson (Graywalker) - Her writing style…I can’t really explain…but I like it. It is relaxing and interesting. It is nice to read from the point of view of a woman who is…just…well…not overly emotional, loves puzzles and seems so clueless about her emotions and others. I know she has been criticized for exactly this but I really like it. Definitely an underrated writer from what I can tell Kim Harrison (Rachel Morgan) - whoa boy. Opposite of the Graywalker. This is one screwed up chick. Very fun to read. I also like that she is growing up and realizing that her screwed up antics will get her killed. Jim Butcher - Not much can be said. The King 🙂 Rob Thurman (Cal Leandros/Trixie) - Keep an eye on this author. Very different and very fun to read. I put Rob right behind Jim Butcher on this list because noone can be aheadof the king! So - unlike the previous post where I wished to be told I wasn’t unmanly to read it (Sookie) I have decided that I do like em and will read em :). However, have others read these and, more importantly, are there other authors similar that I would like? ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/2 "2010-03-23T21:31:31Z")
You might try Rachel Caine’s Weather Warden books: > **[Rachel Caine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Warden)** > > Rachel Caine was the pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad (April 27, 1962 – November 1, 2020) who was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and horror novels. > Conrad grew up in West Texas and graduated from Socorro High School in El Paso, Texas, in 1980. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University in 1985, with a minor in music. Caine wrote and published novels and short stories since 1990. She was a pro... I read these in Ebook form and was pretty embarassed to see what the covers are like when I saw a display at the bookstore! ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/3 "2010-03-24T00:56:13Z")
Justin Gustainis (Morris/Chastain series) – similar to Jim Butcher’s work; in fact, I think they know each other. He’s only published 3 so far, but he has at least 3 more in the works. Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels) – probably my favorite of the genre. Andrews has also started a new series called _On the Edge_, and the first book was pretty entertaining. Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson) – werewolves and vampires and fae, oh my! Love the Mercy Thompson series, hate the \*Alpha and Omega \*series. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/4 "2010-03-24T01:31:11Z")
Isn’t urban fantasy what Neil Gaiman does? I haven’t read a lot of his stuff, but what I’ve read has been okay. Try Tim Powers – especially _The Anubis Gates_ – it’s maybe as much horror as fantasy, but it’s got a little bit of everything. Also Jeff Vandermeer and Charles Stross. The puppy has to go out to pee or I’d link to some titles. Those guys are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/5 "2010-03-24T01:44:57Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Isn’t urban fantasy what Neil Gaiman does? I haven’t read a lot of his stuff, but what I’ve read has been okay. Yup. There aren’t a lot of guys in the genre - Rob Thurman is a she too, by the way - but Gaiman, Butcher, and Charles de Lint are probably the most well known male writers. Since the OP likes the same authors as I do, I’ll recommend Kelley Armstrong and Particia Briggs too. I like KA’s books a lot more, but PB’s are not too bad. I’ve recently started in on a book by Kelly Gay called The Better Part of Darkness that’s off too a pretty good beginning. Oh, and Justine Musk, the ex-wife of Paypal’s creator, isn’t too bad either, at least based on BloodAngel. You’ve already read War For The Oaks by Emma Bull, right? Most self-respecting urban fantasy fans like it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/6 "2010-03-24T01:47:57Z")
Ah, romance novels. The porn of polite society. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/7 "2010-03-24T02:10:55Z")
I was gonna turn you on to Jim Butcher. He’s no great literature, but he sure is great fun! I love his books. Tim Powers is hit or miss for me. Far and away my favorite book by him is _Last Call_: poker as chaos magick. It’s all conspiracy-theory, pop-math silliness, but my hands were shaking with excitement during the last 60 pages of the book, and that’s never happened before or since. I just read one that barely qualifies: it’s an urban fantasy set in Paris. Catch is, it’s 17th-century Paris, where Cardinal Richilieu has a small pet dragon sitting on his desk and wyverns serve the military. It’s called _The Cardinal’s Blades_, originally in French, and a helluva lot of fun. If you want to dip your toes into the created-world fantasy milieu, there are two great urban fantasies I have to recommend. For pure fun along the lines of Jim Butcher, try _The Lies of Locke Lamora_, a lovely con-artist story. For serious crunchy weirdness with an insane city as the main character, try _Perdido Street Station_ by China Mieville. People love it or hate it, and there’s little room in the middle. One last sorta-sorta recommendation: _The City and the City_, also by China Mieville. It’s set in two fictional modern-day cities, it’s a hard-boiled detective novel, and I can’t say anything else without ruining its fun. ---
**Author:** ![justafriend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@justafriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justafriend)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/8 "2010-03-24T02:31:26Z")
The Nightwatch series by Sergei Lukyanenko – Russian urban fantasy and each book plays out like a chess game (as does the series overall) ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/9 "2010-03-24T02:32:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Tim Powers is hit or miss for me. Far and away my favorite book by him is _Last Call_: poker as chaos magick. It’s all conspiracy-theory, pop-math silliness, but my hands were shaking with excitement during the last 60 pages of the book, and that’s never happened before or since. You too? I didn’t know anyone else was as crazy about \*Last Call \*than I was. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/10 "2010-03-24T14:15:13Z")
> [@left hand of dorkness](#): > > i was gonna turn you on to jim butcher. He’s no great literature, but he sure is great fun! bite your tongue! ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/11 "2010-03-24T14:16:14Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You’ve already read War For The Oaks by Emma Bull, right? Most self-respecting urban fantasy fans like it a lot. Nope…I’m a Newbie 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/12 "2010-03-24T14:35:30Z")
Michael De Larribeiti’s [Borrible](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borrible_Trilogy) trilogy. Gaiman’s _Neverwhere_ Miéville’s _King Rat_ Barker’s _Weaveworld_. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/13 "2010-03-24T15:04:52Z")
> [@Nightingale](#): > > Justin Gustainis (Morris/Chastain series) – similar to Jim Butcher’s work; in fact, I think they know each other. He’s only published 3 so far, but he has at least 3 more in the works. > > Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels) – probably my favorite of the genre. Andrews has also started a new series called _On the Edge_, and the first book was pretty entertaining. > > Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson) – werewolves and vampires and fae, oh my! Love the Mercy Thompson series, hate the \*Alpha and Omega \*series. YMMV. Guess I’ll have to check out Gustainis, because I agree with you on the other two. Andrews and Briggs just seem to be getting better and better. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/14 "2010-03-24T16:00:19Z")
I also recommend Briggs, and I liked the first few of Rachel Caine’s books. I like Tanya Huff’s Blood books, which feature the 400-yr-old vampire Henry Fitzroy in modern-day Canada. I also like P.N. Elrod’s Jack Fleming books, about a vampire detective in 1930’s Chicago. Most recently I’ve read Mike Carey’s urban fantasy series starting with _The Devil You Know_. It’s a bit like Harry Dresden in London, darker and with admittedly less snark. Christopher Moore’s _A Dirty Job_ is a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/15 "2010-03-24T16:08:58Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Christopher Moore’s _A Dirty Job_ is a lot of fun. As is his _Island of the Sequined Love Nun_. ---
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/16 "2010-03-24T16:11:23Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Most recently I’ve read Mike Carey’s urban fantasy series starting with _The Devil You Know_. It’s a bit like Harry Dresden in London, darker and with admittedly less snark. I dropped in to recommend this one. Carey is best known for his _Sandman_ comic spinoff _Lucifer._ The [Felix Castor](http://www.amazon.com/The-Devil-You-Know-ebook/dp/B000QRIGVM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1269447038&sr=8-8) novels are really fun supernatural noir, in a London where the dead rose on Y2K and now exorcists are a real necessity. I’ve read the first two and I’m waiting for _Dead Mens Boots_ to come out in paperback before I move ahead with the last two I got from the UK. I highly recommend them! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/17 "2010-03-24T16:15:36Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I was gonna turn you on to Jim Butcher. He’s no great literature, but he sure is great fun! I love his books. He’s actually really, really good. Dresden is firmly genre fiction, not necessarily literature as such, but Butcher is very talented at weaving coherent storylines, setting clues and foreshadowing, creating an interesting world, and giving his writing life and excitement. He’s a _good_ author; he just happens to be an RPG and fantasy geek. As for Neil Gaiman, I just recently read _Neverwhere_. It’s almost too simplistic a novel for him, since it’s a novelization of a miniseries, but it’s still really engaging and as urban fantasy as you can get. Loved it. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/18 "2010-03-24T16:16:28Z")
There are only two books so far, but if you can handle really dark stuff, you might like [Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt novels](http://www.amazon.com/Already-Dead-Novel-Charlie-Huston/dp/034547824X/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1). Warring clans of vampyres in Manhattan. I think Huston rivals Elmore Leonard when it comes to dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/19 "2010-03-24T18:04:16Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > There are only two books so far, but if you can handle really dark stuff, you might like [Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt novels](http://www.amazon.com/Already-Dead-Novel-Charlie-Huston/dp/034547824X/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1). Warring clans of vampyres in Manhattan. I think Huston rivals Elmore Leonard when it comes to dialogue. There are four books in the Joe Pitt series now. I thought of recommending those, too, but I hesitate because they’re ultra violent, which I wouldn’t normally enjoy. But Huston’s fantastic dialogue keeps me reading them. (I must look up this Elmore Leonard.) ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538/20 "2010-03-24T18:14:53Z")
I’ll second (third?) recommendations for Gaiman and Mieville, and throw in Martin Millar - I’ve only read a couple of his books - _Milk, Sulphate and Alby Starvation_ and _The Good Fairies of New York_, but I highly recommend both. They’re a different tone from Gaiman or Butcher - there’s not really a quest or anything, just people (and fairies) worrying about getting laid or winning a fiddle competition. Great writing, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy/533538.md?page=2)