McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
question on urban fantasy literature.
Paynesgrey:
--- Quote from: Moritz on April 22, 2008, 09:47:17 PM ---I recently found out (partly via amazon) that there is a whole bunch of books similar to Dresden Files. I mean that particular style of series with PIs and supernatural critters and so on. Supposedly a lot of overlap with romance stories lately.
I have read some reviews, talked with some people about it, and have come to the conclusion that I might limit my reading of this particular kind of UF to Dresden Files after all.
So as I have never read those other books (I am thinking about Patricia Briggs, Laurell Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Tanya Huff, Carrie Vaughn etc. here)
- are they - writing style wise - in any way comparable to Jim Butcher?
- are the perspectives and the narrative styles similar?
--- End quote ---
Tanya Huff has some Good Stuff, but the flavor is rather different then Dresden. LKH & Kim Harrison series' started out great, but the characters slid down to the "Too Annoying To Live" category. Patricia Briggs I'm not familiar with.
Another to consider is Simon R. Green's Nightside series, while comparable in snark and humor, is really more of a "superhero" urban fantasy. A lot of fun, but you've got to be ready for some out-there stuff, as opposed to JB's "More Realistic" take on urban fantasy.
Milelage will vary according to your own tastes. Give 'em all a shot and see what sticks for you. ;)
Starbeam:
--- Quote from: Moritz on April 22, 2008, 10:50:16 PM ---OK...
then I didn't make myself clear.
I was asking if other Urban Fantasy books in the vein of Jim Butcher had similar or different stlyes and if you could name them. E.g. are all those typically named PI stories in first person? Are there any which are less pulpy? And so on.
edit: I am not looking for a "second Jim Butcher" to read, I wanna know what the width of style in this sector of Urban Fantasy is like.
--- End quote ---
Most urban fantasy is first person, but not all the characters are PI types. Like Patricia Briggs and Carrie Vaughn. Mercy Thompson (Briggs) is a VW mechanic, and Kitty Norville (Vaughn) is a radio DJ. Those are the sort of books that are mostly considered urban fantasy, although it pretty much includes anything that has a modern setting and fantasy elements. Charles deLint is, or at least was, considered urban fantasy. The meaning has changed a lot to mean more the modern vampire/werewolf/etc type of book. Or something like that.
Moritz:
--- Quote from: Starbeam on April 23, 2008, 01:32:11 AM ---Most urban fantasy is first person, but not all the characters are PI types. Like Patricia Briggs and Carrie Vaughn. Mercy Thompson (Briggs) is a VW mechanic, and Kitty Norville (Vaughn) is a radio DJ. Those are the sort of books that are mostly considered urban fantasy, although it pretty much includes anything that has a modern setting and fantasy elements. Charles deLint is, or at least was, considered urban fantasy. The meaning has changed a lot to mean more the modern vampire/werewolf/etc type of book. Or something like that.
--- End quote ---
thanks for the first post which actually answers my questions.
and yes, I am aware that UF is a lot more than that particular style, but I am asking specifically about it.
hamiltond:
I know this is a sore subject for many of us in the UF fandom, but LKH (Ms. Hamilton) has written some of the best work in the genre. At least up until Narcisuss in Chains. Try her first novel: Guilty Pleasure's. I would suggest not skipping around with her work since the tone of the books have changed greatly and she no longer writes "jumping on point" novels for the Anita Blake series. Tanya Huff is also very good at her work and I do enjoy the Kim Harrison novels.
What aspect of the genre do you like most? The mystery? the magic or the relationship? These are the three pillars of the UF landscape and most authors tend to lean on one more that the other. (i.e. LKH's Merry Gentry series which is ALL magic and sex and has NO mystery aspect whatsoever).
Jim Butcher is one of the few authors out there that has been able to maintain a good balance of all three after more than a few books.So many others only use the "mystery" as a plot device to futher the magic/shipping aspects of the series, which is IMHO a rather poor and lazy effort on the part of many ape LKH's success in the field as the reigning author in the genre. (She's the most well paid but he's probably the best he is at what he does) But Jim's the only one I've heard of who know exactly how many books he's going to write AND has an overarcing storyline.
Ok, I'm going to stop rambling now. Hope my stint on the soapbox helps you out.
Franzeska:
--- Quote from: Moritz on April 22, 2008, 09:47:17 PM ---I recently found out (partly via amazon) that there is a whole bunch of books similar to Dresden Files. I mean that particular style of series with PIs and supernatural critters and so on. Supposedly a lot of overlap with romance stories lately.
I have read some reviews, talked with some people about it, and have come to the conclusion that I might limit my reading of this particular kind of UF to Dresden Files after all.
So as I have never read those other books (I am thinking about Patricia Briggs, Laurell Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Tanya Huff, Carrie Vaughn etc. here)
- are they - writing style wise - in any way comparable to Jim Butcher?
- are the perspectives and the narrative styles similar?
--- End quote ---
The narration style (1st person, a bit detective novel-y) shows up in plenty of other series. Many of them, however, are also filed under "paranormal romance", which means that Bob would love them, but I usually don't.
LKH wrote 3-4 nice supernatural mystery novels before the series started changing. I eventually stopped reading it after the lame porn completely overwhelmed the early police cases. I see a very strong similarity between those very early books and the Dresden Files.
I read Tanya Huff's Blood Ties series years and years ago and liked it a lot, but it belongs to an older style of urban fantasy, as do the Diana Tregarde series by Mercedes Lackey (which I also recommend, unlike much of her recent work, and it's only three books long). I have a hard time articulating the difference clearly, but you could probably divide these works into pre- and post-Buffy periods.
I also recommend Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire) Series. I've only read a couple, and they were definitely more in the romance direction than the Dresden Files, but they have more mystery and less porn than a lot of the crap infesting the genre.
Personally, I've given up looking for other series of this type because I can't relate to the female characters in any of them. This should be totally ridiculous given what a guy perspective we get in the Dresden Files, but I find that Jim's writing makes it sound like he actually likes and respects women, while Laurell K. Hamilton's writing, even in book 1 of her series, made it sound like she hated all other women and wanted all the boys to pay attention to her. (What is this, junior high?) Other books that I've skimmed at the bookstore (mostly from romance imprints) have the unmistakable ring of chicklit--not a style I like at all--or have prose that I can't stomach. Rant, rant, rant. (Though, for what it's worth, I haven't read the other authors you mention, so this is not an anti-recommendation of any of them.)
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