feuervogel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
feuervogel) wrote2010-10-07 12:25 pm
feuervogel) wrote2010-10-07 12:25 pm
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Urban fantasy?
I'm not an avid reader of urban fantasy; it seems to be essentially fairies/werewolves/vampires/angels&demons/whatever are real and Our Hero/ine has to foil their evil plots. There's a thin boundary between UF and paranormal romance, at least in today's market. I enjoy the Dresden Files, however, despite Harry being a jerk. I'm fond of plots with politics and double- or triple-crossing and shadowy conspiracies, which the Dresden Files have in spades.
(When book 10 came out, Phil said it went in a direction that wasn't like the previous books, and I asked if it went into the whole Black Council stuff, and he looked a little surprised & said yes. I pick up on things like that. Well, and it seemed pretty obvious that that's where it was going, and it would have been a huge let-down if Butcher had dropped the thread of that. Huh, maybe I have a better grasp of structure than I thought.)
But at its core, urban fantasy is just fantasy set in a city. Does that make Swordspoint UF? And I guess also Shades of Milk and Honey? Hell, by that definition, much of the Nightrunners series is UF.
I guess, technically, "U8: Alexanderplatz" is also UF: it's fantasy set in a city (a very small part of a city). This kind of weirds me out. But at ReaderCon, people *really* liked it. (I don't know about the other readings, since I missed them because of Stupid Illness, but I've been told it got a good reception at NASFiC.) One person told me she thought it would make a good basis for a novel.
But I don't *write* UF... I write space opera and politics and splosions and selflessness and duty and strength in adversity.
But Berlin keeps calling me. I want to write something set in Berlin, with the city as a character. During the Mauerzeit. Or in the days of the Kaisers. Or ... I don't know. It's just so vague, you know? This feeling like there's a story I want to tell, but I haven't found it yet. Or it hasn't found me.
It'll most likely involve trains. Trains are awesome. And train stations that aren't in service anymore because they were bombed.
(When book 10 came out, Phil said it went in a direction that wasn't like the previous books, and I asked if it went into the whole Black Council stuff, and he looked a little surprised & said yes. I pick up on things like that. Well, and it seemed pretty obvious that that's where it was going, and it would have been a huge let-down if Butcher had dropped the thread of that. Huh, maybe I have a better grasp of structure than I thought.)
But at its core, urban fantasy is just fantasy set in a city. Does that make Swordspoint UF? And I guess also Shades of Milk and Honey? Hell, by that definition, much of the Nightrunners series is UF.
I guess, technically, "U8: Alexanderplatz" is also UF: it's fantasy set in a city (a very small part of a city). This kind of weirds me out. But at ReaderCon, people *really* liked it. (I don't know about the other readings, since I missed them because of Stupid Illness, but I've been told it got a good reception at NASFiC.) One person told me she thought it would make a good basis for a novel.
But I don't *write* UF... I write space opera and politics and splosions and selflessness and duty and strength in adversity.
But Berlin keeps calling me. I want to write something set in Berlin, with the city as a character. During the Mauerzeit. Or in the days of the Kaisers. Or ... I don't know. It's just so vague, you know? This feeling like there's a story I want to tell, but I haven't found it yet. Or it hasn't found me.
It'll most likely involve trains. Trains are awesome. And train stations that aren't in service anymore because they were bombed.
no subject
Though that said, there are plenty of fantasy novels these days that follow the tropes of the urban fantasy genre while having more traditional fantasy settings.
And you're right, many things calling themselves "urban fantasy" are really thinly disguised paranormal romance. Which is nice if that's what you like to read, but it drives me a little spare, too. ;)
no subject
Yeah, I'm not anti-romance -- by any means -- but the paranormal romance isn't really my cuppa. And if I want to read a story about a wizard detective solving crimes, I don't want to find vampire orgies instead. (I've never read LKH, and from what I've heard, I shouldn't.)
no subject
And you should stay very far away from LKH, yes. I read the first several and they were not good, but they were entertaining. I bailed as soon as she took a hard right turn into pr0nland and haven't missed her since.