Urban fantasy

Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Urban fantasy exists on one side of a spectrum, opposite high fantasy, which is set in an entirely fictitious world. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods, and the settings may include fictional elements. The prerequisite is that they must be primarily set in a city.[1][2]

Characteristics

Urban fantasy describes a work that is set primarily in the real world and contains aspects of fantasy. These matters may involve the arrivals of alien races, the discovery of earthbound mythological creatures, coexistence between humans and paranormal beings, conflicts between humans and malicious paranormals, and subsequent changes to city management.[3][4]

Although stories may be set in contemporary times, this characteristic is not necessary for the fiction to be considered urban fantasy,[1] as works of the genre may also take place in futuristic and historical settings, real or imagined.[3] Author Marie Brennan has set urban fantasy in Elizabethan London, while author Charles de Lint has featured the genre in the fictional city of Newford.[2][5]

Novels

Adult fiction

Many urban-fantasy novels geared toward adults are told via a first-person narrative, and often feature mythological beings, romance, and various female protagonists who are involved in law enforcement or vigilantism.[1][6] Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series—which follows the investigations of a supernatural Federal Marshal during paranormal cases—has been called a substantial and influential work of the genre.[7] Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan novels, also regarded as inspirational works, feature a bounty-hunting "witch-born" demon who battles numerous supernatural foes.[8] The Charlie Madigan series, by Kelly Gay, explores the challenges a police officer faces while trying to balance her paranormal cases with life as a single mother.[3]

In addition to books which present largely independent characters, certain stories feature men and women who are regularly partnered on adventures—often with an underlying romantic element. The Jaz Parks series, by Jennifer Rardin, follows the titular CIA operative and her vampire boss as they combat supernatural threats to national security.[9] Jocelynn Drake's Dark Days novels follow a vampire named Mira and a vampire hunter named Danaus, who work together to protect their people from a mutual enemy.[10] Night Huntress, a series by Jeaniene Frost, centers on a half-vampire named Catherine and a vampire bounty hunter called Bones, who gradually become lovers while battling the undead.[11]

Teen fiction

While several adult stories focus on professional heroes, many teen urban-fantasy novels follow inexperienced protagonists who are unexpectedly drawn into paranormal struggles. Amidst these conflicts, characters often gain allies, find romance, and, in some cases, develop or discover supernatural abilities of their own.[6] In Kelley Armstrong's The Darkest Powers series, a group of teens with paranormal talents go on the run while fleeing from a persistent band of scientists.[12] Gone, by Michael Grant, follows an isolated town in which adults have mysteriously disappeared, leaving a society of super-powered children behind.[13] In Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand, a girl discovers that she is part angel and gifted with superhuman abilities, leading her to seek out her purpose on Earth.[14] The Immortals series, by Alyson Noël, follows a girl who gains special abilities after recovering from an accident, and also grows close to a mysterious new boy at her school.[15] In addition, love triangles play a prominent part in these and several other urban-fantasy novels.[16][17]

In certain books, a boarding school or similar institution holds a significant role in the story. Rampant, by Diana Peterfreund, follows a group of young women at a cloisters as they train to fight killer unicorns.[18] The House of Night series, by P. C. and Kristin Cast, presents a school where future vampires are disciplined while on the path to transformation, during which several romantic conflicts and other clashes ensue.[19] Claudia Gray's Evernight novels center on a mysterious academy, where a romantic bond develops between a girl born to vampires, and a boy who hunts them.[20] Fallen, by Lauren Kate, revolves around a student named Luce who finds herself drawn to a boy named Daniel, unaware that he is a fallen angel who shares a history with her.[21] Other series, such as Carrie Jones's Need, have characters moving to new locations but attending public schools while discovering mysterious occurrences elsewhere in their towns.[22]

A common thread running through almost all teen urban fantasy is that, in addition to these teens dealing with stakes possibly as large as the fate of the world, they're also coming into their own and learning who they are. These coming-of-age themes and a teen 'voice' are what distinguish young-adult urban fantasy from adult books in the genre.[23]

Distinction from paranormal romance

In an online commentary, author Jeannie Holmes described differences between urban fantasy and paranormal romance:[1]

The two share 90% of their genre DNA. However, the main differences are this: Urban fantasy focuses on an issue outside of a romantic relationship between two characters. Paranormal romance focuses on a romantic relationship between two characters and how outside forces affect that relationship. The best litmus test to determine if a story is urban fantasy or paranormal romance is to ask the following question: 'If the romance between Character A and Character B were removed, would the plot still stand as a viable storyline?' If the answer is 'yes,' chances are good it's urban fantasy. If the answer is 'no,' it's most likely paranormal romance.

Media tie-ins

In the case of urban-fantasy novels, the use of other media has become a common part of creation and promotion.

Music

"Sometimes the songs influence the book and sometimes it’s the other way around, but either way the playlist eventually comes to epitomize the feeling of the book to me."

—Christina Henry[24]

Several urban-fantasy authors cite music as an inspiration. On their official Websites, certain writers recommend numerous songs (or "playlists") which can be listened to while reading portions of their novels. In addition, authors such as Courtney Allison Moulton, Jaye Wells, and Sarah J. Maas have linked to services which offer such tracks.[25][26] Publishers have also used music for book videos, including the trailer for Carrie Jones's Captivate, which features the work of songwriter Derek Daisey.[27][28]

Original music is also produced. In 2010, musicians Alexandra Monir, Michael Bearden, and Heather Holley (a songwriter for Christina Aguilera's Stripped) collaborated to create songs for Monir's debut novel, Timeless.[29]

Video

Book trailers are often used to promote urban-fantasy novels.[30] Publishers such as HarperCollins also produce regular video interviews with debuting authors.[31]

Comics and manga

Adaptations of urban-fantasy novels have appeared in comic books and manga. Among the tales to be adapted are Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series,[32] Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson stories,[33] and Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely.[34] Original manga series which take place in urban-fantasy settings include Q Hayashida's Dorohedoro and Yasuhiro Nightow's Blood Blockade Battlefront.

Film and television

Several tales of urban fantasy have appeared in live-action format. Additionally, some stories have debuted as films before finding further success as television shows. Well-known examples include the 1992 series Highlander and the TV adaptation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is regarded as a seminal work of the genre.[6]

Certain staples of urban-fantasy novels are also present in television shows. The concept of peaceful coexistence with paranormal beings is explored in the 1996 series Kindred: The Embraced, which focuses on secret vampire clans in San Francisco.[35] Works such as Witchblade present the more common matter of a protagonist attempting to protect citizens.[36]

While urban-fantasy novels are often centered on heroines, live-action works have regularly featured both genders in leading roles.[37] Shows such as Supernatural, The Tomorrow People, Beauty and the Beast, Forever Knight, Moonlight, The Dresden Files, and Grimm are based around male protagonists, while other programs, including Once Upon a Time, Lost Girl and Witchblade, focus largely on women.[38]

History

According to Library Journal, "traditional urban fantasy" arose as an acknowledged subgenre in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[39]

Terri Windling's shared Borderlands universe, launched in the mid-1980s, is touted by Neil Gaiman as "one of the most important places where Urban Fantasy began"[40] with Tor.com claiming that "some say, Urban Fantasy was born in Bordertown," which provided "young, beginning writers like Charles de Lint and Emma Bull" with a platform for the new genre.[41]

Several publications and writers have cited authors Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison as notable contributors to the genre. Entertainment Weekly,[42] USA Today,[43] and Time[7] have recognized the longevity and influence of Hamilton's stories, while The New York Times[44] and Amazon.com[45] have noted the work of Kim Harrison. Author Courtney Allison Moulton has cited Hamilton's early works among her inspirations.[46] Kelly Gay has noted Hamilton, Harrison, and Emma Bull as primary influences.[47]

Etymology

The term urban fantasy has been in use in print from as far back as the early 20th century. However, when used then, the term described a characteristic of some object or place. For example, in Horst Schmidt-Brummer's 1973 book about Venice, California, he adds the subtitle, "An Urban Fantasy", to denote nostalgia for what he feels is a bygone lack of appreciation for the uniqueness of the city.[48] And in various New York Times advertisements in 1928 through 1930 for the St. Regis hotel, the term appears to imply that the hotel's setting is a sort of paradise: "Never was an urban fantasy so enchanting..."[49]

It was not until the 1980s that the term began to describe a style of fiction. An example of this is Marta Randall's San Francisco Chronicle review of Down Town by Tappan King, illustrated by Viido Polikarpus. In it, Randall states that the book is "the most engaging of the current crop of urban fantasies".[50] Another example is a 1987 New York Times article concerning the conclusion of a study conducted by the BBC about violence in U.S. television, which calls the television series The Equalizer a "highly popular urban fantasy".[51]

Authors

The following is an incomplete list of notable authors of urban fantasy. According to 2013 statistics by the fantasy publisher Tor Books, among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men, whereas men outnumber women by about two to one in writing historical, epic or high fantasy.[52]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Holmes, Jeannie (December 21, 2010). "Writing Urban Fantasy, Part 1". jeannieholmes.com. Retrieved May 17, 2012. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6XcSwCFYE)
  2. 1 2 Datlow, Ellen (2011). Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 978-0-312-38524-8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Better Part of Darkness review". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Deadtown by Nancy Holzner". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Pagan, Bella (November 13, 2007). "Midnight is in fact coming to Orbit!". orbitbooks.net. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 Miller, Laura (January 23, 2009). "A guide to vampire fiction with real bite". salon.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Cruz, Gilbert (October 30, 2008). "Q&A:Vampire Novelist Laurell K. Hamilton". Time. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Black Magic Sanction overview". barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  9. 1 2 "Once Bitten, Twice Shy review". powells.com. October 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  10. 1 2 "About the Book: Dayhunter". harpercollins.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ "About the Book: Destined for an Early Grave". harpercollins.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  12. ↑ "The Awakening review". lovevampires.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  13. 1 2 "About the Book: Gone". harperteen.com. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  14. 1 2 "About the Book: Unearthly". harperteen.com. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  15. 1 2 "Evermore". macmillan.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  16. ↑ Brennan, Marie (February 14, 2008). "Love triangulation". sfnovelists.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  17. ↑ Brennan, Marie (November 29, 2007). "Love triangles". community.livejournal.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  18. 1 2 "Interview With Diana Peterfreund". angieville.blogspot.com. August 24, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Marked". macmillan.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  20. 1 2 "Book Review: Hourglass". bookfizz.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  21. 1 2 "Fallen by Lauren Kate". randomhouse.com. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  22. 1 2 "Need". bloomsburykids.com. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Vandergrift's Coming-of-Age Stories". rutgers.edu.
  24. 1 2 Henry, Christina (September 8, 2010). "On the importance of playlists". christinahenry.net. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  25. 1 2 Moulton, Courtney. "The Playlist". courtneyallisonmoulton.com. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  26. ↑ Wells, Jaye. "Extras". jayewells.com. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Captivate book trailer". bloomsburykids.com. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  28. ↑ Daisey, Derek. "Derek Daisey". myspace. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  29. ↑ "Alexandra Monir News". alexandramonir.com. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  30. ↑ Womack, Jack (January 25, 2010). "Book Trailers: Love 'em? Hate 'em?". orbitbooks.net. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  31. 1 2 "About the Book: Paranormalcy". HarperCollins. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse". goodreads.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  33. ↑ "Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson: Moon Called #1". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  34. ↑ "Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales". goodreads.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  35. ↑ "Editorial Reviews". amazon.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  36. ↑ Mabe, Chauncey (June 15, 2002). "Witchblade: Heavy-Metal Heroine Forged Anew In Series". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  37. ↑ Lowry, Brian (September 21, 2007). "TV Reviews: 'Moonlight'". Variety. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  38. ↑ Lowry, Brian (January 16, 2012). "TV Reviews: 'Lost Girl'". Variety. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Donohue, Nanette Wargo (June 1, 2008). "Collection Development "Urban Fantasy": The City Fantastic". Library Journal.
  40. ↑ "The Borderland Series". Editing Desk. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  41. ↑ "An Introduction to Bordertown". Tor.com. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  42. ↑ Garcia, Catherine (June 1, 2010). "Q&A: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter author Laurell K. Hamilton". ew.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  43. ↑ Memmott, Carol (June 28, 2006). "Vampire stories are in this writer's blood". USA Today. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  44. ↑ Garner, Dwight (April 8, 2007). "TBR: Inside the List". The New York Times. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  45. ↑ "Editorial Reviews". amazon.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  46. ↑ "Interview with Courtney Allison Moulton, Debut Author of Angelfire". mundiemoms.blogspot.com. February 12, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  47. ↑ M, Sara (December 9, 2009). "Author Interview and Giveaway: Kelly Gay". urbanfantasyreader.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  48. ↑ Schmidt-Brummer, Horst (1973). Venice, California: An Urban Fantasy. New York: Grossman Publishers. pp. 1–7. ISBN 0670745057.
  49. ↑ Unknown (November 6, 1928). "The Seaglade Advertisement, p39". The New York Times.
  50. ↑ Randall, Marta (July 21, 1985). "Short Fiction's Set Firmly in Sci-Fi's Orbit". San Francisco Chronicle.
  51. ↑ Clines, Francis (August 15, 1987). "BBC Study Finds U.S. TV More Violent". The New York Times.
  52. ↑ Crisp, Julie (10 July 2013). "SEXISM IN GENRE PUBLISHING: A PUBLISHER'S PERSPECTIVE". Tor Books. Retrieved 29 April 2015. (See full statistics)
  53. ↑ Hollands, Neil (August 15, 2011). "ljx110801SFpreview". Libraryjournal.com. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  54. ↑ "Jennifer Lynn Barnes". randomhouse.com. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  55. ↑ "The Demon's Lexicon: Book Summary & Video". books.simonandschuster.com. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  56. ↑ Guran, Paula. "Review". Fantasy Magazine. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  57. ↑ Campbell, Heather M.. School Library Journal 53(2007): 130.
  58. ↑ "Smoke & Demons by AJ Harper". Oakland magazine. Retrieved October 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  59. ↑ "About the Book: Moonlight". harperteen.com. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  60. ↑ "Books by Kevin Hearne".
  61. ↑ "Interview – Author Tanya Huff". Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  62. ↑ Fox, Rose. "PW Talks with Benedict Jacka, Cont.". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  63. ↑ "Review: The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  64. ↑ "About the Book: Wicked Lovely". harperteen.com. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  65. ↑ "October Daye Novels". seananmcguire.com.
  66. ↑ "The Sweet Scent of Blood". SF Site. 2009.
  67. ↑ "Vampire buzz takes bite in Kirkland". Kirkland Reporter. December 21, 2009.
  68. ↑ "Three Days to Dead review". lovevampires.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  69. ↑ "Urban Fantasy Round-up". Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  70. ↑ "Publishers Marketplace: Jackson Pearce". publishersmarketplace.com. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  71. ↑ Moore, Tammy. "Dead is the New Black review". greenmanreview.com. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  72. ↑ "Alex Craft Novels". penguingroup.com. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  73. ↑ Riordan, Rick. "Where did you get the idea for Percy Jackson?". p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  74. ↑ "The Dark Thorn by Shawn Speakman".
  75. ↑ Tim Davis (September 13, 2009). "Dead to Me by Anton Strout". Bookloons.com.
  76. ↑ "Mark Teppo: Of Men and Magick ...". Fantasy Magazine. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  77. ↑ Pagan, Bella (June 3, 2008). "Deals and Deliveries". orbitbooks.net. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  78. ↑ "Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
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