Urban Fantasy discussion

What do you think of fantasy works set in wholly imaginary worlds -- but cities?

It's been my experience that while they both can be fun, the high fantasy changes a lot of the urban experience.

Even when it features such different works as Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip, One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes, and War and XPs by Rich Burlew.

My husband had me read one like this The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe. I didn't love it like he does, but I liked it.

Here it is: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4675...

In DD Barant's thrilling contemporary fantasy and mystery series, FBI profiler Jace Valchek is pulled into a parallel universe to hunt a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. She works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America—and her boss is a vampire. Her job description is the “tracking and apprehension of mentally-fractured killers.” What this really means in Jace’s brave new world—one in which only one percent of the population is human—is that a woman’s work is never done.

I would stop at book 5 and make up your own ending, though. The 6th was a tremendous letdown that, though it is the final of the series, ends on a cliffhanger!

Who on earth ends the final book in a series on a cliffhanger?

Some of those sound vaguely interesting but not sure how I feel about high fantasy in an urban setting.

I think it depends on what one identifies as "high fantasy". So many UF, IMO, bleeds over. Kate Daniels carries a sword and there is sorcery - does that make the books high fantasy? There are dragons and swords and wizards in so many UF books. The Sword-Edged Blonde sounds to me like only high fantasy - but maybe I am wrong? Kings queens and royalty don't seem UF to me. Ah, well... it's fun to think about these things!

The definition of high fantasy with which I'm familiar is fantasy that takes place in a world that has been totally imagined by the author. It usually contains familiar fantasy elements, but this is due to a failure of imagination on the part of most authors. It may contain cities, but I wouldn't consider it urban fantasy if the novel took place entirely in a city in an imaginary world. YMMV.

My definition of urban fantasy is that it takes place in a city in our contemporary context. It's magic in the real world. Fantasy beings interact with the world that we all live in now.

So from my perspective, there is no such thing as a high fantasy that is also urban fantasy.

So, I Read This Book Today wrote: "I think it depends on what one identifies as "high fantasy". So many UF, IMO, bleeds over. Kate Daniels carries a sword and there is sorcery - does that make the books high fantasy? There are drago..."

No, of course not. High fantasy takes place in an imaginary world ala The Lord of the Rings -- that is, a world that does not even pretend to be ours except by sometimes being posited in the remote past or far-distant future.

Shomeret wrote: "So from my perspective, there is no such thing as a high fantasy that is also urban fantasy. "

Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean that high fantasies set in urban settings differ from the rest of that genre -- heavily rural, as indeed any world like that would be.

Richard wrote: "Who on earth ends the final book in a series on a cliffhanger?"

Someone whose publisher drops him.

Yasmine Galadorn writes high fantasy mixed with contemporary urban fantasy. The settings go back and forth between the other world and this one. Glen Cook writes a mystery/detective series that is set in a fantastic other world and is set in a city.

There is a lot of science fiction that is set entirely in a city, and a lot of high fantasy that is set almost entirely within a city or a palace. I see no reason to let the setting limit the imagination.

though i wouldn't classify either of them as "high fantasy" - that's the sort of thing that's firmly LOTR or The King of Elfland's Daughter - 2 examples jumped right into my head. both The Etched City and Perdido Street Station take place in fantastical cities that are very much NOT earth in the here-and-now, and both are really weird and really good.

I loved Perdido Street Station....

I really enjoy the crossing over of worlds - it's great when a character references something that I know about in my everyday life so even when it may be a completely non earthly domain, that moment that something resonates with my life gives it extra meaning for me. Haven't read Perdido - but will now.

Another one is The Queen's Necklace by Teresa Edgerton. Some high fantasy tropes, some clockpunk tropes, a lot of cities.

Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, along with The Privilege of the Sword and The Fall of the Kings are high-ish fantasy taking place in an invented capital city, mostly.

Stella Gemell her book The City is based in a city which has been lived in for 1000s of years.

You should read The Thorn of Dentonhill by Marshall Ryan Maresca, which focuses a great deal on the invented city of Maradaine.

Just finished The Iron Ship by K.M.McKinley -the way that she develops a quasi-industrial world and peoples it with the enslavement of the Tyn is very clever- high fantasy meets Flintlock fantasy

Mark wrote: "Stella Gemell her book The City is based in a city which has been lived in for 1000s of years."

yes....just finished that and his other book "Murder of Mages" really enjoyed both books especially since i haven't read fantasy for quite some time