Urban fantasy is a subset of fantasy defined by place; the fantasic narrative has an urban setting. Many Urban fantasies are set in contemporary times or contain supernatural elements. However, this is not the primary definition of Urban fantasy.[1] Urban fantasy can be set in historical times, Modern times, or futuristic times. The prerequisite is that it must be set in a city, primarily rather than in a suburban or country setting, which have their own genre subsets.[2]
Contents |
Characteristics
Urban according to Dictionary.com means "of, pertaining to, or designating a city or town." [3] Thus anything in the Urban Fantasy has to be set in a city and contain a fantasy element in it. It can be magic, paranormal, vampires, in a any time genre.
Urban fantasy tends to also include problems with inner city life, such as gangs, city management problems, and dealing with living in a city setting while having elements of fantasy which can range from different themes and different place settings.[4] This genre tends to also include other genre sub sets of Fantasy, including Contemporary fantasy and paranormal fantasy. These are not required to make it Urban fantasy, however recent trends as of 2009 often include these elements.[1] There is Urban fantasy where the place is set in a city which is not in contemporary times, such as Tee Morris's The Case of the Singing Sword: A Billibub Baddings Mystery. In this fantasy, a Dwarf is a detective in an old Chicago. The majority of the action happens in Chicago and deals with Chicago's problems in the 1930's. This still qualifies as Urban Fantasy as per 1990s critic John Clute's definition of Urban Fantasy. The city may also be fictional and set on another planet, as long as the city becomes a character or a major element in the story itself. This is shown with Charles de Lint's Dreams Underfoot (1993) and its sequels, set in the imaginary city of Newford[5]
The city setting does not preclude time or theme sub genres. It merely tells where the action will be set.
History of Urban Fantasy
This type of urban fantasy, which Library Journal calls traditional urban fantasy[6] arose as an acknowledged subgenre in the late 1980s and early nineties. Emma Bull's 1987 War for the Oaks, in which the geography and culture of the city of Minneapolis play an important role, is a seminal work.[7] This set a precedent in which cities were the major focus and continued to be the focus.
Laurell K. Hamilton's “Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter” novels (1993 and following) are early examples of this type of urban fantasy.[6] This later influenced other works to also have vampires in the city and set a precedent for paranormal fiction in an Urban setting.
The Borrible Trilogy
Preceding all of these works is The Borrible Trilogy, published between 1976 and 1986. The books recount the adventures of Borribles: immortal, runaway children who live in squats across London, shunning work and money and stealing what they need to survive.
Urban fantasy authors
- Ilona Andrews (The Kate Daniels series)[6]
- Kelley Armstrong (The Women of the Otherworld series)[6]
- Keri Arthur (The The Spook Squad series)[6]
- Holly Black (The The Modern Faerie Tales series).[6]
- Patricia Briggs (The Mercedes Thompson series)
- Emma Bull (War for the Oaks)[6]
- Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files series)[6]
- Rachel Caine (The Weather Warden series)[6]
- Cinda Williams Chima (The The Heir Trilogy). [6]
- Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments series)[8]
- S. J. Day (The Marked series)[6]
- P.N. Elrod (The Vampire Files series; The Lord Richard, Vampire Series (with Nigel Bennett)
- Yasmine Galenorn (The Otherworld Series) [6]
- Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere)[6]
- Simon R. Green (The Nightside series)[6]
- Laurell K. Hamilton (The Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter and Merry Gentry series)[6]
- Charlaine Harris (The Southern Vampire Mysteries series)[6]
- Kim Harrison (The Hollows series)[6]
- Mark Henry (novelist) (The Amanda Feral series)[6]
- Tanya Huff (The Enchantment Emporium)[9]
- Stacia Kane (The Downside series)
- Mercedes Lackey (Elves on the Road universe)[6]
- Charles de Lint (The Newford series)[6]
- Sergey Lukyanenko (Watch tetralogy)
- Kelly McCullough (The Webmage series)
- Seanan McGuire (The October Daye series)
- Richelle Mead (The Georgina Kincaid series)
- China Miéville (King Rat (1998 novel), Un Lun Dun, The City & the City)
- C.E. Murphy (The Walker Papers series)[6]
- Tim Powers (The Fault Line series)[citation needed]
- Tim Pratt (The Marla Mason series)
- Jennifer Rardin (The Jaz Parks series)
- Kat Richardson (The Greywalker series)[6]
- Rick Riordan (The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series).
- Will Shetterly (Bordertown novels Elsewhere and Nevernever)
- Terry Spear (The Heart of the Wolf series)
- Jeanne C. Stein (The Anna Strong series)
- Rob Thurman (Cal and Niko Leandros novels and Trick Of The Light)
- Carrie Vaughn (The Kitty Norville series)[6]
- Rachel Vincent (The The Shifters Series series).[6]
- Terri Windling (The Borderlands series).[6]
See Also
Notes
- ^ a b Bond 2009
- ^ Clute and Grant 1999, p. 975
- ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Urban
- ^ Clute and Grant 1999, p. 148
- ^ Clute and Grant 1999, p. 264
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Donoghue, "The City Fantastic"
- ^ Clute and Grant 1999, p. 148
- ^ Campbell, Heather M.. School Library Journal 53(2007): 130.
- ^ "Interview - Author Tanya Huff". http://www.scifiguy.ca/2009/06/interview-author-tanya-huff.html. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
References
- Bond, Gwenda (25 May 2009). "When Love Is Strange: Romance Continues its Affair with the Supernatural". Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6660125.html. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- Clute, John and John Grant (1999). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (2nd revised edition). Macmillan. ISBN 0312198698.
- Donohue, Nanette Wargo (1 June 2008). "Collection Development "Urban Fantasy": The City Fantastic". Library Journal. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6561372.html.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
