The series is a young adult take on urban fantasy, much like harry potter is, although pullman uses the story to to take a swing at organized religions as well, giving it a bit more bite. With complex characters who are neither purely good or evil, this is a unique urban fantasy series. Favorite urban fantasy books the technical urban fantasy definition is. Urban fantasy is a subset of contemporary fantasy, consisting of magical novels and stories set in contemporary, realworld, urban settings the lightning thief and city of bones take place in urban settings for large parts of the books at least therefore they are urban fantasy. My name is rhymer, and im an urban fantasy author myself, though my first book doesnt come out until later this year. Top ten urban fantasy series march 11, 2014 august 12, 2015 posted in readers advisory, reading life, top ten tuesday top ten tuesday is. When gaiman released american gods a few years later, it was an even bigger success, garnering awards and praise as one of the best novels of the twentyfirst century. New york times bestselling author seanan mcguire is the author of the october daye urban fantasy series, the incryptid series, and several other. I though it was a good idea, so below it is a running list that gets added to. But as i discovered through these creative series, we have only scratched the surface of the innovative.
Very witty humour with very humane themes throughout. Best strong female fantasy novels, the best urban fantasy, best adult urban fantasy, fantasy and paranormal romance, best unknown but. Urban fantasy, for those who dont know, is fantasy that is set in our world, not a completely different one. Urban fantasy is a slippery sort of subgenre, but to me, calling a book urban. Fantasy can go far beyond standard medievalist settings, with stories that play out in alternate versions of the american old west, like in stephen kings the dark tower, in magical realms where animals talk, like the world of redwall by brian jacques, or in gritty urban settings, like that in. Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the broke and the bookish. It includes original television movies, miniseries and television serials in the fantasy genre and its various subgenres. Join as we count down our picks for the top 10 fantasy shows. Seanan mcguires personal top ten urban fantasy books for adults. Top ten tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the broke and the bookish.
Geralt of rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles. Pack your crucifix and silver bullets, and watch out for werewolves. Wellknown 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. We recently provided you with a list of a dozen ongoing urban fantasy series for your bingereading pleasure, but if theres one thing we know about this addictive fantasy subgenre, its that it can often seem rarer to find a completed series than an ongoing oneauthors are happy to chug along, racking up more than a dozen volumes featuring a beloved character.
From werewolves in manhattan to gnomes in suburban gardens, it is a major part of the movement that is redefining fantasy in the 21stcentury. These are all adult series so most of them wont be suitable for younger readers but theyre all fantastic and books im happy to shout. At first the idea of ghosts and vampires left me cold. Kuang, you will find a military fantasy with an orphan girl at the center of it all. Darby stanchfield, connor jessup, emilia jones, jackson robert scott. It is a subgenre of fantasy where common fantasy conventions are placed in an urban, modern setting. When gaiman released american gods a few years later, it was an even bigger success, garnering awards and praise as one of the best novels. What are the top ten urban fantasy series that every fan. The top section is a list created by tor publishing. One of the few books that can authentically make me laugh. So if you love good fantasy books about magic and wizardry, the harry potter series is one of the best fantasy series of alltime. The dresden files, by jim butcher 16 books wizard harry dresden is the king of urban fantasy, and the dresden files are the gold standard for the gene. However you define it, its been a wildly popular field for some time and theres lots of great books out there.
If you know of a great sidekick, please add it to the list and make sure to include it on the page to the series he or she belongs to in the worldbuilding section just about the character chart. I dont know about you, but ive really gotten hooked on urban fantasy lately. Todays topic is a halloween freebie so ive decided to talk about my top ten urban fantasy series. But urban fantasy as the name suggests takes fantasy tropes, archetypes, creatures etc etc and moves them into an urban environment, not just an urban environment but the kind of gritty urban environment that is almost a character unto itself, for the example david ayers upcoming netflix original movie bright takes orcs, dwarves and elves. Before the awardwinning hbo series game of thrones, there was a song of ice and fire. Tv land takes a crack at stephen kings sprawling fantasy series after hollywood.
Its about charles, the marroks son, and his mate, anna. Works of urban fantasy are set primarily in the real world and contain aspects of fantasy, such as the discovery of. Martins epic fantasy series takes place on the fictional continents of westeros and essos, and revolves around three central plotlines. Paranormal romance and urban fantasy are two of the hottest subgenres around. Since were all stuck at home, ive found myself with a lot of extra time between editsrewrites, and am keen to get into some official beta reading. Whether youre a swords and sorcery type of fantasy reader, a fan of battles and betrayal, or you just want a few more goddamn elves in your life, theres. The combination of reallife grit with the supernatural elements and mythologies found in scifi and fantasy is currently thriving in the urban.
Its since contracted and stabilizedalthough id argue were on the precipice of seeing a revival featuring more diverse casts and authorsbut here a couple standout top fantasy books from that prior era. All books that fit into the contemporary fantasy category. Top ten urban fantasy novels reading through the night. Top 5 urban fantasy and epic fantasy books once upon a. The series is somewhere between urban fantasy and paranormal romance it is written in third person, both from charles and annas povs, which clearly indicates pnr, but its focused on more than just their. I have already done a top ten high fantasy post so i decided to do a top ten urban fantasy list. Any pnr or ya wit little cross over appeal is not included.
Based on historical events, the poppy war, brilliantly written, shows you how this war orphan aced the keju, a test that finds the most talented youth, entered the most elite military school, and discovered her unknown power. What are some adult urban fantasy series with great world. Seanan mcguires personal top ten urban fantasy books for. The dresden files my personal favorite in this genre. They can also be quite difficult to distinguish, with lots of overlap. Richly intertwined fantasy comedy with series within a series. Banks is best known for her 12book vampire huntress legend series, but if you re looking for a break from the bloodsuckers, the six crimson. When gaiman released american gods a few years later, it was an even bigger success, garnering awards and praise as. The magic users in the world draw from every major and minor culture, religion, and fantasy trope on earth and quite a few that dont exist. Urban fantasy is perhaps one of the most exciting subgenre fantasies right now. This is a new list please help populate it by adding your favourite uf series. The urban fantasy genre seems to be exploding in popularity lately, both in the. Horror fans may be interested to know that mcguire also writes as mira grant, author of feed and parasite. The sister subgenre to contemporary fantasy, urban fantasy experienced a boom in the 2000s and early 2010s.
Its often a matter of degree, but in paranormal romance the focus is on the relationship of the main characters and the supernatural elements. My favorite of my urban fantasies and paranormal romances. Goodreads defines urban fantasy as a subset of contemporary fantasy, consisting of novels and stories with supernatural andor magical elements set in contemporary, realworld, urban settingsas opposed to traditional fantasy set in. They should be added to the sisterlist best uf standalone novels. Roleplay gaming and fantasy novels have gone handinhand for most of their existence, but its a. The romantic elements are way better done than the rest of the romantic urban fantasy books, and not the primary focus of the story. Works of urban fantasy have been adapted to or have originated in film and television. The 10 best completed sf and fantasy series according to. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Today, the guys in the goodreads top 5 wednesday group have an interesting topic, one which is straight forward and to the point.
Urban fantasy is a slippery sort of subgenre, but to me, calling a book urban fantasy means it is set in a modern, urban society with an overlay of fantasy elements e. List of sidekicks heroines and heroes often have great sidekicks. Star rating is 15 stars and for the series as a whole. In the first installment of the october daye series, mcguire drops readers into a world of san francisco where faeries reign in the shadows. The 37 best urban fantasy books and series of all time. A modern remake of one of the most popular jrpg games of all times, developed for playstation 4 by the longstanding publisher of the final fantasy series, japanese company square enix. The other head of the urban fantasy revolution was neil gaiman, who enthralled millions with the 1996 urban fantasy noveltv series neverwhere. The book has some really strong characters and didnt fall back on familiar character tropes. Certain staples of urbanfantasy novels are also present in television shows. The fantasy part can include magic, mythology, and supernatural powers and creatures. The best fantasy novels of 2018 deliver thrilling reads, tackling everything from epic high fantasy to literary fiction that just happens to star a greek goddess. My top 5 urban fantasy television shows stacy benedict.
This list excludes fantasy films originally made for the cinema, which are listed at list of fantasy films. Even the authors know they are bloated beasts, for example take tad williams, writer of. Three siblings who move into their ancestral estate after their fathers murder discover their new homes magical keys, which must be used in their stand against an evil creature who wants the keys and their powers. Browse our latest titles in the urban fantasy best sellers category to discover your next read from. Ya is where some of the best fantasy is currently being written, and kristin cashores acclaimed graceling realm series is among them. On a personal note, i loved her jill kismet urban fantasy series. Urban fantasy must be set in a specific, contemporary city in which the flavour of that city strongly influences the story.
I cant come up with 10, but heres my recommendation. The wheel of time is one of the preeminent fantasy series of the late 90searly 2000s. The ones that begin so grandly then morph into multivolume nightmares that never seem to end. Jordan was an absolute titan of fantasy, with his books selling upwards of 80 million copies, according to. Its one of the most wellknown, wellloved series running, and for damn good reasons. It is awesome the way it came up with an idea that not a single person had ever used before and turn it into a massive ten book series. Visit other sites in the penguin random house network. This is not a list of the very best, you must read this, absolutely essential urban fantasy books.
The urban part does not necessarily mean the story must be set in a large city. I have read the entire series 3 times and have loved even more every time. Alpha and omega series by patricia briggs is set in the same universe as her mercy thompson series see no. Readers warn that its a shaky start to a good series. So please enjoy my picks in no particular order for the top 5 urban fantasy and epic fantasy books.
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