Isn't It Necromantic? - A Dark Urban Fantasy

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by bucsie

A bit of magic would be fine, just no more fangs or fur

Yes! Thank you for voicing my thoughts.

I don't know when vampires and werewolves wandered out of the horror section, but I have a very hard time considering them in what one traditionally thinks of as fantasy. Charles de Lint's Wolf Moon is the only thing I can think of that merges werewolves and fantasy well.

I can't say that I've ever read anything that I would consider dark urban fantasy. The closest would be Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry.

[tponzo]

I really like P.N. Elrod although sometimes her books are harder to find. Vampires but not touchy feely and little to no romance

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by jehane

Could have sworn I replied to this previously. Anyway, here goes again.

An author I haven't yet seen mentioned is Sergei Lukyanenko with his four-book Watch series, beginning with Night Watch. AFAIK they are his only works to be translated into English. Set in contemporary Moscow (most of the time), each book contains three linked novellas. Each book and each novella has a complete story arc, though the series as a whole less so.

Read all of these and really liked them. I got into them because of the Nightwatch movie, but the books are better and quite different from the movies made.

I finished the trilogy last year and read The Last Watch in January.

Plenty of good things to talk about in this series.

Regards
Caleb

[DMcCunney]

Depending on how dark you want it, I recommend Laura Anne Gilman's _Retrievers_ series.

They take place in present day New York, but magic works and magical creatures live side by side with humans. Protagonist Wren Valere is a Talent - someone capable of sensing and manipulating a magical force called Current. This is a mixed blessing - among other things, Current tends to follow the same paths as electricity, and electronic gadgets misbehave badly in Wren's presence. Current is also addictive, and Talents face the risk of becoming Whizzers - people who have gotten lost in the Current flow and gone insane.

Wren is a Retriever. Her particular skill is locating and getting back objects people have lost, usually by stealing them back from the people who stole them in the first place. Her business partner and manager, Sergei, is a Null - someone who can't sense Current. Her best friend, PB, is a demon who makes his living as a messenger and looks like a 4' tall polar bear. Sergei owns an art gallery, but has a past that will affect Wren, and their relationship is complicated by growing feelings for each other.

For the most part, normal human beings aren't aware there is magic around them, and simply don't notice the magical beings, but interactions do occur and sometimes get ugly.

Wren's problems are compounded by the Cosa Nostradamus, a sort of mage's guild that is trying to extend its authority to all Talents. Wren is a Lonejack - an independent Talent - and wishes to remain so. The Cosa has other ideas.

Harlequin's Luna imprint published them, and ebook versions are available:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/t/.../?seriesid=606
______
Dennis

[Spumped]

I've read one of Charles de Lint's books of short stories, "The Ivory and the Horn" and I'd say it's definitely urban fantasy. Stories take place in modern day and they are like folk legends in a way, with mystical-like reals parallel with ours, and appearances of ghosts and folklore-ish creatures, magic objects and such. I liked the magical feel modern day could have.

[carld]

Originally Posted by SidneyW

I've been enjoying Sandman Slim, first in a series, I believe. I got it as a freebie, but I'll probably get the next one. It's hard boiled urban fantasy noir.

I enjoyed this one as well. I've read the first, and am partway through the second.

[C.I.Bond]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Depending on how dark you want it, I
Wren is a Retriever. Her particular skill is locating and getting back objects people have lost, usually by stealing them back from the people who stole them in the first place. Dennis

I read Spiral Hunt recently by Margret Ronald - http://www.amazon.com/Spiral-Hunt-Sc.../dp/0061662410

Very similar – all Celtic themed but main character’s skill was in locating things, people didn’t know magic really exists, and the Bright Botherhood is sort of like a gang of magical thugs controlling Boston. It was interesting…

[RolandD]

Originally Posted by jehane

Could have sworn I replied to this previously. Anyway, here goes again.

An author I haven't yet seen mentioned is Sergei Lukyanenko with his four-book Watch series, beginning with Night Watch. AFAIK they are his only works to be translated into English. Set in contemporary Moscow (most of the time), each book contains three linked novellas. Each book and each novella has a complete story arc, though the series as a whole less so.

I would recommend these, also. There are vampires and werewolves, but they are, kinda, incidental to the story. Don't worry that they were written in Russian, the translation is incredible.

Originally Posted by dwanthny

For a great Dark Urban fantasy read Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series.

I've read the first book of this, very good, but definitely a vampire story.

Originally Posted by dwanthny

Generally speaking I'm with you. Most of the vampires and shapeshifters urban fantasy novel are more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. And most that lean to the paranormal romance are rarely Dark urban fantasy.

Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series is vampire based, but this series is not your typical touchy feely vampire series. Joe Pitt is more of a hard-boiled crime or noir type of vampire.

Definitely qualifies as a dark urban fantasy.

Yes, no romance in the one I read.

Originally Posted by caleb72

Read all of these and really liked them. I got into them because of the Nightwatch movie, but the books are better and quite different from the movies made.

I finished the trilogy last year and read The Last Watch in January.

Plenty of good things to talk about in this series.

Regards
Caleb

I would like to see more stories about the Watch, set in other locations around the world.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Depending on how dark you want it, I recommend Laura Anne Gilman's _Retrievers_ series.

They take place in present day New York, but magic works and magical creatures live side by side with humans. Protagonist Wren Valere is a Talent - someone capable of sensing and manipulating a magical force called Current. This is a mixed blessing - among other things, Current tends to follow the same paths as electricity, and electronic gadgets misbehave badly in Wren's presence. Current is also addictive, and Talents face the risk of becoming Whizzers - people who have gotten lost in the Current flow and gone insane.

Wren is a Retriever. Her particular skill is locating and getting back objects people have lost, usually by stealing them back from the people who stole them in the first place. Her business partner and manager, Sergei, is a Null - someone who can't sense Current. Her best friend, PB, is a demon who makes his living as a messenger and looks like a 4' tall polar bear. Sergei owns an art gallery, but has a past that will affect Wren, and their relationship is complicated by growing feelings for each other.

For the most part, normal human beings aren't aware there is magic around them, and simply don't notice the magical beings, but interactions do occur and sometimes get ugly.

Wren's problems are compounded by the Cosa Nostradamus, a sort of mage's guild that is trying to extend its authority to all Talents. Wren is a Lonejack - an independent Talent - and wishes to remain so. The Cosa has other ideas.

Harlequin's Luna imprint published them, and ebook versions are available:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/t/.../?seriesid=606
______
Dennis

I have these - and they just moved WAY up on my TBR list. Thanks, Dennis.

[Penforhire]

Well, there IS romance in the Joe Pitt series. That is, if you could imagine a vampire with a human girlfriend dying of AIDS who is afraid to have sex with her because, well, he doesn't want to risk her becoming a vampire... Oh yeah, very dark!

[C.I.Bond]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Well, there IS romance in the Joe Pitt series. That is, if you could imagine a vampire with a human girlfriend dying of AIDS who is afraid to have sex with her because, well, he doesn't want to risk her becoming a vampire... Oh yeah, very dark!

It’s incidental to the story, more of a character building exercise than a plot point. That said I do think it was handled in a very sweet way, definitely made the character more approachable. Usually when there are vampires and romance is it … um… all aching and yearning and it is a major point in the story. Will they or won’t they… and they always do… Just once I would like to see them hop into the sack and it not be the greatest experience of her life. LOL… "It's okay we can try again later."

[C.I.Bond]

-- So sorry this is only here because this thread got mistakenly murged with my book promo thread -- I expect the mod will pull it soon. Just ignore it until then.

-- And do you really want a copy of "Drak" Urban Fantasy... to begin with, who knows what that means. LOL..


If your interested e-mail: CIBond@CIBond.com

Blurb:
Cassie isn’t evil … probably. She just lacks a few things: a boyfriend, a family, a soul. Convincing the “Others” she isn’t evil has never met with a lot of success. It usually starts with a local coven of concerned witches (humanity’s self-appointed protectors) making accusations and then there’s shouting, a chase, and in one case, a stabbing which turned out badly—although, to be fair, how many stabbings turn out well? So now she keeps a low profile, tries to avoid all contact with “Others” and moves every two years. This philosophy worked well enough in her life until she got to Seattle and formed a commitment to finally settle down. Nine months into her rainy new life, things start to fall apart …
First, something kills Harry—not that he didn’t deserve it, but still, it isn’t a good sign. Then Mr. Abbey, obviously a Dark Other who has been dead for over a century, tries to hire her to find some missing property and won’t take no for an answer. A dark-haired stranger with vivid green eyes, also dead, is forcing her to ask difficult questions of herself like “If he eats people but he's hot can you still date him?” Normally this is when she would cut-and-run, but the seer’s warning was clear: if she leaves Seattle, she dies. Of course, there are no guarantees that this won’t happen anyway….

Information about the book:
This book is about 124,000 word (375 pages).
The genre is Urban Fantasy not Paranormal Romance or something with a YA focus.

My favorite review called it – “Dark and Weird” which was pretty much what I was going for.