I received this email from Pammie, who is looking for urban fantasy romances that are character driven with fewer leather-pants asskicking episodes. Have a look:
Long time lurker, etc. Listen, there’s been a little thing nagging at me for awhile and I was wondering if I could dump it on your laps. It’s 4 in the morning, I have the flu and can’t sleep – for some reason all I can think about is Urban Fantasy / Romance Plotlandia. I know, you too, right?!! Oh, you were sleeping perfectly fine..? Oh. Well…anyway, I was wondering if it would be okay to get some good book recommendations…?
Now, maybe these points have all been raised before, and there are massive threads out there in the blogosphere on this very point – in which case, feel free to merely direct me to the threads and I will come up to speed bothering you no further!
But! This is the thing. I welcomed the whole Urban Fantasy / Romance thing when it came with open arms and joy. These were the books I was waiting for! And I have found many of my fav author crushes on those shelves (Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Jeanine Frost, I am looking at you ladies). But. It’s been a few years now, and I know I can’t be the only one thinking this – lots of them seem to be a bit…samey samey (Now don’t take this the wrong way! I don’t want to break up with you, I’m just raising some small questions, ok?).
There will be an Underdog. She will be vastly overmatched. She will fight against Overwhelming Odds, miraculously emerging with many a bruise/broken limb/bad haircut from horrific fight scenarios, only to solve the murder/mystery/ find the cure/rescue the cute guy/damsel, and retire back to her hand to mouth existence no better off and with few lessons learnt. Further, she will come back to repeat this pattern with small variations for another 5 to 10 books, perhaps turning into a fairy queen along the way, and shagging various cute guys/vampires/werewolves/fairies. Then the series finishes right when the interesting normal stuff starts happening.
Now, some of my favourite books follow this very theme, and perhaps this is the answer in itself – it is a winning formula. Why mess with what works? However….isn’t there anything else they can do? Why are there so many mysteries that need to be solved in the Urban Fantasy landscape? It’s like a Fantasy book and a Who-dunnit sat in a tree and spawned a thousand similar children.
Why can’t there be more Urban Fantasy books that explore the inner landscape instead? I’m thinking of Lois McMaster Bujold here who created the amazing Sharing Knife series. Yes, someone’s bound to point out that those books also followed a fairly traditional Fantasy plotline of travelling and dealing with bandits and mudmen/mystical baddies etc. Still, the beauty of the series was in the growth and change of the characters, the way the author explored both the inner and outer worlds of the characters, both main and secondary in the novels.
Her Chalion series, while again following some Fantasy plotlines was philosophical and again dealt in large with the inner landscape and the nature of humanity, the divine and the choices we make.
I know she’s not the only one, there are also books by PC Hodgell, Sharon Shinn, Robin McKinley, Ben Aaronovitch, Tanya Huff etc (if you think of any others please feel free to pass them on!). However, these are all more Fantasy novels than Urban Fantasy/Romance.
Even the mundane is beautiful at times. Somehow I loved following Sookie around while she tidied the house and mowed her lawn (in between her other exhaustive adventures, see description above (and before anyone gets all stabbie at me, I enjoyed all and loved most of Charlaine Harris’s books and own all of her series that I could get my hands on – my favourites are the Lily Bard series)).
In most Urban Fantasy / Romances, dishes are never washed, nor laundry folded. Surely they would be buried under an avalanche of soiled jocks the way they get about? I don’t even want to think about the probable state of their sheets when the mysterious tall dark and handsome guy finally follows them home (or the state of his sheets either come to think of it). When do they eat or shower? Or recover from their many many many wounds? Their career and monetary woes are usually very well covered, though. So I won’t go there. BTW, this all applies to Fantasy novels too, really.
Why can’t more Urban Fantasy protagonists explore an inner and outer world? Why is self-discovery relegated mainly to YA novels? Let’s face it, we reinvent, reimagine, relearn ourselves at all ages. There are countless hurdles in an individual’s life. Hard times, grief and above all learning and changing. People in all their myriad issues and problems are as capable of kindness, meanness, joy and evil as any created baddie, only with the benefit of having more dimension. All these themes should exist in an Urban Fantasy setting, but are often ignored in favour of the usual mad scramble. Everything doesn’t always have to be apocalyptic, surely?
Don’t get me wrong – I love a good zombie apocalypse – but can’t we have some self-growth while running and shagging?
So, I guess that’s the Challenge or respectful request: Can we have Urban Fantasy / Romances which explore more world building, more character driven plots, more reality (mundane or otherwise), more inner adventures? I don’t think I’m asking for Proper Works of Literary Art. Just…more…And, of course, sexytimes with the requisite vampire/werewolf/fairy lover/s.
Right, now I’ve got all that off my chest, I will try going back to sleep. Thank you Smart Bitches!
I emailed Pammie and asked for clarification:
If I’m reading correctly, you’re after books that feature fantasy elements, some ass kicking, but also character-driven developments that explore the inner world of the characters as much as the external, yes? Less leather pants and superpowers, more spending time in the world that was built?
Pammie wrote:
I like leather pants and super powers, it’s just that I’d like to see them balanced by reflection, relationships and growth. Surely even magical worlds can have a beautiful mundanity. Does it make any sense? Do you know any like that?
My first thought was what Pammie already suggested – Lois McMaster Bujold and Robin McKinley specifically.
Elyse suggests the Dresden Files ( A | BN | K), though that’s not a romance series, alas. Carrie added:
I hear you, Pammie. I’m the same way – I like a good plot, but I’m often more interested in the small moments of life.
It’s easier to find in fantasy. I just finished “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic” by Emily Croy Barker ( A | BN | K ). I loved the attention it gives to mundane detail – but it’s fantasy, not urban fantasy. I wrote a review at my site.
You might try Holly Black and Charles De Lint.
Also in War for the Oaks ( A | BN | K ), by Emma Bull, there’s plenty of attention to the mundane – the band may benefit from faerie magic, but they still have to practice and lug heavy equipment around and eat (yay Denny’s).
I suspect that YA so frequently addresses inner and outer world development that the books Pammie seeks might best be found in that sub-genre. In YA fantasy, not only are the characters younger, but they’re often confined by the mundanity that Pammie is seeking, in locations such as school, group activities, parental/familial expectations, and other common limitations of youth — however those limitations are defined in the world of that book.
Pammie might also like Thorn Jack ( A | BN | K ) by Katherine Harbour, which is YA fantasy, but seems to merge the inner progress of mourning with the external progress of a mystery as Finn tries to figure out what happened to her sister.
Plus, still YA but with much world building and development of the inner and outer worlds of the characters, Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan ( A | BN | K ) (my review: B-). And, though this is a bit of a stretch, The Demon Lover ( A | BN | K ), the first book in the Fairwick Chronicles by Juliet Dark, might also be appealing.
But I know there are a ton I’m not thinking of. Do you have any recommendations for Pammie of urban fantasy with as much attention paid to the mundanity of the world as to the asskicking?
Thea Harrison—it is fantasy, but it is urban and most of the books are really good.Start with the one about Pia and the dragon. One of the complaints I have that Pammie implied is that how many times can a person (even a leather wearing broad with developing magical/god-like powers) get their asses kicked and still be the same person they were? It just gets old. Sookie and Harry Dresden are perfect examples. Their lives just aren’t worth living. Thea’s books have different heroes, which allows each one to evolve and fall in love and still be a bad ass, without it getting unbelievable. There are also slices of “real” life—just dealing with the day to day, in a lot of them. The one about the genie is especially good.
I love the Penumbra series by Silver James. Currently available stories are That Ol’ Black Magic and Season of the Witch. Sade is one of the best heroines ever!
Yes yes yes to Emma Bull, and I didn’t see anyone yet mention Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar.
No one has mentioned Rachel Bach. Her trilogy that starts with Fortunes Pawn was sci fi, but really good. Lots of character growth, and the heroine dealt with meals and laundry (or at least recharging her suit). Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series was different because the point of view shifted between books. I really like Nalini Signh’s Psy/Changeling series for the same reason. This one is a mystery. That one is a romance….not the same old formula book after book. As far as the Colbana files…I like them, but they are definitely in the classic UF mold, and somewhat uneven from book to book.
Ok, so I agree with lots of the recs here. Actually, i think all of them. But I want to mention, there was a book I thought of immediately when reading the post, which has been mentioned briefly in passing and not by title. Since Doranna Durgin is being too circumspect to name her own titles, I happily recommend her Changespell series, beginning with Dun Lady’s Jess. You can’t get more character development than a horse learning how to be a human.
I also recommend Sherwood Smith. And Jim Hines, especially loving the Libriomancer series.
Sorry, now I’m feeling all my nostalgia of first discovering urban fantasy in the late 80’s/early 90’s and I have to keep recommending stuff even though it means another post. My apologies if these haven’t stood the test of time outside my imagination.
Charles de Lint is always great, but I’m thinking specifically of Moonheart.
Early Tanya Huff: Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light and the Victory Nelson series
Early Mercedes Lackey: Knight of Ghosts & Shadows and the Diana Tregarde series
Nick O’Donohoe: the Crossroads series.
I highly recommend the Linnet Ellery series by Phillipa Bornikova aka Melinda Snodgrass. There’s two books so far, This Case is Gonna Kill Me and Box Office Poison, and she’s currently working on number 3.
I’m having a hard time describing the book, so I’m going to direct you to the author’s website for the series.
Basically, vampires, werewolves and the fae are “out” in the world, they have been for quite some time and they hold most of the power in the world. Linnet Ellery is a human lawyer, fostered** by vampires, just starting her career in a vampire law firm when the ‘cold case’ she was assigned to suddenly heats up placing her in all sorts of interesting positions.
The author is/was a lawyer and it shows, the workplace political undertones and the law reads right and so far the books have successfully avoided the common ‘tropes’ that urban fantasy can fall into.
**Fostered in the old sense of the term, her family was loving and capable of caring for her, but as a
I forgot to mention, while there is romance in the books, it’s not the main focus! Sorry!
The Modern Witch series by Deborah Geary might be worth a try. Not so much with the ass-kicking, it’s pretty much all about the character development. It’s described as “Light contemporary fantasy with a good dose of humor, a little romance, and characters you won’t want to leave.”
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Witch-Book-ebook/dp/B004RZ2660
Whoops, that should be “Debora Geary.”
…and here I am again to pimp British books. For some reason, British books tend to be much more character-based, so can I shove in a quick mention of my own Otherworlder series (vampires in York and a heroine who mostly does filing and admin work) but mostly to plug the fabulous Kate Johnson’s Untied Kingdom, which isn’t so much Urban Fantasy as it is alternate universe, but is massively filled with character development as well as grit and real peril. People Die!
D. D. Bryant’s Bloodhound Files. Main character is a profiler who is pulled into an alternate universe to help track down a serial killer. Said alt-universe has werewolves, vampires, and golems, with a very small minority population of humans. The main character, being human and alien-to-the-world, has to learn the new cultures, solve the problem(s) that they brought her there for, not die of anything, and get home. I believe the first one is Dying Bites, or possibly Death Blows. Really awesome overall, and as a human the main character does not heal up magically and thus has to work damn hard not to be hurt in the first place. She’s also struggling not to change—as to change too much risks not being able to return home—while obviously changing to deal with her new situation. LOVE them.
I would like to reinforce the recommendation for Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.
And then I would like to pitch the J.D. Robb’s Eve Dallas ball.
No, there are no were-things, vampires, zombies, or fairies. But it’s an Otherworld that is thoroughly and vividly rendered, the romances (several continuing characters have important ones) are well-constructed, the conflicts are thoroughly mundane, and the characters continue to develop even after dozens of books in the series.
I don’t read much urban fantasy myself because were-things and fairies don’t go far with me, but perhaps mostly because of Pammie’s essential complaint: in most of the many different books in this genre that I’ve tried, lots of stuff happens, but nobody grows.
Some of the best character-driven urban fantasy I’ve read has come from Rob Thurman, who writes a few different series, all good. Lots of angst (but not overdone) and lots of humor and characters you get very attached to, and she’s great with multicultural aspects, especially in the Trickster series. Lots of really fun reads. And the characters do grow and become ever more complex from book to book. She’s my number one rec for urban fantasy.
There’s a lot to be said for the October Daye and Incryptid series by Seanan McGuire. Both of those are among my current UF favorites. I just read The Winter Long (the latest in the October Daye series), and it was pretty great. Also, Tybalt.
I know Dresden was mentioned, and the fact is, Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden is the best wizard character currently being written about, and I don’t say that lightly. He’s complicated, driven by demons literal and figurative, and apart from all that, uproariously funny. His character goes through a great deal of change and growth over the course of the series, and it’s all very earned. Also, hell of a supporting cast. Most of the supporting cast would be fine as main characters in their own series. That’s how great they are.
As for an urban fantasy that has an amazing, strong female protagonist and vampires that are at once menacing and repelling and weirdly alluring, The Coldest Girl In Coldtown is a good way to go. I don’t know who was scarier, the heroine or the arguable unhinged vampire she travels with.
Also, if you just want scary as hell and a good urban fantasy ghost story, I’d go with Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake. I still need to read The Girl of Nightmares, but Anna was just freaky, and had a strangely compelling love story between the ghost hunter and his pretty young ghost quarry that occasionally turns into a screaming, murderous spirit of vengeance. It owes a lot to Supernatural. Picturing Dean Winchester as the main character is not hurtful.
More fantasy than romance (although it’s in there), and on the YA side, but any mention of Emma Bull and Charles de Lint should also include Will Shetterly. Elsewhere and Nevernever are two in the Bordertown world. Rock music, faeries, and cursed teen protagonist.
You could try Lynn Abbey’s “Orion’s Children” series, starting with “Out of Time”. Lots of mundanity and stuff about the heroine’s job (academic librarian). Definitely personal growth as the heroine tries to work out what’s going on. There is a romance but it’s not the main focus.
A poster above mentioned Stacia Kane’s Downside series, starting with Unholy Ghosts, and I think it totally fits the bill in a slightly twisted way. Not so much for the mundane details of life, but for a heroine who is not invincible, who is struggling, and who keeps struggling.
I’d also recommend Mia Marshall’s Elements series, starting with Broken Elements. This is more ass-kicking in the non-literal sense, with personal consequences. And a great slow-burn romance.
And now, I need to add to my own to-read list!
TLTR, so LeGuin, Bujold, Asaro, Bear, Valente, Crusie (yes, Maybe This Time) + sequel
Ursula LeGuin’s “Earthsea” trilogy cum octology shows Ged growing from curious goatherd to pompous great wizard and then shrinking back again to bereft regular goatherd trying to cope with postponed adolescence. In book four, “Tehanu,”he learns to snuggle with Tenar, a goddess avatar he rescued as a child, who has become a farm widow with an adopted abused little girl. At one point we hear Tenar explaining to her child about those bloody rags soaking in cold water (blood source: vagina or pitchfork wound?), and LeGuin employs it as character building and plot development incident. Lots of gardening and goat milking in between summoning dragons and confronting a doppelganger in hell. LeGuin’s National Book Award was way overdue. See last week’s Utube viral speech-act, BTW.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s dozen or so Vorkosigan space western/soap opera books are exciting, thought provoking, hilarious, complex, weep-worthy, have much interspecies sexitude, accompanied by mold in the bathrooms on spaceships and dubious sheets that cause insomnia; the short, crook-backed hero, Miles, generates manic inner monologue a lot funnier than Hamlet’s. In Bujold’s Chalion series, adorable, reluctant hero Cazaril in “Curse of Chalion” charms while failing, wins by losing, constantly questions his motives and grows thereby, mentors a clueless teenager to become a competent queen, while Bujold consistently notes the bedbugs and tight shoes, PTSD and thundermugs. In sequel “Paladin of Souls,” our hero Lady Ista is seen desperate to pee while being abducted on horseback, and is rescued (in a landscape lacking bushes to preserve her modesty) just in time to save the world and the hero by becoming, what else? cat’s paw for the god of all bodily functions.
Bujold’s “Sharing Knife” quartet is more graphic and mundane re: all somatic needs and functions, and blah blah resourceful tiny farm teen saves the world because she was raised to tote the bucket, well then, knife, nearest to hand. Pretty tricksy plot kickers, too.
Catherine Asaro: Skolian Empire series, gripping drama, super psions, lotsa luv. Jen Crusie’s haunted “Maybe This Time” with kick-butt kids has a sequel, TBA. Elizabeth Bear’s Katherine Casey trilogy. Kathryn Valente’s wierd world as women see it. Stasheff’s “Warlock in Spite of Himself” series has witch Gwen raising teleporting babies and telekinetic toddlers. Diapers are not dwelt upon.
Query: What other women world builders were lost from publication between Mary Shelley (the author wore the leather pants while nursing baby William) and Andre Norton?