I’ve just finished reading Paul Cornell’s “London Falling,” part of the growing genre of urban fantasy which juxtaposes the everyday world with a parallel, invisible world visible to those with the eyes to see. In this particular case it mixes a police drama, organized crime, football, London and the supernatural, and after a slow start it was quite a good read. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
For a theologian urban fantasy is a rich treasure-trove of ‘biblical afterlives’ – echoes of biblical texts and stories somehow cut adrift from their original context and taking a life of their own in everyday culture – and often religious characters are dealt with more sympathy than one might think. (On the other hand, I’m not a big fan of paranormal romance which often intersects with urban fantasy).
From the past few years, here are a few of my favourites (which are often part of a series):
And a few others which cross over with steampunk and western
Debbie
Do you have recommendations for lighter urban fantasy, like Darkfever or The Forever Girl?
stepheng
Good question. I guess something like Becca Fitzpatrick’s ‘Hush, Hush’ series or Thomas E. Sniegoski’s ‘Fallen’ series might fall into that, as might things like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens’ and Pratchett’s ‘The Nome Trilogy’ (AKA ‘The Bromeliad Trilogy’), though the latter is for children.