fantasy memes
So I have been reading a lot of urban fantasy lately. Usually I read urban fantasy in with other types of sf/f that I like, but for some coincidental reason, I have either finished or been reading lately:
The Better Part of Darkness - Kelly Gay
Kitty's House of Horrors - Carrie Vaughn
Blood Memories - Barb Hendee
Hallowed Circle - Linda Robertson
Three Days To Dead - Kelly Meding
Deadtown - Nancy Holzner
Heart's Blood - Gail Dayton
And you know what? I am starting to see a pattern. I don't usually mind hoary fantasy tropes as long as they're well written, but I'm beginning to think if I see another spunky female protagonist with an attitude & weapons, I will throw her & her novel across the room. This is really strange. I don't usually get fed up with patterns. But honestly, can't urban fantasists/paranormal romantics find some other kind of urban fantasy to write about? What about Nina Kiriki Hoffman & Neil Gaiman?
I'm not saying there's not good urban fantasy. I LOVED Kitty's House of Horrors, although it was somewhat grim. The Better Part of Darkness was great, and had a nice gritty feel, sort of like Barbara Hambly or Glen Cook (the grittiness, that is, not anything else about the book). I'm enjoying Three Days to Dead, it's got readability, even though I find myself oddly disinclined to read more of Hallowed Circle or Deadtown. It's just there's so many similarities. I realised I was starting to have trouble keeping track which vampire characteristics went with which series.
This is just so WEIRD. Because I don't get tired of books.
I'm not saying this is a female book thing either. When most men write urban fantasy, they write about a male detective in a noir sort of world. Now I LOVE Simon R Green. The Nightside is hilarious. But do all the rest of them have to be noir PIs too?
I mean, what if you got a spunky, gun-toting heroine & had her fall in love with a PI in a noir urban fantasy? Wouldn't that be a little different?
I don't want to piss off a lot of urban fantasy authors or readers. Like I said, without Briggs & Hamilton & Chance (giant elf-eating housecats for the win!) I would hang around being bored a lot & start complaining about bad Tolkien imitations. It's just the first time I've noticed a HUGE fantasy trend in my lifetime. (Because the bad Tolkien imitations started being written before I was born.)
How do other people feel about urban fantasy? Are you getting a little bored? Can you read 20 of them in a row? Is there something you'd like to see in them or never see again?
The Better Part of Darkness - Kelly Gay
Kitty's House of Horrors - Carrie Vaughn
Blood Memories - Barb Hendee
Hallowed Circle - Linda Robertson
Three Days To Dead - Kelly Meding
Deadtown - Nancy Holzner
Heart's Blood - Gail Dayton
And you know what? I am starting to see a pattern. I don't usually mind hoary fantasy tropes as long as they're well written, but I'm beginning to think if I see another spunky female protagonist with an attitude & weapons, I will throw her & her novel across the room. This is really strange. I don't usually get fed up with patterns. But honestly, can't urban fantasists/paranormal romantics find some other kind of urban fantasy to write about? What about Nina Kiriki Hoffman & Neil Gaiman?
I'm not saying there's not good urban fantasy. I LOVED Kitty's House of Horrors, although it was somewhat grim. The Better Part of Darkness was great, and had a nice gritty feel, sort of like Barbara Hambly or Glen Cook (the grittiness, that is, not anything else about the book). I'm enjoying Three Days to Dead, it's got readability, even though I find myself oddly disinclined to read more of Hallowed Circle or Deadtown. It's just there's so many similarities. I realised I was starting to have trouble keeping track which vampire characteristics went with which series.
This is just so WEIRD. Because I don't get tired of books.
I'm not saying this is a female book thing either. When most men write urban fantasy, they write about a male detective in a noir sort of world. Now I LOVE Simon R Green. The Nightside is hilarious. But do all the rest of them have to be noir PIs too?
I mean, what if you got a spunky, gun-toting heroine & had her fall in love with a PI in a noir urban fantasy? Wouldn't that be a little different?
I don't want to piss off a lot of urban fantasy authors or readers. Like I said, without Briggs & Hamilton & Chance (giant elf-eating housecats for the win!) I would hang around being bored a lot & start complaining about bad Tolkien imitations. It's just the first time I've noticed a HUGE fantasy trend in my lifetime. (Because the bad Tolkien imitations started being written before I was born.)
How do other people feel about urban fantasy? Are you getting a little bored? Can you read 20 of them in a row? Is there something you'd like to see in them or never see again?