Urban fantasy recommendations?

[moderntimes]

I've taken a liking to the genre known as "Urban Fantasy" and would appreciate some recommendations.

For those who don't know, urban fantasies are set in our modern day era, in our current timeline, but intermixed with dark fantastic stories. For example, mythological characters and creatures intruding into our real world.

Two good examples of this are the "Repairman Jack" novels of F. Paul Wilson and the novel "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. In these books, our "real" world works as it should, our current modern society is here and prevalent, but underlying fantastic creatures crop up and perhaps "invade" but not necessarily with a huge flash. Urban fantasy usually occurs in a modern city or at least part of the action is there. This is the intrusion of fantastic characters or creatures which disrupt our modern life, which otherwise moves along just fine. Contrast this to "high fantasy" which is the creation of a totally different world or universe. Okay?

Now I'm an adult so I am NOT looking for juvenile stories, YA novels (Harry Potter, etc). I'm looking for hard-boiled stories with maybe some considerable violence and mayhem, strong characters, mature subjects. For grownups.

Any suggestions? And thanks in advance.

[Gravy]

The Nightside series by Simon R. Green might appeal to you.

The main character is a PI, and he returns to a hidden city in the center of London, while being hunted be creatures (The Harrowing) bent on his destuction.

They're relatively short books, there are (somewhere in the realm of) fifteen books.

Over all it's an odd mix of UF and sci-fi.
What I loved most was the characters. The author has many off-the-wall characters. Deadboy is...well...dead, but he's not a zombie, then there's The Collector, Suzie Shooter (assassin extraordinaire). She'll kill anyone, even herself if the price is right.

I wish I knew how exactly to explain the series, but it defies explanation.
It's crazy.

It takes on everything, from religion (The Street of the Gods, including Cthulu), to the Arthur legend, to time travel.
In a way, the whole beginning of the series deals with time travel, but to explain how would be to spoil.

And, of course, there's always The Dresdon Files by Jim Butcher, however that seems to be mainly about good vs. evil, and how much gray can be justified in the pursuit of what's right.

[moderntimes]

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check 'em out.

[emilemilemily]

I'm going to reinforce the recommendation of the Dresden Files in case you were having second thoughts about reading it. Someone recommended it to me because I said, "I don't like urban fantasy," and he said, "You haven't read Dresden." Well, now I like urban fantasy.
I also just recently finished Follow the Crow by B.B. Griffith. It's a supernatural thriller set in a Navajo reservation. Creative, good character development, and a great first book of a series I'm excited to read more of. Not a whole lot of violence or mature content, but there was definitely stuff that creeped me out a bit.
And I know you said you want serious, adult fiction...but if you ever want to give your brain a break and read something totally inane, look into The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes. I laughed the whole way through it and I have to hand it to an author who's willing to be so ridiculous.

[moderntimes]

Last night I downloaded the first novel of the Dresden series and have already read a couple chapters.

It's intriguing and well written, and thanks for the recommendation. This series could be fun for me, in that my own novels are modern American private detective stories and are written in first person narrative, just like the Dresden novel.

Because my private eye novels are 100% realistic without any fantastic or over-the-top story lines, solidly in the real world, I enjoy reading adult-oriented SF or fantasy because it gives my mind a bit of exercise into the fantastic.

But I don't enjoy medieval or totally sorcerer-type stories. I prefer current era thrillers -- modern spy or police or private eye novels only, those set in our modern world. And so any sort of fantasy I'd enjoy would mostly be set the same. This Dresden series sounds like a fun read and is already proving to be just that.

I especially enjoy a fantasy or horror story where 98% is realistic and modern day, and that eerie 2% opens the door into horror. It's the juxtaposition I enjoy, and therefore a book set entirely in a fantasy world (called "high fantasy") such as might be an adult-level LOTR or Potter variation? Not my cuppa tea.

Incidentally, I've been plugging away lately on a new novel, a Stevie King-ish book set in a modern day Texas gulf coast fishing community. There's constant tension between the old timer shrimpers vs the newcomer Vietnamese shrimpers, and a fair amount of trouble, vandalism and fights. So when odd things begin to happen, the cops first think it's standard shrimpers fighting. It's not. Something terrible happened in the town just after WW2 at the old, now-closed Naval base there. The story also has Lovecraftian themes. I'm still writing and so it will be a while.

[Gravy]

Another one is the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman.

Here's the description off the back of the first book, Nightlife:

“There are monsters among us. There always have been and there always will be. I’ve known that ever since I can remember, just like I’ve always known I was one…

…Well, half of one, anyway.”

Welcome to the Big Apple. There’s a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side—and that’s only the beginning. Of course, most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half-human.

His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares—and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal. Why? Cal hasn’t exactly wanted to stick around long enough to find out.

He and his half-brother Niko have managed to stay a step ahead for three years, but now Cal’s dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they’ve always wanted him…for he is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life…

Also, for information's sake, do you have a preference between male/female protagonists?

[moderntimes]

I don't care whether the protagonist is male or female, but many female-oriented stories often tend to be a lot more romantic in theme and I'm not a fan of romance stories at all. If the female principal character is hard and tough and has adventures which aren't romance-based, then that would be fine.

[MsMartha]

I really like these suggestions! I've already read American Gods and Storm Front, and enjoyed them thoroughly. Had no idea these were called "Urban Fantasy" until now. I'll be checking out these books!

[moderntimes]

For me, the best urban fantasy series I've read is the "Repairman Jack" series by F. Paul Wilson.

[Gravy]

I don't care whether the protagonist is male or female, but many female-oriented stories often tend to be a lot more romantic in theme and I'm not a fan of romance stories at all. If the female principal character is hard and tough and has adventures which aren't romance-based, then that would be fine.

Then I would recommend Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, which starts with Rosemary and Rue.
This is the description from Amazon:

The world of Faerie never disappeared; it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Outsiders from birth, these half-human, half-fae children spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October "Toby" Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a “normal” life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas...

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening’s dying curse, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her. Rosemary and Rue is the first installment of the highly praised Toby Daye series.

Relationships sometimes play a part in the story, both of the individual books, and the overarching storyline, but it's very slight.
However, what I consider slight, you may consider too much...

I still highly recommend it. If I was forced to pick a favorite book it would probably wind up being somewhere in this series.

[moderntimes]

Relationships are fine -- any adult-oriented novel will have them for the major character in some way or another. I have them in my own private eye novels. What I might not particularly want is if a romance or relationship is the driving element in the story.

I've got a couple of nice novels started, and I'll take all the recommendations into my notes for later reference. Thanks to all again.

[ZephyraJ]

I really enjoy books by Charles de Lint, definitely urban fantasy and quite a lot of fun.

Also try this book Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow.

Hope you like them!

[MsMartha]

OK, experienced readers--how important is it to read Dresden Files in order? I was lucky to find an audio book at the library a couple days ago, and it's #12. It will be my second read. Am I in trouble??

[moderntimes]

I'm of the opinion that Dresden Files are stand alone novels yet in a series. And I'm guessing that they are okay out of sequence.

[MsMartha]

I'm of the opinion that Dresden Files are stand alone novels yet in a series. And I'm guessing that they are okay out of sequence.

I like your opinion! I'll see how it goes. For me, I'm usually determined to read any series in order. I'm trying to be more open-minded