One the first very fleeting glance, this might sound familiar: Girl with unique abilities and in trouble meets man who turns into wolf and has the power to protect her somehow.
You're thinking about romance? Kick-ass heroine? Werewolves and Vampires? A world in which the supernatural is hiding?
Wrong.
Here, monsters with a resemblance to wolves turn into men, the unique abilities turn the girl not into a kickass heroine but only into a valuable stolen property and humanity just wishes that the supernatural is hiding and mistrusts them on every turn.

Anne Bishop leaves the old and used pathes far far behind her.

Hello all. I'm Stephen Goldin, a long-time SFF writer with over 40 books published. Most have been science fiction, some have been epic fantasy. I do have one that might be of especial interest to people in this group, but I'll get to that in a moment.

As far as urban fantasy goes, I admit to being something of a minor leaguer. I've read some stuff that could claim to be antecedents of the subgenre, like Heinlein's Magic, Inc. and The Unpleasant Profession of Johnathan Hoag and various works by L. Sprague deCamp. Of the more modern stuff, I've read the first Sookie Stackhouse book and a little Kim Harrison, and have Jim Butcher on my TBR list. (Do Glen Cook's Garrett books count as UF? I've read most of those.) On TV, I've loved Buffy (though not so much Angel), Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, and Eli Stone. A very preliminary education, considering how much the field has grown of late.

Now I've got this book called Polly!, and it's not easily categorized. It's a satire, and people I don't even know say it's funny. It's fantasy, and is thoroughly anchored in our contemporary world, which is what makes me think it might technically be classified as UF. It's a book I'm very proud of, and I'm hoping to introduce other people to it. I'm hoping some of you might give it a try.

I'm also toying with another idea, sort of along the lines of the old Thomas N. Scortia short story "The Bomb in the Bathtub" (if anyone even remembers that these days). It'll be a very bizarre and surrealistic comedy when I get it done, but that won't be for a while. I don't even have a tentative title yet.

Well, that's me. Any questions?

Okay, okay. There are dozens of new writers out their every month in the urban fantasy section. I know. So, what might make this one different?

( Answer: A hero who wins through intelligence, a quote and a unique world buildingCollapse )

Here are the reviews posted during November. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in November, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.

1) Philippa Ballantine, Spectyr: It's a Gamble
2) Elizabeth Bear, Range of Ghosts: Good Read
3) M.M. Buckner, The Gravity Pilot: Good Read
4) Jane Rogers, The Testament of Jessie Lamb: Excellent
5) Ilona Andrews, Bayou Moon: It's a Gamble
6) Sharon Lynn Fisher, Ghost Planet: Worth Reading, with Reservations
7) Troy Denning, Star Wars: Dark Nest I: The Joiner King: Worth Reading, with Reservations
8) N.K. Jemisin, The Killing Moon: Good Read
9) J. Michael Straczynski, Superman: Earth One: Volume Two: Good Read

As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

I have been inundated by SPAM comments the past few days, and I have had enough. I've gone through every comm that I run, and I've made it a requirement for non-members to use CAPTCHA. I've also done it on all of my RP accounts.

If you run a comm, do your members a favor, and turn CAPTCHA on. Because if the comm doesn't have the CAPTCHA requirement, it doesn't matter if you have that requirement set up in your actual journal.

Please pass this information around and feel free to repost this message.

Here are the reviews posted during October. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in October, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.

1) Seanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor: Couldn't Put It Down
2) Jo Walton, Ha'Penny: Good Read
3) Richard Kadrey, Devil Said Bang: Not My Cup of Tea (DNF)
4) Rae Carson, The Crown of Embers: Good Read
5) Ilona Andrews, Gunmetal Magic: Worth Reading, with Reservations
6) Ann Aguirre, Outpost: Worth Reading, with Reservations
7) Laura Bickle, Embers: Worth Reading, with Reservations
8) Sarah Langan, Audrey's Door: Problematic, but Promising
9) Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: Excellent

As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

I've posted about the series here a couple of times in the past, but now we've got a Kindle edition live, so I thought I'd share.

It's Australian-set (Brisbane) urban fantasy. Basically, if you want a tonne of geek humour, characters speaking lolcat, someone who isn't neurotypical as the protagonist, and people in nifty suits, this is the series for you.Episiodes will be released monthly (with short stories available on the other fortnight).

Mirrorfall: Episode One (Require: Cookie)

Here are the reviews posted during August. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in August, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.

1) Lauren DeStefano, Wither: Problematic, but Promising
2) Geoff Johns, Batman: Earth One: Good Read
3) Kristin Cashore, Bitterblue: Below Standard
4) Lisa Mantchev, So Silver Bright: Good Read
5) Lyn Benedict, Lies & Omens: Couldn't Put It Down
6) Joe Hill, The Cape: Good Read
7) Bill Willingham, Down the Mysterly River: Good Read
8) Barbara Ashford, Spellcrossed: Good Read
9) John Scalzi, Questions for a Soldier: Good Read
10) Ben Aaronovitch, Midnight Riot: Good Read
11) Chip Kidd, Batman: Death by Design: Good Read
12) Connie Willis, Bellwether: Excellent
13) Carrie Vaughn, Kitty Steals the Show: Good Read
14) Ekaterina Sedia, Heart of Iron: Excellent
15) James S.A. Corey, The Butcher of Anderson Station: Good Read
16) Stacia Kane, Unholy Magic: Excellent
17) Sharon Shinn, Jovah's Angel: Excellent
18) Diana Rowland, My Life as a White Trash Zombie: Good Read

As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

Here are the reviews posted during July. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in July, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.

1) Ken Liu: The Man Who Ended History: Excellent
2) Heidi Ruby Miller: Ambasadora: No Rating
3) Leigh Bardugo: Shadow and Bone: Worth Reading, with Reservations
4) Elizabeth Wein: Code Name Verity: My Precious
5) Grant Morrison: WE3: The Deluxe Edition: Worth Reading, with Reservations
6) Mira Grant: Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box: Good Read
7) James S.A. Corey: Leviathan Wakes: Couldn't Put It Down
8) Mira Grant: San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats: Good Read
9) Bill Willingham: Fables: Deluxe Edition: Book 5: Good Read
10) Jo Walton: Among Others: Worth Reading, with Reservations
11) Stina Leicht: Of Blood and Honey: Worth Reading, with Reservations
12) Rae Carson: The Shadow Cats: Good Read
13) Cherie Priest: Ganymede: Good Read

As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

What are you reading now? Storm Front. Yes, I know, late for the party -_-
Who is your favorite urban fantasy author? Neil Gaiman
What urban fantasy book is your favorite? Does Sandman count as one book?
Who is your favorite character? John Constantine
Do you write fanfic? What fandoms? I write for TV fandoms, mostly


Anything else?
I wanted to ask people in this community for some recs of urban fantasy with no 'masquerade'. Meaning, the supernatural is not hidden but the world is recognizable as modern. Something like Shadowrun, if anyone knows what I mean by that. Dresden Files seems to have a somewhat lax masquerade but I'd like something more pronounced.