Lesson 4: Other Sub-genres of Fantasy
Authors and Books of Urban Fantasy
There are many authors who write books of Urban Fantasy.
The author who is an expert in Urban Fantasy is Charles de Lint. He is a master of mixing the world with fantastical creatures and beings. His characters are three-dimensional people whose encounters with the fantastic change them forever. It started with his tale of Fairy and magic in Ottawa, Canada. In recent years, his magical stories take place in the fictional city of Newford. Various characters are changed as they are touched by magic or magical beings in the city as they live there lives. Most of the Newford stories are short stories collected into books. The just published Newford book The Dreaming Tree has new stories for readers to enjoy.
Another author of this sub-genre is Tom Deitz. He places his stories in Georgia in the southern United States. The characters of David Sullivan and his friends must deal with magic and Fairy lords through several novels. Windmaster’s Bane is the first one of this sequence. Deitz mingles elements of Celtic and Native American myths in his books. The plots of these books are very involving and bring the modern world to life with interesting issues.
Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks is a powerful Contemporary Fantasy. The book is set in Minneapolis, Minnesota where a woman rock musician discovers that Fairy exists alongside of humanity in the city. She is drawn into a conflict between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. This book is a prime example of the sub-genre that has a strong sense of wonder.
These are just a few of the authors writing in this sub-genre set in the cities of our modern world, Contemporary Fantasy brings magic to let us see urban life in a different light..
Bibliography:
Bull, Emma. War for the Oaks.
Deitz, Tom. Windmaster’s Bane.
de Lint, Charles. The Dreaming Tree.
