Archive for urban fantasy
Hot New Releases: Best Urban Fantasy Books for June 2008
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the list of upcoming urban fantasy books with a release date of June 2008!
Easy one-click links are included to make it easy to check prices from either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.
I continue to be amazed at how urban fantasy is gaining in popularity. This is evident by the number of new books that are slated to be released in June. I’ve listed the first few and will continue adding to the list over the next few days.
See also:
| June 1, 2008 |  |
All Souls’ Night (Blood Ties, Book 4) (Bk. 4) by Jennifer Armintrout”Something was seriously wrong. In the past few weeks, since we had fled Grand Rapids and come to Max’s Chicago penthouse, Nathan’s entire focus had been my recovery. I’d gone mute and practically catatonic after Cyrus, once my sire, then my fledgling, had died. After I’d wake from one of my many nightmares—daymares, I supposed, since we vampires are third-shifters on account of that pesky sun thing—Nathan would hold me and try to reassure me that it had all been a dream, that he wouldn’t let anything harm me. Now, though, I felt his irritation and acute distraction through the blood tie, the telepathic and empathic connection that coursed between a fledgling vampire and their sire, and I knew something wasn’t right.” Check Availability: |
| June 1, 2008 |  |
The Mall of Cthulhu by Seamus Cooper”A decade ago, college student Laura Harker was saved from a fate worse than death at the hands (and fangs) of a centuries-old vampire priestess and her Satanic minions. Her rescuer, an awkward, geeky folklore student named Teddy, single-handedly slew the undead occupants of the Omega Alpha sorority house, spurred into heroic action by fate itself, inexorably intertwining his and Laura’s destinies. After navigating her way through law school, Laura is now a junior FBI agent assigned to the Bureau’s Boston office.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
Walk on the Wild Side (The Others, Book 5) by Christine Warren”In national bestseller Christine Warren’s Others novels, vampires, witches, werewolves, and more have come out of the supernatural closet. Now, the world as we know it will never be the same… Kitty Sugarman is a lot tougher than her name implies. Still, she’s content with how her small- town life keeps her removed from all the changes happening in the world—like the Unveiling of the Others. That is, until a near-tragedy strikes and Kitty discovers she has abilities . . .thanks to a father she never knew was alive. He also happens to be a were-lion and leader of one of the most powerful Prides out West.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
Spectre (Zoe Martinique, Book 2) by Phaedra Wheldon (Zoe Martinique Book 2)”Zoë Martinique has the extraordinary ability to travel outside her body at will. When she is drawn into an investigation of a series of bizarre murders, in which the victims are missing body parts, Zoë hopes to help her boyfriend, Atlanta homicide detective Daniel Frasier, stop the killer— one she’s sure is from the darkest levels of the astral plane—without letting him find out about her special abilities.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
Nightkeepers (Final Prophecy, Book 1) by Jessica Andersen “As a Miami narcotics detective, Leah Daniels never knows how her day will turn out. But she certainly never expected to be strapped to a stone altar, the human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ritual meant to coax up a demon from the underworld. Or that she’d be saved by a handsome warrior-priest king who claims to recognize her from his visions… Jaguar Strike wishes he hadn’t made the mistake of reuniting his fellow warrior priests, or broken the law by saving their chosen human sacrifice. Now, he has no choice but to join forces with Leah and invoke dangerous magic in a death-defying race against the end of time.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
The Man with the Golden Torc (Secret Histories, Book 1) by Simon R. Green“All those things you hear about as a kid? The boogeyman under the bed? The creature in the closet? They’re for real, people. Eddie Drood knows they’re for real. His family has kept humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night. For ages, they’ve held back the nightmares, locked the doors, barred the gates, and put righteous boot to monster arse on a nightly basis. But now Eddie’s in trouble. One of his own has convinced the rest of the family that Eddie’s become a menace, and that humanity needs to be protected from him. So he’s on the run, using every trick in the book, magical and otherwise, hoping he lives long enough to prove his innocence. And he knows how dangerous the Droods can be-because he’s one of them.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar”British author Millar offers fiercely funny (and often inebriated) Scottish fairies, a poignant love story as well as insights into the gravity of Crohn’s disease, cultural conflicts and the plight of the homeless in this fey urban fantasy. Due to the machinations of the obnoxious Tala, Cornwall’s fairy king, only a few humans can see the 18-inch-tall fairies who alight in Manhattan: Magenta, a homeless woman who thinks she’s the ancient Greek general Xenophon; Dinnie, an overweight slacker; and Kerry, a poor artist/musician who hopes her Ancient Celtic Flower Alphabet will win a local arts prize. Fairies Heather MacKintosh and Morag MacPherson scheme to put Dinnie and Kerry together, rescue fairy artifacts and prove that in love or war, music is essential.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
Daemons are Forever (Secret Histories, Book 2) by Simon R. Green”Second in the trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Man with the Golden Torc. Eddie Drood’s clan has been watching mankind’s back for ages. And now he’s in charge of the whole kit and caboodle. But it’s not going to be an easy gig… During World War II, the Droods made a pact with some nasty buggers from another dimension known as the Loathly Ones, which they needed to fight the Nazis. But once the war was over, the Loathly Ones decided that they liked this world too much to leave. Now it’s up to Eddie to make things very uncomfortable for them—or watch everything humanity holds dear go up in smoke.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
The Cursed (Vampire Huntress Legends) by L. A. Banks”Lilith and her husband, the vampire “Unnamed One”, are caught unawares while awaiting the birth of their angel-hybrid heir. Installed as Vampire Council chairwoman, Lilith calls on vampires, witches and warlocks (including Machiavelli, Jezebel, Genghis Khan and Medusa) to combat the forces of the Covenant, the Guardians, the Neterus and both Neteru Councils. She attacks her enemies Damali and Carlos Rivera where it hurts the most: their libidos. Soon the battle involves a Valkyrie, the Ark of the Covenant and bootleg music downloads. This end of days scenario is a wild amalgam of Christianity, vampire lore, world myth, functional morality, street philosophy and hot sex.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
Blood Colony: A Novel by Tananarive Due”There’s a new drug on the street: Glow. Said to heal almost any illness, it is distributed by an Underground Railroad of drug peddlers. But what gives Glow its power? Its main ingredient is blood — the blood of immortals. A small but powerful colony of immortals is distributing the blood, slowly wiping out the AIDS epidemic and other diseases around the world. Meet Fana Wolde, seventeen years old, the only immortal born with the Living Blood. She can read minds, and her injuries heal immediately. When her best friend, a mortal, is imprisoned by Fana’s family, Fana helps her escape — and together they run away from Fana’s protected home in Washington State to join the Underground Railroad. But Fana has more than her parents to worry about: Glow peddlers are being murdered by a violent, hundred-year-old sect with ties to the Vatican. Now, when Fana is most vulnerable, she is being hunted to fulfill an ancient blood prophecy that could lead to countless deaths.” Check Availability: |
| June 3, 2008 |  |
Blood and Iron: A Novel of the Promethean Age (Book 1) by Elizabeth Bear”Ancient grudges and ruthless schemes are simply business as usual to the Faerie court in Bear’s complex and involving contemporary fantasy. Seeker, formerly Elaine Andraste, is a changeling bound to the Mebd, the queen of the Daoine Sidhe, to find other changelings and bring them to the Faerie court. There, like legendary Tam Lin, and Seeker’s own son, Ian, they entertain the queen until she tires of them. Now the queen needs Seeker to find and win the heart of the new Merlin, latest incarnation of a being who, in the hands of the Prometheans, could be used to destroy the Fae. Pragmatic college professor Carel Bierce, the first female Merlin, is not easily swayed by Fae or Promethean advances. Long-forgotten rivalries and unsuspected blood ties arise to tug at Seeker’s loyalties, even as the queen promises to free Ian when she succeeds.” Check Availability: |
Vampire Love Poems Part 4
Posted by: | CommentsOkay, I’m on a roll. I just started reading a new urban fantasy book which prompted me to write the following vampire love poem:
Vampire Love Poem #4
When we were in love you called me “your Sookie”,
But you betrayed me and taking you back would be kooky.
Now the Fellowship is after my head,
They truly hate the undead,
So spending time with your vamp queen can be quite spooky.
Which female character from a popular urban fantasy vampire book series would say these words?
For more Vampire Love Poems see:
Vampire Love Poems Part 3
Posted by: | CommentsOkay. This one’s for Javier Millán who asked for more clues about one of the vampire love poems from last week. Here’s the original poem:
Vampire Love Poem #2
I’m a vampire, yes dear I confess,
I’m newly made and my life is a mess.
I hope you can understand,
You’re still my DEA man,
But I don’t know if our relationship can progress.
Here’s the new poem with many more clues:
Vampire Love Poem #3
I’m a newly turned vamp whose last name is Strong,
I’m struggling to separate the right from the wrong,
I’d like to keep my 9-to-5,
‘Cause it makes me feel alive,
Darlin’ please tell me you’ll tag along.
Got it? Post your answer in comments.
For more Vampire Love Poems see:
My Favorite Urban Fantasy Sites
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Since you’re reading this article I assume you’re interested in urban fantasy. Me too. I read it every night before going to bed and try to sneak in a few pages before going to work each morning. If it’s a book written about vampires, witches, or werewolves in a modern day setting I’m all over it. I use this site to publish reviews of what I read.
However I’m not the only game in town – there are other folks out there who also like urban fantasy books who manage sites that I frequent on a regular basis. Their sites may focus on more than urban fantasy but there’s enough urban fantasy there to keep me coming back on a regular basis.
Here are the sites I visit the most:
Scooper Speaks. Stacy Cooper “Scooper” provides very well-written, balanced reviews of primarily fantasy romance books. Her site design is clean and easy to navigate. Here’s a big plus for Scooper: she responds to her commentors. That means a lot to me because it makes a site more interactive and helps readers learn more about the site owner.
League of Reluctant Adults. This site is managed by a group of 5 urban fantasy writers. I like visiting this site not just because they provide insider book information about their recent and upcoming writing projects but also because the articles are so darn funny. I imagine the writers getting together each week for drinks and dinner in a place reminiscent of the Algonquin Round Table. In my mind they’d talk really fast, laugh uproariously, and engage in lots of “witty repartee.”
Flames Rising. The Flames Rising site reviews different types of books, not just fantasy books: they cover horror, dark fantasy, non-fiction books, and fantasy video games. They also provide author interviews and write-ups on the latest in horror-related news. Matt, the site owner and editor, has enlisted the aid of 4 folks to help out with the book reviews. It’s here that I get my often-needed zombie fix.
SciFi Chick. SciFi Chick has a site that contains book reviews of science fiction books and movies (some of which fall into the urban fantasy genre), online contests, trailers to scifi movie and TV trailers, and interviews with scifi writers. Her site is chock-full of good content; you could easily spend hours looking through the material.
Urban Fantasy Reader. Urban Fantasy Reader is devoted to everything related to my favorite book genre. Yes the site contains book reviews but what’s really cool about this site are the photos of urban fantasy book covers and TV shows/movies. Check out the April 2nd post which shows some of the cast from the upcoming HBO series called “True Blood” which brings Charlaine Harris’ popular Sookie Stackhouse books to the screen. Yum. I could just gobble up the “vampire Bill” character sitting on the couch beside “Sookie.” In a totally non-cannibalistic sort of way that is. Also look at the April 6th post which shows the new cover for the next Patricia Briggs book titled “Bone Crossed.”
Which urban fantasy sites do you visit on a regular basis?
Your Urban Fantasy Book Collection: Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
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As promised I’m writing short reviews or “quickies” of the contemporary and urban fantasy books that I believe every urban fantasy reader should have in their collection. My goal is to publish one of these every few days. I have quite a few books to cover so this will keep me busy for a while.
First up is Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong. Kelley Armstrong writes the Women of the Otherworld series that I love so much. One series deals with witches, the second series focuses on werewolves. This review takes a look at the first book from the series about witches.
Key Points
The heroine, Paige Winterbourne, is a witch who inherits the title of Leader of the American Coven of Witches when her mother dies. Paige is looking for hidden grimoires, books filled with powerful spells that she hopes will help witches regain their place in the supernatural world. By only practicing white magic, witches have become weaker than sorcerers, their male counterparts. Paige wants the witches to regain their power and use it not for profit, like the cabals, but for the purpose of doing good.
Paige also inherits the responsibility of looking after Savannah Levine, a rebellious 13-year-old who’s mother (also dead) practiced black magic, something taboo to the witches in the coven.
Savannah, like her mother, is also interested in black magic and is an extremely powerful, but untrained, witch. This makes her attractive to the leader of a cabal, a sorcerer-owned high-powered corporation that uses witches and clairvoyants against their competition. Savannah’s long lost father wants to use her for this purpose and plans to fight Paige for custody.
Paige meets a lawyer who happens to be heir to the most powerful cabal in the world. Although he’s a sorcerer he’s not interested in his father’s cabal business. When Paige gets into trouble he comes to the rescue. Although witches and sorcerers have hated one another for centuries, Paige forms a friendship with the lawyer.
There’s lots of action in this book; most of it is linked to Paige’s attempts to keep Savannah in check (you try dealing with a powerful untrained 13 year old witch), her efforts to fight off Savannah’s deadbeat dad for custody, and her attempts to keep both of them safe from a female half-demon that seems to be holding a grudge against Paige. After reading this book, the first in the Paige Winterbourne urban fantasy series, I was hooked.
If you don’t have this book you should get Dime Store Magic while it’s on sale.
