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Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance v. 3.0


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On ‎8‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 4:03 AM, Mandy said:

I finished The Others books 1-4 by Anne Bishop.  I liked them enough to read more.  

I started the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews and now I have decided that I want to be an innkeeper.  Seriously.  As if Gilmore Girls wasn't enough to solidify that need in me. The first few chapters of each book are online.  I'm enjoying the meld of cute, fantasy inn that melds itself to the innkeeper's needs and the intergalctic travel.  I recommend.  http://innkeeper.ilona-andrews.com/

If you follow them as they're written, the entire books are on-line.

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Finished Book 7 of the Alex Verus series this week, Burned.

Overall, thought it was another fantastic book in the series. VERY fast paced, right from the get go, with a number of twists and turns. The series is probably changing direction a little, and I suspect not everyone will be thrilled. But I was captivated right up to the end.

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13 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

I would assume people wouldn't like the black jewels trilogy cause it's gross and super misogynistic and also plain terrible. Plus the names.

I'm not sure if its misogynistic. There is certainly violence against women, but women are also the rulers and men serve. And women with higher jewels are just as powerful as men with higher jewels.

But its certainly got a lot of very explicit violence in it, so I could understand people not liking it due to that.

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1 hour ago, Mandy said:

Did I mention the Kate Daniels series was optioned to Voodoo Television?   As we all know, nothing may come of this, but the prospect of it excited me anyway :)  http://www.ilona-andrews.com/voodoo-television/

I can see an AMC Kate Daniels series.  The important thing would be to produce it as an action show in tone, not as a Lost Girl or Bitten.

Although there's a problem in that shape shifters and vampires both will cost a lot of money to show on screen.

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 Mike Carey (aka M.R. Carey) is finally going to write Felix Castor #6.He announced this on his recent reddit AMA

Quote

Castor 6 is going to be my next prose project.

Thanks! I fully intend to write a sixth Castor novel very soon. There's a pay-off that needs to be delivered.

I hope to start work on Castor 6 very soon. Admittedly, I've been hoping that for some years now, but I can see a space opening up where I'll be able to do it.

Spoiler

1.) Are we going to see any retribution human / demonic directed towards Castor for finally getting rid of you know who at the end of #5?

2.) Given what happened to Castor at the end of #5 is he going to be as gobby in #6.

3.) Totally randomly how come the Art Work for the books changed? My copies of The Devil you Know & Vicious Circle look completely different than the other 3. I though the art work on those 2 was amazing. And was one of the reasons I pulled the The Devil you Know off the shelf to have a look (I know, I know never judge a book by it's cover), as it caught my eye.

4.) Are there any similarities between yourself and Castor, seeing as you're both Scouser's who left Liverpool and moved down to London?

5.) Everton or Liverpool?

6.) Any plans to move in a Sci-Fi direction?

I think that's all I'll ask, it's a bit of a coincidence I've seen this today, as I was just speaking to my dad about Girl with All the Gifts, he's a huge fan as well. And he loves Felix Castor for being a gobby scouser who moved dawwwwn sauf (just like dad).

Anyway thanks for all the amazing work, I'm really looking forward for more and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Fellside.

 
 

[–]M_R_CareyAMA Author[S] 1 point 4 days ago 

  1. We're going to meet some entities who have an opinion on the matter... :)

  2. I think the only way of shutting Castor's mouth is quick-setting cement.

  3. Orbit decided to switch designers - and to go for a style that shouted out three things on each cover. London. Supernatural. Crime. I like both sets of designs, but I think I prefer the later ones.

  4. I suppose I'm like him in the occasional introspection and self-doubt. And I gave him some aspects of my childhood, especially in Thicker Than Water. But I'm the very opposite of a man of action. And I can't hold a tune...

  5. Everton for preference, but only because we lived right next to the ground. I don't really follow the game.

  6. You could argue that TGWATG is sci-fi. And there was aseries I wrote for 2000AD, called Thirteen. I wouldn't rule it out. I'm avid reader of sci-fi. I just seem to have gravitated more towards horror and dark fantasy as a writer. I sort of feel that the genre boundaries are porous now in any case...

If you're still living in the Pool, irdavid, I'll be back there in September around about the time when the movie of GIRL is released...

OT: sad to learn that he prefers Everton over Liverpool :(

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28 minutes ago, Mandy said:

This is amazing news!

I'm on book 4 of the Charlie Madigan series by Kelly Gay.  It has turned out to be much more my cup of tea than the first book seemed to be.  I need to line another series up like this one, because I haven't had much luck just choosing from, say, the Goodreads "Best Urban Fantasy" list.

A lot of that list is Paranormal Romance, which isn't exactly my cup of tea either.

I'm currently reading Murder with Monsters by K Katzmann.  It's a super pulpy and very tongue-in-cheek police procedural following a formerly Jewish vampire detective.

Just one more damn week until In Shining  Armor (Pax Arcana #4) and Red Knight Falling (Harmony Black #2) come out.  I just want them now.

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1 hour ago, Mandy said:

Same here, Mars.  I like a balance.  I do really enjoy some love interest in the stories, but the paranormal romance strikes me as ridiculous most of the time, and the books I've read of that genre were mostly lacking in plot and general writing abilities of the author.  Nothing I can't stand more than tropey beautiful vampire crap.  

I think I'll try Pax Arcana next maybe...

You really should.  It's a good series, the main character is funny-snarky instead of annoying-snarky, and as far as female leads in male led-UF goes the one here actually gets a life of her own instead of just being the main character's hot sidekick.  (Poor Murphy.)

Too bad I already did a reread of the series a few weeks back.

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On 17 April 2016 at 3:00 AM, AncalagonTheBlack said:

 Mike Carey (aka M.R. Carey) is finally going to write Felix Castor #6.He announced this on his recent reddit AMA

  Reveal hidden contents

1.) Are we going to see any retribution human / demonic directed towards Castor for finally getting rid of you know who at the end of #5?

2.) Given what happened to Castor at the end of #5 is he going to be as gobby in #6.

3.) Totally randomly how come the Art Work for the books changed? My copies of The Devil you Know & Vicious Circle look completely different than the other 3. I though the art work on those 2 was amazing. And was one of the reasons I pulled the The Devil you Know off the shelf to have a look (I know, I know never judge a book by it's cover), as it caught my eye.

4.) Are there any similarities between yourself and Castor, seeing as you're both Scouser's who left Liverpool and moved down to London?

5.) Everton or Liverpool?

6.) Any plans to move in a Sci-Fi direction?

I think that's all I'll ask, it's a bit of a coincidence I've seen this today, as I was just speaking to my dad about Girl with All the Gifts, he's a huge fan as well. And he loves Felix Castor for being a gobby scouser who moved dawwwwn sauf (just like dad).

Anyway thanks for all the amazing work, I'm really looking forward for more and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Fellside.

 

 
 

[–]M_R_CareyAMA Author[S] 1 point 4 days ago 

  1. We're going to meet some entities who have an opinion on the matter... :)

  2. I think the only way of shutting Castor's mouth is quick-setting cement.

  3. Orbit decided to switch designers - and to go for a style that shouted out three things on each cover. London. Supernatural. Crime. I like both sets of designs, but I think I prefer the later ones.

  4. I suppose I'm like him in the occasional introspection and self-doubt. And I gave him some aspects of my childhood, especially in Thicker Than Water. But I'm the very opposite of a man of action. And I can't hold a tune...

  5. Everton for preference, but only because we lived right next to the ground. I don't really follow the game.

  6. You could argue that TGWATG is sci-fi. And there was aseries I wrote for 2000AD, called Thirteen. I wouldn't rule it out. I'm avid reader of sci-fi. I just seem to have gravitated more towards horror and dark fantasy as a writer. I sort of feel that the genre boundaries are porous now in any case...

If you're still living in the Pool, irdavid, I'll be back there in September around about the time when the movie of GIRL is released...

OT: sad to learn that he prefers Everton over Liverpool :(

Not sure how I feel about that. I thought the series closed well, finishing the story line. 

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23 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Ok, I got Charming in the Pax Arcana series.  I spend SO MUCH MONEY on books with how much I read that I tried to check out Amazon Kindle Unlimited, but they really don't have anything for me, I think.  Boo :(

Craig Schaefer's Daniel Faust and Harmony Black series are on KU.  They both have a darker tone than most UF: think Sandman Slim but with prose and characters that are actually good.  Faust is an anti-villain with a vested interest in seeing the status quo maintained, where "status quo" means "Earth as it is".  Black on the other hand is a Lawful Good UF heroine... who still threatens recalcitrant suspects with occult Guantamino if she needs to exert leverage.

Besides that, I've got nothing for KU urban fantasy.

Someone brought up the Raine Benares series a while back.  I've been working on the first one, and it's a slog.  Thoroughly mediocre, which is an adjective I also could use to describe Raine herself, despite how she talks herself up as a qualified "seeker".  Plus in this case she's literally a MacGuffin to be fought over by various much more powerful dudes, which isn't cool.

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14 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Yeeaaahh... it might have been me who mentioned Raine Benares. hehe figures.  I read them a year or two ago, and I bought the most recent one and put it aside for now.  I've been having a hard time really getting into things lately, though, so I figured it was just my busy mind.  Could just not be very good, I dunno.  I will say, I have only recently started to be more annoyed by the plentiful hot dudes all trying to get the hot main chick in bed.  But I did really like her as a character really.  As with most series, they get better as you go on, I think.

I will definitely be reading the new Harmony Black when it comes out next week.  I figured even one book is worth the trial period of unlimited, and I pre-ordered it on there, so that's good. I may have to look into his other books you mentioned :)

You'll also be able to pick up Harmony Black #2, titled Red Knight Falling, on KU when it comes out next Tuesday.  (No, I'm not Craig Schaefer.)

And, yeah, the quasi love triangle between  the hot protagonist chick and the hot vaguely interchangeable powerful dudes that seems to be already forming is a little annoying.  One thing I like about Harmony Black is that she's actually more interested in doing her job by managing demonic threats and tracking down the killer than she is in making out with the hunk in closest proximity.

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For some reason the new Pax Arcana doesn't seem to be downloading for me. On Amazon my order is still listed as pre-order. Hmm, will need to chase them.

Raine Benares is nice mulch when you don't want to think too hard. Nothing more. I didn't really get into the Daniel Faust books, so haven't picked up the Harmony Black ones either. Maybe I should go back and pick up where I left off in book 2.

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8 hours ago, ants said:

For some reason the new Pax Arcana doesn't seem to be downloading for me. On Amazon my order is still listed as pre-order. Hmm, will need to chase them.

Raine Benares is nice mulch when you don't want to think too hard. Nothing more. I didn't really get into the Daniel Faust books, so haven't picked up the Harmony Black ones either. Maybe I should go back and pick up where I left off in book 2.

In Shining armor doesn't come out until the 26th, as I'm seeing it.

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On 4/22/2016 at 11:55 AM, Mandy said:

I absolutely HAVE to be reading something at all times, so I'm very happy to find a series with a couple books in it that I like.  When I say I am a book addict, I mean it; I get very anxious when I near the end of a book and don't have something else lined up to start.  I tell people my reading habit is a problem and they think I'm being self effacing. I'm completely serious.  I don't actually plan to stop or anything, and it's not as bad as smoking, but it can cost a lot :P

Oh look... at least some people seem to understand - anything can be abused.  http://www.beyondliteracy.com/reading-addiction/

I tend to have periods of time when I watch more TV than read, but they are very similar to me since when I read I see the book like a movie anyway.  And the anxiety isn't a huge issue since I have so many reader friends and access to books on my phone :P  Sorry for the derailing post :P

You are not alone in this. In high school I had an English teacher who told the class that a person cannot read too much. Some one at the back of the class piped up "what about maarsen? He always has a book." The teacher just gave me a look and said "there is something wrong with that boy."

Try Project Gutenberg for free books that you can download. 

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On 22 April 2016 at 4:55 PM, Mandy said:

I absolutely HAVE to be reading something at all times, so I'm very happy to find a series with a couple books in it that I like.  When I say I am a book addict, I mean it; I get very anxious when I near the end of a book and don't have something else lined up to start.  I tell people my reading habit is a problem and they think I'm being self effacing. I'm completely serious.  I don't actually plan to stop or anything, and it's not as bad as smoking, but it can cost a lot :P

Oh look... at least some people seem to understand - anything can be abused.  http://www.beyondliteracy.com/reading-addiction/

I tend to have periods of time when I watch more TV than read, but they are very similar to me since when I read I see the book like a movie anyway.  And the anxiety isn't a huge issue since I have so many reader friends and access to books on my phone :P  Sorry for the derailing post :P

This is why having the kindle app on my phone is such a lifesaver. Comes to something when I have three devices with access to a reading app on me at any one time :lol: 

I'm the same with TV too actually, I go through fits and starts where I either read loads or watch TV. One of the other for me, never both balanced.

So, on the Urban Fantasy front, it doesn't have to be set in our world with fantastical elements right? It can be all in a secondary world(s)? 

I ask because I was reading VE Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic recently. The first in the series was decent enough, with some interesting ideas and potential for a strong sequel, but this was really disappointing. The plot never seemed to progress, I hit 50-60% and nothing had really happened. The characters were all a bit one-note and bland, especially Delilah. Felt like the author was trying too hard to say: "This character is great and badass and so on!"

So if you enjoyed the first in the series, I don't recommend the second :P 

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