Darth Richard II Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Ohhh yeah i LOVE The Invisible Library books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Oh do the Athens Club books count as UF? Those books are wonderful. im generally ok with romancey bits as long as it’s not one of those series with internalized misogyny and alpha male werewolves. I liked soulless. Hmm I should get back to those. anyway I’m barely awake and ranting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Oh does the library of the unwritten count? That’s the thing. I’m still unsure what counts as UF. also one more hurrah for the invisible library. I looooove those books. Maybe my favorite ongoing series at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inkdaub Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/7/2020 at 10:02 PM, Darth Richard II said: So I like Peter Grant, Ninth House, last smile in Sunder City, and I’ve been told Gladstone’s Craft Sequence counts as UF. Anyone want to throw some reccomends at me that ARNT Dresden? Would Daniel Polansky and/or Stephen Blackmore count as Urban Fantasy? I like Polansky a lot and the one Blackmore book I read was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 4 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: Oh do the Athens Club books count as UF? Those books are wonderful. .... What are the Athens Club books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Er Athena Club. Auto correct + sleepy not a good idea. Theodora Goss ants 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornishpen Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 On 5/7/2020 at 11:54 PM, ants said: I think often having an alpha male in a modern setting can be a little cringeworthy. In a historical setting at least you can understand the social/cultural drivers for people to rate that and desire it. For example, in Pride & Prejudice Elizabeth being wowed by the wealth of Darcy's properties is fine. Put it in a modern context, and you would look a bit down on someone changing their preferences based on a suitor's wealth. I think there is also a lot of badly written paranormal romance. She wasn't, she always knew he was extremely rich, even when she turned down his first proposal, that was a joke. But her view of him did change after the letter, and changed even more after seeing Pemberley, not because it showed proof of his wealth, she already knew that, but because she saw how he treated his tenants, servants, land property, what his taste re landscape, decor etc was and so on. If she was mercenary she would have accepted Darcy's first proposal (where she met his rich titled relatives and saw their great estate: Rosings which was likely roughly equivalent in value to Pemberley, and there's a sharp contrast between the taste of Pemberley and Rosings) or she would have even accepted Mr Collins proposal where she would have been able to keep Longbourn after her father died and then she would have stayed rich at the level of her father, but not the level of Darcy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Not my memory, but its been a while. ___________________________________________________________ It will be interesting to see how the urban fantasy authors handle COVID-19. For a number of those with ongoing, contemporary series, they'll face the decision of whether to include the pandemic and how to treat it. They could (initially) just ignore it; most books don't say the exact year(s) they relate to. Or they could incorporate it, but give it a mystical overlay. Is it caused by something in the magical world, either deliberately, an accident, or as fallout from other actions. Alternatively say it is natural, but have it impact the magical community in different ways. This whole overlay of magic within the modern world is what will separate urban fantasy authors dealing with COVID versus other authors. Obviously where they set their series will be important, even to the degree of where in the USA or Europe. Australian experience of the disease will be very different from London vs New York vs country USA vs California. It may be interesting how authors who aren't living in the area they write about will handle that. And of course, books written about this period are probably at least 18 months away, as the books coming out first would have been written prior to the outbreak. So therefore, we'll see what some of the longer term impacts are first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derfel Cadarn Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Covid-19 in contemporary books I’m writing/planning is something I’m pondering. My inclination is to either set books before or after. I suspect people want to read to escape it, not read all about people isolating etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 (edited) 47 minutes ago, Derfel Cadarn said: Covid-19 in contemporary books I’m writing/planning is something I’m pondering. My inclination is to either set books before or after. I suspect people want to read to escape it, not read all about people isolating etc. I imagine a lot will take this approach at least at first. Especially long term series such as Rivers of London, Dresden, Toby Daye, Alex Verus, etc. Not too hard to put out some more books which are meant to be broadly before these events. But in series which are contemporary, it may be hard not to have the series deal with it at some point, unless they choose to diverge wildly from the current real world. Obviously a lot will depend on how the pandemic develops. If the major impacts of COVID are confined to less than 6 months, having before/after becomes easier. If we have waves across 18 months, ignoring it will be harder. And even if it is 'after', the economic fall out would have to be part of the books. Edited May 11, 2020 by ants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 20 hours ago, ants said: I imagine a lot will take this approach at least at first. Especially long term series such as Rivers of London, Dresden, Toby Daye, Alex Verus, etc. Not too hard to put out some more books which are meant to be broadly before these events. But in series which are contemporary, it may be hard not to have the series deal with it at some point, unless they choose to diverge wildly from the current real world. It's probably going to be a while before it's an issue for Rivers of London at least, since although the series has plenty of references to real-world events the latest book is set pre-Brexit referendum. ants 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 On 5/11/2020 at 4:32 PM, williamjm said: It's probably going to be a while before it's an issue for Rivers of London at least, since although the series has plenty of references to real-world events the latest book is set pre-Brexit referendum. The most recent one seemed to take place in 2016 with reference to Bowie's death that January. It is probably smart to operate a few years in the past like that. You can be contemporary but have some breathing room for working in the current events as you are writing. For anyone who is a fan of the Mercy Thompson series...this Saturday (May 23rd), Charlaine Harris will interview Patricia Briggs about her new book, Smoke Bitten. Then Dana Cameron and Toni Kelner (Leigh Perry) will join them for a panel discussion on Worldbuilding. The Leading Ladies of Urban Fantasy is part of a series of Saturday afternoon panels by Essence of Wonder. It starts at 3 PM (Eastern Time) and it is free but you have to register. https://essenceofwonder.com/2020/05/04/masters-of-urban-fantasy-charlaine-harris-patricia-briggs-dana-cameron-and-toni-kelner/ The one nice thing about this whole stay at home and all conventions and book tours canceled is a lot of authors and conventions are now going online which makes it so nice and easy to "attend". I've been able to see a lot of authors "on tour" these past two months who I never would have been able to see if they went on their planned in person tours this spring. ants 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Thanks for that. For those of us who are outside the Americas, can you watch it later, or only live? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 20 hours ago, lady narcissa said: The most recent one seemed to take place in 2016 with reference to Bowie's death that January. It is probably smart to operate a few years in the past like that. You can be contemporary but have some breathing room for working in the current events as you are writing. I suspect it might not have been intentional but just due to the writing not keeping pace with the passage of time since the first book (not that I've got any complaints about Aaronvitch's writing pace). I remember being a bit taken aback when it started with the commuters reacting to Bowie's death, I'd lost track of whether books were compared to real history. Poor Peter has a rough few years ahead of him even if he manages to avoid being killed by supernatural horrors. ants and john 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 On 5/13/2020 at 6:08 PM, ants said: Thanks for that. For those of us who are outside the Americas, can you watch it later, or only live? I don't know for sure but I was looking around their website and it looks like there is a good chance they will. If you go to their Shows page you will see that for some past events it says the recordings are available with links to those on youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Another virtual author event...if anyone is fans of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, he is talking with Pat Rothfuss out it tomorrow (Thursday) night: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/penguin-worlds-book-club-jim-butcher-in-conversation-with-patrick-rothfuss-registration-103472160016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 OK now that’s just baiting me into making a snide comment. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 On 5/21/2020 at 12:37 PM, lady narcissa said: Another virtual author event...if anyone is fans of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, he is talking with Pat Rothfuss out it tomorrow (Thursday) night: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/penguin-worlds-book-club-jim-butcher-in-conversation-with-patrick-rothfuss-registration-103472160016 Was it any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 22 hours ago, ants said: Was it any good? It was interesting. I don't read Rothfuss's books but I've seen him on a number of panels at Worldcon and other comic cons and I find him enjoyable to listen to. He has a very soothing voice. And it was obvious he is a fan of the Dresden Files books. I'd say just because of the way he talks - slow and methodical - the session was 80% him talking and 20% Butcher. But most of it was about the Dresden Files with some sidebars on the pandemic and other things. Most interesting is I discovered why I can't read the Dresden Files. I tried to read them but I live in Chicago and the Dresden Files Chicago is just not Chicago. And I've learned the reason for this from this chat - because the Dresden Files wasn't written as being in Chicago when Butcher started the series, it took place in Kansas City. But his agent (or maybe editor, I can't remember) told him it couldn't be set in Missouri because the Laurell K. Hamilton books were set in Missouri and there couldn't be two series based there. (Which just seems bizarre.) So he looked at a globe which only had DC, NYC, LA and Chicago labeled on the US, eliminated the other 3 cities, and decided to go with Chicago. For me, the reason I love Urban Fantasy is I love sense of place in stories. Stories that are shaped by their location and couldn't be the stories they are if they were in a different location. The Dresden Files lacked this for me. The location just felt like a much smaller city. Which makes sense when you understand it was Kansas City. I think its too bad he was made to switch locations like that. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with a location he actually knew as opposed to one he picked out from a globe. You can watch their chat if you are interested: ants and RedEyedGhost 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Thanks. Was there any spoilers for the new book(s)? I hate spoilers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.