#urbanfantasy

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San Francisco, 1:27 PM
Tue Feb 9
27 posts in the last 24 hours

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#urbanfantasy

Faeries In The Real World Wear Boxer Shorts

Long before "urban fantasy" became a thriving subgenre, Greek artist Yannis Tsarouchis was painting faeries of the modern world. They may be fey, but they're also wearing 1960s-style sneakers and boxer shorts. More »

01/20/10

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By Annalee Newitz

#bookreview

Your Cure For Supernatural Withdrawal: Mike Carey's Castor Novels

We won't get any new Supernatural until Jan. 21 — but luckily, there's an awesome substitute. Longtime Vertigo Comics superstar Mike Carey has been writing supernatural thrillers that are every bit as addictive and tangled, featuring a wise-ass exorcist. Spoilers? More »

12/28/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#kingoftheelves

Has Philip K. Dick's Disney Movie Been Shelved?

In April of '08 Disney announced plans to animate Philip K. Dick's story The King of the Elves. Since then, there's been very little news about the urban fantasy endeavor. Did Disney kill off their paranoid, twisted elf tale? More »

12/25/09

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By Meredith Woerner

#genres

Urban Fantasy Is A "Gateway Drug." So Does SF Need A Better First High?

Editor Diana Gill calls urban fantasy a "gateway drug" to regular fantasy, because it takes place in the world we know, except that it's laced with magic. This started us wondering: What's the equivalent "gateway drug" for science fiction? More »

12/11/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#bookreview

Magical Dogs and Detectives Explore Supernatural San Francisco in "Unleashed"

Forthcoming urban fantasy Unleashed (Ace) by John Levitt is the sequel to Dog Days and New Tricks. It follows the exploits of a spell-casting jazz guitarist and his magic doggie. Well, sort of a doggie. More »

11/20/09

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By Grey_Area

#urbanfantasy

Urban Fantasy Always Takes Place In Alternate Worlds

Your urban fantasy automatically takes place in an alternate universe, because the existence of supernatural and magical items would alter society fundamentally. At least, that's what Bill Willingham, Jon Courtenay Grimwood and other panelists at World Fantasy 2009 claimed. More »

10/31/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#bookreview

Madness of Flowers: The City Is...Alive

The brilliant and prolific Jay Lake returns to the City Imperishable, with a Madness of Flowers. This is a decadent, surreal urban fantasy in the New Weird vein. Sex Dwarfs, spoilers, and a Polar Bear await. More »

10/08/09

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By Grey_Area

#princessfrog

First 5 Minutes Of The Princess And The Frog Is A Love/Hate Experience

As much as I love the hand-drawn beauty that is classic Disney story-telling, it's hard not to let certain Princess And The Frog plot points fog up the animation. But you be the judge: here are the first few minutes. More »

10/07/09

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By Meredith Woerner

#bookreview

Fairies With Guns Stalk A Dark San Francisco

"Someday I'll figure out why everything in Faerie seems to end up in San Francisco," the narrator muses in Rosemary And Rue, Seanan McGuire's debut novel. Whatever the reason, the city throngs with fae... and some of them turn deadly. More »

09/28/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#top10

Top 10 Most Corrupt Mayors From Science Fiction

You think your city's leadership is bad? Just look at these 10 stand-out examples of terrible mayors and awful city leaders from science fiction and urban fantasy. They steal, they kill, they won't give the people air! More »

09/16/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#urbanfantastic

Megapolisomancy, Or Why All Cities Are Haunted

Your city seethes with ghosts. Its impossibly twisted streets stream with magic, and its chimneys exude smoke of a decidedly hallucinatory nature. Why do modern, urban places feel as if they are home to so many unexplainable, otherworldly forces? More »

09/15/09

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By Annalee Newitz

#chartporn

Is This The Year Urban Fantasy Conquers Science Fiction?

Urban fantasy is swallowing up speculative fiction book sales, according to a new sales chart from Tim Holman, our new favorite chart pornographer. The Orbit Books publisher says that urban fantasy now claims nearly half the SF/F bestselller list. More »

08/26/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#bookreview

L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion

Richard Kadrey was at the vanguard of the noir-tinged cyberpunk back in the day, so it's only fitting he's helping to shape noir's next frontier, urban fantasy. His novel Sandman Slim brings Hellspawn and trash magic to L.A. Spoilers below... More »

08/26/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#midnightmass

The Greatest Monster-Hunting Comic Of All Time Is Becoming A TV Series

Midnight, Mass, the amazing Vertigo comic about a husband-and-wife team of monster hunters who recruit a new asssistant, is finally getting the adaptation it deserves: as a TV series for NBC. Please let it live up to the comic's brilliance. More »

08/17/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

#webcomicreview

Robots, Mysteries, and Magic Collide in Gunnerkrigg Court

Tom Siddell's Gunnerkrigg Court has won awards, critical acclaim, and the heart of Neil Gaiman. With its mysterious boarding school setting and curious, lighthearted blend of science fiction, fantastical creatures, gothic imagery, and silly humor, it's easy to see why. More »

08/13/09

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By Lauren Davis

#bookreview

In Which Some Steampunk Novels are Discussed

Goggles, gaslights and gears, oh my! Steampunk is a steadily growing subgenre of speculative fiction. We review four current and forthcoming books that have been affixed with that label... in an elegant copperplate hand, naturally. More »

08/12/09

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By Grey_Area

#fantasypolitics

Enjoy "Racial Sensitivity" In Disney's Princess Frog Game About Hot Sauce And Borrowed Tiaras

Disney's Princess and The Frog has been getting a lot of flack for reportedly turning the first black Disney Princess green for a majority of the film. I'm not so sure this videogame tie-in is going to help their case. More »

08/06/09

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By Meredith Woerner

#bookreview

"Bar None" Cracks Open A Beer At The End Of The World

Bar None by Tim Lebbon (Night Shade Press, 2009) is a dark post-apocalyptic fantasy with a creepy numinous beauty and really good beer. End of the world, everybody, last orders if you please. More »

07/02/09

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By Grey_Area

#bookreview

A Courtesan-Turned-Warrior's Head-Kicking Journey

Jay Lake's sixth novel, Green , is an inventive fantasy of exotic cities, weird gods, conspiracies, stabbings, and kicks to the head. And here come the spoilers... More »

06/09/09

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By Grey_Area

#bookreview

Get Lost In China Miéville's Weirdest Cityscape Yet

Nine years ago, China Miéville dazzled readers with his ferociously inventive second novel, Perdido Street Station. Now he's turning the ideas of fantasy literature and the New Weird on their ear again, with the very original tale of The City & The City. Spoilers below! More »

05/28/09

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By Grey_Area

#literaryjournals

Joyce Carol Oates And Jeff Vandermeer, Together At Last

Back in 2002, superstar literary journal Conjunctions redefined the intersection of science fiction and lit with its "New Wave Fabulists" issue. Now they're trying to do the same for urban fantasy. More »

05/19/09

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By Charlie Jane Anders

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