SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

So I’m a writer trying to be a better writer in the genre I tend to write in. To do that I need to read lots of books in comparable genres. I’m having a ton of trouble though because I like writing fantasy set in the regular world but not necessarily an urban, gritty setting, and not just a complete sexfest or romance with a dash of plot. All I can find is city-based, romance-focused, paranormal fiction. I don’t mind having a romantic subplot, but my main focus is the events and reactions.
Does anyone know anything published relatively recently that is a paranormal, non-romance novel? I’m looking more for novels above young adult level, but I hesitate to say ‘adult’ because I’m not really looking for anything explicit (though if there is a sex scene in the novel that makes sense and advances the plot, that’s fine).
Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance. :)

I would recommend Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series, which is basically urban fantasy police procedural, with the twist that the first-person narrator--besides being a Metropolitan Police constable--is an apprentice wizard.

Urban, yes, but not really gritty (though the author doesn't tend to pull his punches, either); the characters do have love/sex lives but not to the detriment of the plot, and the books are just really well done and a lot of fun to read.

I looked into it and I’m gonna give it a try, thanks! Any other suggestions? I’m trying to get at least four different authors to get a range of styles, though this series does look good. It reminds me of the vibe of Constantine a bit, from the summary/reviews.

When you say paranormal- is there anything in particular you’re looking for? My head always goes to ghosts- but really paranormal is a broad term, and it seems like maybe you are referencing general urban fantasy.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley is Adult urban fantasy without romance, but it’s also not really ghosts.

IF you are willing to go farther back for models of fantasy in a modern setting, I would suggest a fairly short piece, "Magic, Inc." by Robert A. Heinlein.

He is best known as a science fiction writer, but he wrote it for the fantasy magazine "Unknown" (also "Unknown Worlds" in its unfortunately short lifetime). It appeared in 1940 as "The Devil Makes the Law," which gives away some of one plot point, but fortunately not the whole.

Heinlein was very good at thinking up ways working magic would change things for small businesses, labor unions, and other aspects of social and economic life, and you might find some stimulus there.

However, the magic is carefully rationalized, and has its own "natural laws," which are explained, so not just anything is possible with it. Not everyone cares for this approach.

Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series
Tad Williams's Bobby Dollar series
Charles de Lint has some books where there is some romance, but it's not the main plot

Sarah: When I say paranormal, I basically mean urban fantasy but urban fantasy seems to have so much that I’m not looking for associated with it that I tried an alternate term, but I see what you mean about ghosts. What I mean is normal, modern (or very close to it) world with fantasy elements. I meant paranormal as ‘a but odder than normal’. So literally anything that goes under fantasy is fine, though I tend to stay away from getting too science fiction-y. I will check out your suggestion though, thanks!

Ian: I’ve read a lot of classics, probably 99% of my total paranormal/fantasy readings are classics, so I have a strong base there, but I unfortunately need novel-length works written relatively recently. Ten years back might even be too old, as the genre has shifted and grown so much recently. I appreciate the suggestion though, magical realism is very interesting.

Harry Dresden and Bobby Dollar are fairly recent

CBRetriever: Those two series seem very noir/gritty, which is one of the things I was looking to avoid by choosing to say paranormal over urban fantasy. I appreciate your try though!

So far The Rivers of London and The Rook seem the closest to what I’m looking for. The part of The Rivers of London I read was the exact blend of dark humor/snark that I love to write, and the summary of The Rook looks promising because a lot of my novel ideas involve supernatural organizations and governments. If anyone has anything by another author that’s similar to Ben Aaronovitch and/or Daniel O’Malley, that would be appreciated. :)

Jade City is a very popular modern (in both senses) but different sort of UF. More wuxia though.

Strange Practice is quite different from the usual fare as well.

London Falling I didn't care for, but it's a low-romance modern UF published in the past decade.

Alif the Unseen I highly recommend. I think this is a pretty good example of what I imagine the future of UF will begin to look like.

Blackbirds is gritty and raunchy and macabre but also a good example of what else the genre can do.

Good luck!

Edit. Ah. Not gritty or noir. Well probably knock off Blackbirds and London Falling then!

And maybe add All the Birds in the Sky

Jessica wrote: "CBRetriever: Those two series seem very noir/gritty, which is one of the things I was looking to avoid by choosing to say paranormal over urban fantasy. I appreciate your try though!

So far The Ri..."

They're both rather funny, especially Bobby Dollar:

""Williams does a brilliant job.... Made me laugh. Made me curious. Impressed me with its cleverness. Made me hungry for the next book. Kept me up late at night when I should have been sleeping." —Patrick Rothfuss, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Kingkiller Chronicle"

and one of the novellas is titled God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlepig which isn't a very noir title.

Allison: I’ll look more into Alif the Unseen later (not really a cyberpunk fan), but Strange Practice seems like the only one off your list that seems close? Hmm. I don’t necessarily need the books to be different from every other urban fantasy type book, just not so gritty/noir and maybe other settings than cities. I like at least a fair bit of lightheartedness, even if it’s dark humor. Thank you for all the suggestions though!

Alif is not very cyberpunk. The blurb is quite misleading.

CBRetriever: Unfortunately, despite your suggestions most likely being humorous (I do believe you), I pretty much hate the ‘hardboiled cop’ archetype, a lot of common noir elements, and noir writing style (short, choppy sentences for impact) except in very, very specific circumstances.

Allison: I’ll check into Alif again soon then!

There are oodles of these sorts of books. Lots of people seem to equate Paranormal Romance (PNR) with Urban Fantasy or Contemporary Fantasy but, despite some overlap, those are three distinct subgenres. By far most books written by women are in the PNR realm since that is the most popular grown-up subgenre currently. Writing to the market is always going to be a thing.

I would definitely recommend Charles de Lint’s Newford stories. Newford is basically Ottawa with the street signs changed. Dreams Underfoot and Memory and Dream are the starter package. De Lint’s stories essentially gave Urban Fantasy its name because people could point to them and say, “More like this, please.”

Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella is a must-read. This is Contemporary Fantasy at its finest. It is better known as the movie Field of Dreams which you should also watch. Not just because it’s great, but it is an excellent lesson in how to adapt a book. In the novel the James Earl Jones character is actually J.D. Salinger, who used characters named Kinsella in stories and The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger was a dick, so he naturally tried to sue Kinsella, hence the change for the movie.

Whenever I recommend either that book or movie to people they roll their eyes and go, “Oh god no, it’s about baseball.” Believe me, I feel the exact same way about the game. Neither of them are *about* baseball. It’s just a metaphor for the story to hang on.

Jade City by Fonda Lee is excellent. It is an alternate 1960 set on an island not dissimilar from Singapore or Japan. The magic system is cool, the Rat Pack vibe burbles in the background, and the action scenes are superb. Nary a romance in sight. I call this “The Godfather meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull is hugely influential when it comes to Urban Fantasy. I would put this on any must-read list in this category.

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe. This is the true successor to de Lint’s Newford in my opinion. Where his stories are prototypical Urban Fantasy, this is decidedly Rural Fantasy. I can’t recommend this highly enough, as it zings my Midwestern heartstrings. My non-spoiler review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’ll finish off with an appropriately scary story, We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory. It has the tropes of PNR but is actually the antidote. October is for horror, and horror is Fantasy’s bailiwick.

I’ll second the notion that Field of Dreams is not about baseball and is a wonderful movie. I have not read Shoeless Joe yet.

I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Charles DeLint’s Newford books. My favorite so far is Trader. And I’ll also second Trike’s rec of War for the Oaks. Well done, Trike!

I’ll add Singer of Souls, by Adam Stemple. It takes place in Edinburgh and is quite good.

First, as a mod I must remind everyone that all talk about writing and other author stuff must stay in the Authors folder, thanks!

Then to your question. I don't really read urban/contemporary/paranormal fantasy at all, but the one that came to mind is Among Others by Jo Walton. It's real world, with some magical elements.

Anna: At its core, this is more of a ‘seeking recommendations’ post, so that’s why I put it here, but I will remember that for the future, sorry.

To everyone: Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I have a good place to start, so I can’t thank you all enough!

Just fyi, I do second Emma Bull, and not just for War for the Oaks. Also W.P. Kinsella. And you (or others reading along) might want to consider Christopher Moore.

Jessica wrote: "At its core, this is more of a ‘seeking recommendations’ post, so that’s why I put it here"

Agreed, I just can't pass any post talking about anything author related without saying that, it's injected into our brain when we're made mods! :)

If you are looking for some more London based PNF then I can recommend the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka starting with Fated. They are similar in style to The Rook but not as fun as Aaronovich:)

Oh, and if you do The Rivers in London series, give the Audio books a shot, they are truly awesome.

Cheryl wrote: "Just fyi, I do second Emma Bull, and not just for War for the Oaks. Also W.P. Kinsella. And you (or others reading along) might want to consider Christopher Moore."

Yes, Moore is great for Fantasy Comedy. I really like The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, with angels and zombies.

AndrewP wrote: "If you are looking for some more London based PNF then I can recommend the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka starting with Fated. They are similar in style to The Rook but not as ..."

I'll second the audiobook recommendation - they're great!

Oh! I just remembered Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm aka Robin Hobb. I adored this book. It takes place in Seattle and no romance in sight.

Hmm -- Draw One in the Dark by Sarah A. Hoyt and the rest of the series. Certainly not mainly romance.

Have you read Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series, starting with The Name of the Star? It's probably closer to YA, but a really enjoyable ghost-y story. There's some romance, but it's not the main plot.

Shayne Silvers’ Nate Temple series. All of his books really. I may think of more later. They are set in present day, mostly urban settings but magical beings but they feel very normal. And in the beginning the main character is hilarious. Excellent writing.