Urban fantasy
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Urban fantasy is a subset of contemporary fantasy, consisting of magical novels and stories set in contemporary, real-world, urban settings--as opposed to 'traditional' fantasy set in wholly imaginary landscapes, even ones containing imaginary cities, or having most of their action take place in them. Urban fantasy may also refer to more modern versions of 'traditional' fantasy worlds. The modern urban fantasy protagonist faces extraordinary circumstances as plots unfold in either open (where magic or paranormal events are commonly accepted to exist) or closed (where magical powers or creatures are concealed) worlds.
Although history of modern urban fantasy can be traced as far back as the 1920s, (particularly in the field of children's fiction), it was in the 1980s that the term became widely used among adult fantasy writers and readers--and that the form grew in popularity to become a sub-genre of its own. One might even look earlier than the 1920s as Saki's "Sredni Vashtar" certainly meets all pre-requisites for being Urban Fantasy. At its very best Urban Fantasy challenges the reader to choose between either the supernatural or a commonplace experientially derived explanation of events and always nags to accept the former. Pioneers of this genre were:
- Emma Bull (War for the Oaks) [1]
- John Crowley (Little, Big)Template:List fact
- Jonathan Carroll (The Land of Laughs)Template:List fact
- Charles de Lint (author of Moonheart and the Newford series)[1]
- Neil Gaiman (American Gods)
- Terri Windling (in her role as editor of the Ace Books fantasy line and as creator of the Borderlands series).[1]
Film
Though the term itself is only beginning to become established within film theory, many films can be said to follow the conventions of urban fantasy.
Films and television programs that have been called works of urban fantasy include:[citation needed]
- AngelTemplate:List fact
- Blood TiesTemplate:List fact
- Buffy the Vampire SlayerTemplate:List fact
- CharmedTemplate:List fact
- The CrowTemplate:List fact
- Dresden FilesTemplate:List fact
- MoonlightTemplate:List fact
- NeverwhereTemplate:List fact
- SupernaturalTemplate:List fact
- UrchinTemplate:List fact
- WonderfallsTemplate:List fact
External links
- http://urbanfantasy.wordpress.com/
- http://www.bookthink.com/0012/12urb.htm
- http://www.urbanfantasywriters.com/
References
- ^ a b c Donohue, Nanette Wargo. "The city fantastic", Library Journal, 01-JUN-08
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