Urban Fantasy - Series To Get You Started
Wikipedia says
Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which the narrative has an urban setting. ... A contemporary setting is not strictly necessary for a work of urban fantasy: works of the genre may also take place in futuristic and historical settings, real or imagined.
We say, these series kick a lot of butt. Check them out! Prepare your binge-reading muscles, it's going to be a wild ride.
A Blade So Black
Author(s):
L. L. (Leatrice L.) McKinney
Lewis Carroll
Description:
"The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew. Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she's ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head, literally."--Amazon.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
YA FIC McK
American Demon
Author(s):
Description:
"What happens after you've saved the world? Well, if you're Rachel Mariana Morgan, witch-born demon, you quickly discover that something might have gone just a little bit wrong. That the very same acts you and your friends took to forge new powers may have released something bound by the old. With a rash of zombies, some strange new murders, and an exceedingly mysterious new demon in town, it will take everything Rachel has to counter this new threat to the world--and it may demand the sacrifice of what she holds most dear"-- Provided by publisher.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Har
Bookburners. Season 01
Author(s):
Max Gladstone
Margaret Dunlap
Mur Lafferty
Brian Francis Slattery
Mark Weaver
Description:
"Magic is real, and hungry. It's trapped in ancient texts and artifacts, and only a few who discover it survive to fight back. Detective Sal Brooks is a survivor. She joins a Vatican-backed black-ops anti-magic squad--Team Three of the Societas Librorum Occultorum--and together they stand between humanity and the magical apocalypse. Some call them the Bookburners. They don't like the label."
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Gla
Borderline
Author(s):
Description:
A year ago, Millie lost her legs and her filmmaking career in a failed suicide attempt. Just when she's sure the credits have rolled on her life story, she gets a second chance with the Arcadia Project: a secret organization that polices the traffic to and from a parallel reality filled with creatures straight out of myth and fairy tales. For her first assignment, Millie is tasked with tracking down a missing movie star who also happens to be a nobleman of the Seelie Court. To find him, she ll have to smooth-talk Hollywood power players and uncover the surreal and sometimes terrifying truth behind the glamour of Tinseltown. But stronger forces than just her inner demons are sabotaging her progress, and if she fails to unravel the conspiracy behind the noble's disappearance, not only will she be out on the streets, but the shattering of a centuries-old peace could spark an all-out war between worlds. No pressure."
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Bak
Dead Witch Walking
Author(s):
Description:
All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to party, and to feed. Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining - and it's Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Har
Fated
Author(s):
Description:
Alex is a mage who has the advantage of seeing the possible future, but when multiple factions seek his skills to crack open a relic, he doesn't need special powers to predict that whatever is inside is beyond powerful and that his chances of survival are slim.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Jac
Greywalker
Author(s):
Description:
Harper Blaine was slogging along as a small-time P.I. when a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead. For two minutes, to be precise. When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring. But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Ric
Guilty Pleasures
Author(s):
Description:
Introduces the character of Anita Blake, a young necromancer and vampire hunter, who is assigned by the master vampire of the city of St. Louis to find out who is killing the city's vampires and why they are doing it.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Ham
Halfway To The Grave
Author(s):
Description:
Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield pursues the undead with a vengeance in the hope that one of her prey will be the father who ruined her mother's life, but her plans go awry when she is captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Fro
Hounded
Author(s):
Description:
Atticus O'Sullivan, the last of the Druids, finds his peaceful life in Arizona shattered by the arrival of an angry Celtic god who wants Atticus's magical sword, forcing Atticus to call upon some unlikely allies for help.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Hea
Infinity Son
Author(s):
Description:
"Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers—a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures. Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day. Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own—one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be. Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed."-- Provided by publisher.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
YA FIC Sil
Jade City
Author(s):
Description:
"Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stolen, and killed for -- and for centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their magical abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now, the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon's bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the districts under their protection. Ancient tradition has little place in this rapidly changing nation. When a powerful new drug emerges that lets anyone -- even foreigners -- wield jade, the simmering tension between the Kauls and the rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones -- from their grandest patriarch to the lowliest motorcycle runner on the streets -- and of Kekon itself."-- Provided by publisher.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Lee
Level Grind
Author(s):
Description:
"Jade Crow is a sorceress hiding from the most powerful sorcerer in the world: her ex-boyfriend. Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress. Jade Crow lives a quiet life running her comic book and game store in Wylde, Idaho, hiding from a powerful sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her powers--her ex-boyfriend Samir. Yet when dark powers threaten her friends' lives, Jade must save them by using magic. But as soon as she does, her nemesis will find her and she won't be able to stand up against him when he comes. This is the collection of the first four volumes of the Hugo Award nominated series: Justice Calling; Murder of Crows; Pack of Lies; and Hunting Season"-- Provided by publisher.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Bel
Magic Bites
Author(s):
Description:
Mercenary Kate Daniels cleans up urban problems of a paranormal kind. But her latest prey, a pack of undead warriors, presents her greatest challenge.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC And
Moon Called
Author(s):
Description:
Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Bri
Nightlife
Author(s):
Description:
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Thu
Skinwalker
Author(s):
Description:
"Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind, a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires--and hunts the undead for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fonteneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a poerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps. Amidst a bordello full of real 'ladies of the night,' and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission or else the next skin she'll need to save may be her own."--p. [4] of cover.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Hun
Some Girls Bite
Author(s):
Description:
When Merit, a twenty-seven-year-old grad student, accidentally becomes a vampire, she finds herself sucked into a whole new world as she is initiated into Cadogan House, one of the oldest vampire houses in the United States. Unfortunately, Cadogan House is being blamed for some bad behavior with humans and it looks like a war might be on the way.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Nei
Something From The Nightside
Author(s):
Description:
"John Taylor is not a private detective per se, but he has a knack for finding lost things. That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines."--Fantastic fiction.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Gre
The Dresden Files: Storm Front
Author(s):
Description:
A modern-day mage and consultant to the police finds his stale life suddenly enlivened by the presence of a rival in the black arts.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC But
The Gilded Ones
Author(s):
Description:
The blood ceremony will determine whether Deka will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony her blood runs gold, the color of impurity. A mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki-- near-immortals with rare gifts. Accepting means leaving the only life Deka has ever known. Her journey holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be-- not even Deka herself. -- adapted from jacket
Format:
Book
Call Number:
YA FIC For
The Last Smile In Sunder City
Author(s):
Description:
"Fetch fought on the wrong side of history, and his actions helped to drain the world of magic. Now he works on the streets of Sunder City, taking what odd jobs he can while trying to help those whose lives he ruined. His first case is to find a missing teacher. Professor Rye is a four-hundred-year-old vampire with a heart of gold in a husk of a body. Most vamps have already crumbled into dust, but Fetch is happy to go looking for some dirt with pointed teeth if it gets him his drinking money. Then, when a young siren disappears, Fetch finds out that this dark world still hides some monsters and he'd better clean up his act before they come into the light" --Author website.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Arn
The Last Sun
Author(s):
Description:
"Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?"-- Provided by publisher.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Edw
The Unleashing
Author(s):
Description:
Kera Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn't for her hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die. In uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig "Vig" Rundstrom has never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way to save her life--but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty women. With wings.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Lau
Witchmark By C.l. Polk.
Author(s):
C. L. (Chelsea L.) Polk
Samuel Roukin
Inc Recorded Books
Description:
In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own. Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn't leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can't hide what he truly is. When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles' healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient's murder. To find the truth he'll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he's ever seen.
Format:
Audiobook
Call Number:
FIC Pol
Written In Red: A Novel Of The Others
Author(s):
Description:
Enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities--vampires and shape-shifters among them--who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans. As a blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut--a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard--a business district operated by the Others. Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
FIC Bis
