If you are a voracious reader of fantasy books, you have probably come across fantasy’s many, many subgenres. A very popular one is urban fantasy. Drowning in a sea of subgenres, you may wonder what exactly urban fantasy is.
Well, it’s pretty much what it sounds like. It places unreal and imaginary elements into a contemporary urban setting. These are stories where you’ll find vampires prowling New York streets or pixies frequenting secret speakeasies in Chicago.
This subgenre is a whole lot of fun, and there are a ton of great books. Here are ten of the best urban fantasy books you should read right now.
1) American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Shadow had hoped to start a new life with his wife Laura after he got out of prison. But then she and his best friend are killed in a car accident just days before his release. An eccentric man named Wednesday hires him as a bodyguard, driver, and errand boy and takes him on an adventure where he meets a host of odd characters whose fates are intertwined with his own. Along the way, he learns that everyone harbors secrets, even his beloved Laura.
This wonderful book came up recently on the blog in a post about modern reads with a dose of mythology. It is also the epitome of the urban fantasy subgenre. Published in 2001, this novel won a slew of literary awards and went on to be adapted into a successful TV show, on which Gaiman himself was an executive producer.
2) Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels is a young woman living in Atlanta amongst were-creatures, necromancers, and vampires. She’s a down-on-her-luck mercenary whose job it is to clean up magical problems. Her guardian is murdered and Kate gets drawn into a power struggle between two powerful factions in the city’s magic circles. Both sides pressure Kate to find the killer, and Kate realizes she’s way out of her league. Now she must choose between fight or flight.
This is the first book of ten in Andrews’ gritty Kate Daniels series. It is one of the most prominent urban fantasy series in recent years, and for good reason. You can’t help but love this book’s strong female protagonist with her sharp sword and even sharper tongue.
3) War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
Rock and roll singer Eddi McCandry’s life couldn’t feel much worse. Her boyfriend just dumped her and her band just broke up. Then, walking home through downtown on a dark Minneapolis night, she’s drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, much more than her own survival is at risk, and her preferences—musical and personal—are beside the point.
This 1987 novel won acclaim from critics and readers, as well as the Locus Award for Best First Novel. It is heralded as a novel that helped to define modern urban fantasy. It’s a beautifully written book about love, loyalty, music, and musicians.
4) Jade City by Fonda Lee
Jade matters above all else on the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stolen, and killed for. For centuries, Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their magical talents and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now that the war is over, a new generation of Kauls fights for control of Kaul’s capital city. All they care about is protecting their own, controlling the jade market, and defending districts under their protection. When a new drug emerges that allows anyone—even foreigners—to wield jade, the tension between the Kauls and rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones, and of Kekon itself.
This 2018 novel was named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time and won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. It presents an exciting mixture of magic and kung fu. The book’s worldbuilding is fantastic as well—its fantasy metropolis is gritty and extremely well-imagined. This is the first book in the three-book The Green Bone Saga.
5) Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden is a professional wizard who knows that the world is full of strange and magical things. Most of them don’t play well with humans, while others enjoy playing with them far too much. Harry knows he’s the best at what he does, which isn’t hard since he’s also the only one who does what he does. He’s called in by the Chicago P.D. to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic by a black mage who knows Harry’s name.
This is the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling, whopping seventeen-book Dresden Files series. Skin Game, the fifteenth novel in the series, was a Hugo finalist in 2015 for Best Novel. Storm Front is a fast-paced romp with a well-realized world. The protagonist is excellent company as well—it’s not surprising readers have stuck it out with him through seventeen books.
6) Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter who was raised by werewolves but was never accepted as one of them—especially since the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So now she runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State. When a newly turned werewolf shows up at the shop looking for work, Marcy asks her neighbor the Alpha of the local pack for help. Mercy’s act of kindness has consequences that leave her no choice but to ask the werewolves who abandoned her for assistance.
Many consider Moon Called to be one of the most innovative additions to the urban fantasy subgenre in recent years. Mercy is a fantastic badass heroine that the reader can’t help but root for. Another long series, the Mercy Thompson series spans thirteen books.
7) City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to New York City’s Pandemonium Club, she witnesses a murder committed by three teenagers with strange tattoos and bizarre weapons. Then the body vanishes into thin air. This is Clara’s first encounter with the Shadowhunters, warriors who are determined to rid the earth of demons. It’s also when she means Jace, who looks like an angel but acts like a jerk. Within a day, Clary is pulled into Jace’s world when her mother disappears and a demon attacks Clary. Clary has no idea why the demons are interested in mundanes like her and her mother or why she suddenly has the Sight. The Shadowhunters would like to know as well.
This novel helped to bring urban fantasy into the twenty-first-century mainstream. It is the first book of six in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. This book has a rollicking pace and compelling characters.
8) Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake may be small, but she is a force to be reckoned with. Her job is reanimating the dead in the city of St. Louis and killing the undead when things get out of hand. They call her The Executioner. When the city’s most powerful vampire asks her to solve a series of vampire deaths, Anita must grapple with her undeniable attraction to master vampire Jean-Claude—one of the creatures she is sworn to destroy.
Anita Blake was one of the first supernatural investigators on the urban fantasy scene and paved the way for many more. She’s a lovable, snarky protagonist and this book’s world is incredibly well-imagined. There are twenty-nine books in this series—fair warning, the books get progressively raunchier as they go on.
9) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Richard Mayhew is a young London businessman leading an ordinary life when he encounters a bleeding girl on the sidewalk and attempts to help her. This good deed sends him into a fantastical world called Neverwhere—a world that exists in a subterranean labyrinth beneath the city and is full of saints, monsters, angels, and murderers. This is the world Door—the girl he helped in London Above—comes from where she is a powerful noblewoman determined to avenge her family’s deaths and thwart this underground kingdom’s destruction. If Richard ever wants to return to his normal life, he must join Lady Door in her quest to save her world, and possibly die in the attempt.
As with this post on modern fairy tales, I couldn’t resist including more than one Neil Gaiman novel on this list. This was Gaiman’s first novel, published in 1997. It paints a wildly imaginative picture of the London Underground and makes every subway trip after reading it seem a bit magical.
10) Death of a King by Cas Williams
The Institute is a monolithic establishment born from dead Gods and mandated to protect humankind, and Katherine has no desire to return. The Institute is broken, and it’s a painful reminder of her dead girlfriend. But now Institute strongholds all over the world are falling under attacks from beasts and faceless armies. Katherine has to return to fight alongside her family, despite the fact she feels sure they are headed toward defeat. Snow has died four times and keeps coming back to life, each time with her memories more fractured than before. If she doesn’t find a cure for her curse, her mind will be lost forever. Katherine and Snow are inextricably linked by the history of the Institute and when they figure out that Snow may be the key to winning the war, they must trust each other in order to survive.
This is a fascinating story with an inventive world and captivating characters. It’s an action-packed ride that will keep you hooked. A fun bonus with this urban fantasy story is that you can read it for free right here on Fictionate!
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