• Modern/Urban Fantasy

    Book Review: Briarpatch, by Tim Pratt 

    Published on 01-18-2012 06:38 PM  Number of Views: 136 
    Categories:
    1. Fantasy
    2. Urban Fantasy
    3. Dark Fantasy
    4. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    5. 4.0 Stars
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    Briarpatch, by Tim Pratt
    Reviewed by Michael D. Griffiths
    Publisher: Chizine Publications
    Year Published: 2011


    Briarpatch by Tim Pratt is a dark, very moody tale. When the story starts with a suicide the reader quickly learns what they are in for. Pratt, however, breaks away from the pack and proves that he can weave a unique and extremely engaging story. Like most Chizine books, this one is full of concepts and ideas that takes normal storytelling, throws it out the window, and replaces it with a type of world that even the most experienced reader has yet to explore. ...
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    Book Review: Desdaemona, by Ben Macallan 

    Published on 01-02-2012 07:12 AM  Number of Views: 277 
    Categories:
    1. Fantasy
    2. Urban Fantasy
    3. Dark Fantasy
    4. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    5. 3.0 Stars
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    Desdaemona, by Ben Macallan
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier
    Publisher: Solaris
    Year Published: 2011

    Desdaemona is the debut novel (here in the US) for Ben Macallan. It's an urban fantasy, and most of you know that I generally don't read urban fantasy. I just don't get caught up in it. I received this book as an eARC before it was published and read at least half of it then. I bought the book when it came out and finished it up just now. Out of the urban fantasies I've read, I'd say that this one has a few qualities that will make it stick out in the urban fantasy field. ...
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    Book Review: Griffin Rising, by Darby Karchut 

    Published on 12-12-2011 07:19 PM  Number of Views: 174 
    Categories:
    1. Urban Fantasy
    2. Christian Fantasy
    3. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    4. Young Adult Fantasy
    5. 3.0 Stars
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    Griffin Rising, by Darby Karchut
    Reviewed by Michael D. Griffiths
    Publisher: Twilight Times Books
    Year Published: 2011

    Griffin Rising is an Urban Fantasy set in our current times. It is geared toward a younger audience, which is fitting, for this book chronicles the early adventures of the teenaged Griffin as he comes to terms with his supernatural nature. ...
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    Book Review: Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris 

    Published on 12-06-2011 06:37 PM  Number of Views: 195 
    Categories:
    1. Horror
    2. Urban Fantasy
    3. Vampire
    4. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    5. Movies/TV
    6. 3.0 Stars
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    Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier
    Publisher: ACE TRADE
    Year Published: 2010

    First off, I have not seen "True Blood" so I read this without any possible coloration from having viewed that first.

    As everyone probably already knows, this is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. The basic premise is that vampires have been legally recognized and so are now part of the world. Sookie, a waitress in the small town of Bon Temps, has been desperate to see one, so when one shows up in her town, she's instantly drawn to him, mostly out of curiosity. But when young women--all with jobs like Sookie's, and all who associate with vampires--begin turning up strangled to death, suspicions turn on this new vampire, who Sookie has now befriended. The rest of the book revolves around Sookie finding out more about the vampire world while attempting to figure out who is killing these young women, since she is obviously a potential target. ...
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    Book Review: The Fire Song, by Kim Bannerman 

    Published on 07-11-2011 01:33 PM  Number of Views: 354 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. 4.0 Stars
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    The Fire Song, by Kim Bannerman
    Reviewed by Frank Zafiro

    ISBN 978-0-9864701-2-7
    Publisher: Fox & Bee
    Published: February 8, 2011
    Rating (4/5):

    Quick hit ? The Fire Song is a great read.

    If that?s all you need to know, then my recommendation is to go buy, rent or borrow a copy and enjoy. If you?re looking for a little more, read on.

    First, a confession. I?m not your standard fantasy reader. I write crime fiction and like any writer, I read extensively in my genre. So elves and fairies and goblins and gods are not so much in my repertoire these days. But I grew up reading Tolkien and Lewis and Piers Anthony. I think when you read at that age, those stories get hard wired into a person. So I came pretty easily to The Fire Song.
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    Book Review: Deader Still, by Anton Strout 

    Published on 01-27-2011 11:17 AM  Number of Views: 413 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. 3.0 Stars
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    Deader Still, by Anton Strout
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier

    Publisher:Ace
    Year Published: 2009

    read the first book, Dead To Me, a while ago and felt it had some "first book" issues, in that it was Anton's debut novel. It didn't feel as cleanly plotted as I would have liked, with some plot elements appearing out of nowhere toward the end, and some looseness with the events and plot in general. The main character was generally sound, with a cool power--psychometry, the ability to discern past events by touching an object--but I never felt that the power was being used as effectively as possible in that book.
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    Book Review: Dead Matter, by Anton Strout 

    Published on 01-27-2011 10:57 AM  Number of Views: 326 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. 4.0 Stars
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    Dead Matter, by Anton Strout
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier

    Publisher:Ace
    Year Published: 2010

    I finished Dead Matter the other night and I have to say that Anton Strout is definitely improving as a writer as this series progresses. With the first book, I thought there were some "debut book/new writer" issues (of which I suffered from myself with my books). Mostly these were things like a little bouncing around and looseness in the plot and a few odd emotional reactions from the characters. Things like an extreme mood swing that wasn't properly motivated, etc. In the second book, the plot issues smoothed out tremendously (although there were a few bumps in the road), and the character things weren't so extreme although I did think Simon Canderous, the main character, got angry too often for extremely minor issues.
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    Book Review: Crime Spells, edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Loren L. Coleman 

    Published on 05-28-2010 03:20 PM  Number of Views: 576 
    Categories:
    1. Anthology
    2. Fantasy
    3. Fantasy Anthology
    4. Dark Fantasy
    5. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    6. 3.5 Stars
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    Crime Spells, edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Loren L. Coleman
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier

    Publisher:DAW
    Year Published: 2009

    Web Ginn House by Phaedra Weldon: A good story with an interesting voice for the main character, who uses her ability to travel outside her body to earn a living. This new case presents her with some . . . unexpected problems. I liked the setup for the character and her career, but the case itself felt a little unwieldy. There were too many things going on and in the end they didn?t get connected as well as I would have liked. ...
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    Review: The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey 

    Published on 05-20-2010 08:53 PM  Number of Views: 911 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. 4.0 Stars
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    The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey
    Reviewed by S.J. Higbee

    Publisher:Grand Central Publishing
    Year Published: 2008

    You?ve just put down the latest Harry Dresden installment with a sad sigh, already missing the sharp asides from our hero. Cheer up, there?s another kid on the block - every bit as sardonic, hard-boiled-yet-vulnerable as Jim Butcher?s entertaining protagonist. Felix Castor. Apologies for those of you who have already discovered this series which apparently has been knocking around for a while, but I?ve only just tripped over Mike Carey?s world. ...
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    Book Revew: A Madness of Angels, by Kate Griffin 

    Published on 03-29-2010 04:58 PM  Number of Views: 5120 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. 4.5 Stars
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    A Madness of Angels, by Kate Griffin
    Reviewed by S.J. Higbee

    Publisher: Orbit
    Year Published: 2009
    ISBN: 978-0316041256

    Are you an urban fantasy fan a bit fed up with the slew of vampire/were characters cramming the genre, these days? Pining for a tale with an interestingly complex protagonist who takes you right into the heart of the story? Longing for a writer who can depict a city with such vividness that you can taste the traffic fumes, smell the rubbish and touch the pigeons? Wishing that someone would take the time and trouble to construct an unusual, interesting magical world that didn?t take place in some rural outback with plodding horses and flea-ridden inns? Then this is the book for you. ...
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