Looking for a fun urban fantasy like Lazlo Zalezac's Magic or maybe Charles de Lint. Sex content is optional but I'd appreciate romance and a HEA ending.
Looking for a fun urban fantasy like Lazlo Zalezac's Magic or maybe Charles de Lint. Sex content is optional but I'd appreciate romance and a HEA ending.
The Keeper by Charly Young
Lachlan Quinn is a PTSD-ridden finish-carpenter. He wants to build ordinary simple life. But his past catches up to him. As if worrying about a traumatized little 9-year-old shapeshifter wasn't enough. He has to deal with an inheritance he doesn't want, a town full of witches who hate him, and an ancient Hag who is trying her hardest to kill him How will a cursed legacy, a house in a sentient forest, and a beautiful stone-cold shape-shifting Panther help him win through.
The Keeper and the Dragons by Charly Young
A Dark Shadow hangs over Ancient Oldtown: A Forbidden Blood Magic Scroll. Trouble is brewing in the ancient city of Oldtown. A malevolent scroll filled with forbidden blood magic has surfaced, threatening to unleash chaos. An unpaid debt forces Lachlan Quinn to leave his carefully ordered life behind. He soon finds himself entangled in a local civil war, threatened by an old enemy thirsting for revenge and watching out for an impetuous hex witch and her crew. With the odds stacked against him
Thanks for the recommendation. I have them downloaded already, but I need to move them up the reading queue.
Just finished, I can see a series out of them. Another pair of series is dead tree and although I didn't finish, it was my issue not the stories. they are the Anita Blake Vampire killer and Merry Gentry by Laurel K. Hamilton Although it started as a dead tree they are available online and they are on going
Thanks, but, I read the first few of the Merry Gentry books and one or two of the Anita Blake books. They get way too far into the whole bondage/master/sub thing for me. Just for reference, on SOL I filter out stories with any of the BDSM codes
It may not be that bad to you, but it was enough to turn me off of a very promising series. I got part way through one of the books (no idea which one other than it was the first or second) and decided it was getting disgusting.
What I meant was the Merry Gentry series is not as bad as the Anita Blake series in that sense, you are of course completely free to not like either.
I read both series several years ago, so I don't remember exact details, I just remember that with Merry Gentry my impression was that there is an interesting story I was curious about, whereas with Anita Blake it is (almost) all about sex in various combinations and levels of dominance from Anita particularly in later stories...
I tend to skim/skip over sex scenes in most stories, though... just there was way less other things in Anita Blake...
I think this may have a lot to do with author intent. Anita Blake started out flirtatious but became more and more sexual over time. While clearly there's a large audience for that, there was some portion of the early readers who felt it was an unwanted change.
With Merry Gentry the sexuality was baked into the character. Right from the start Merry is a sexually active, even aggressive, young woman and the sex is part of the story in a way that makes sense. While the sex is connected to the plot in later Anita Blake books, it starts out feeling forced (plot forced, not noncon).
Well, ongoing is a bit strong for Merry Gentry, I don't expect the next book for several years...
Never heard of it before, but it looks interesting. I just pulled down a sample to check it out. Thanks much!
Tinker, Wolf Who Rules, Elfhome, Woodsprites, Harbinger, Project Elfhome. A rare series where I re-read all of the books each year. Its Stargate x Cinderella x Mad Scientist's Club.
The Project Elfhome short stories are set in the same universe with the side characters brought to the fore:
Pittsburgh Yard & Garden are mismatched co-workers producing a gardening show. He's a pyromaniac obssessed with explosives, which would be something of a survival trait on a world where even the plants want to eat you. Its a pity being a clutz and flamethrowers don't mix. She's the sensible one, daughter of a marine, she keeps an illegal 25mm autocannon in her garage.
Wyvern has a human female big game hunter, skilled with all the high tech gadgets, that looks down on her primitive native guide and her wooden swords. The native guide is an immortal warrior, genetically engineered for physical perfection, protected by magic shields and armed with enchanted swords that can cut through armour plate. She looks down on the mortal hunter as crass, short lived and weak. Meanwhile the Wyvern is the size of a bus and sees the bickering hunters as prey.
I highly recommend them all.
I see where you're coming from there. After reading the sample I bought Tinker. If I'm still impressed by the end of that I'll keep going. I wouldn't have minded checking it out of the library but Seattle doesn't appear to have it available electronically.
I didn't know that, but if I'm reading 'borrowed' properly, this is all unofficial and the author isn't compensated. In that case, no — if I want authors to keep producing stories worth reading, I should be willing to help support them.
I haven't read the terms and conditions, but it requires signing in to an account and I assume that only one reader can 'borrow' access to the book at a time, much like a public library.
Wether the archive bought the book in the first place, or just scanned a book in a library is different question.
Regardless, I respect your respect for the authors.
I've read the first 5 books multiple times. The fifth book – story collection Project Elfhome (published 2016) – included a preview of Harbinger intended to be published in mid 2017. I eagerly waited for it for some years until I gave up. So I missed its publishing in 2022 (delayed five years!).
Question: how is it compared to the other five books? Does it conclude the series?
HM.
Its very good story telling, with multiple crossing character viewpoints / story lines. Many of the characters introduced in Project Elfhome have prominent roles. Most are believable, even the unlikeable are fleshed out. Downsides are it dives into the seamier side of life. Underage prostitution, kidnapping, child abuse and murder. It ends on a massive cliffhanger, the magical equivalent of a blinding flash followed by a shockdome a kilometer wide, The End.
Ms Spencer is still writing for her Patreon supporters. I've no clue if or when she will publish a sequel.
I respectfully submit my own Details Matter. It's magic from the opening line on, starts out in a college town, and has the requested happily ever after
P.G. Allison has an urban fantasy series, Missy the Werecat, now at book 11 Missy's Return to West Point and the spinn-off series Tracy the Fire Witch with now book 3 Tracy's Trials and Tribulations.
Each book has an happy ending and romance. An ending for the series is not in sight, Missy and Tracy are now in their final year at West Point, both intend to marry their boyfriend after graduation.
Grrr, I struggle again with the English language: how to formulate it unambiguously? 2 boyfriends, each girl has one.
What I wrote above could be interpreted as a shared boyfriend, if I instead write 'boyfriends' it could also mean more than one per girl.
Would 'each intends to marry her boyfriend' be better?
HM.
Edited typo ('Wherecat')
Would 'each intends to marry her boyfriend' be better?
That's what I'd suggest, yes.
As far as the series, I may try to check it out of the library. I think that's the one my wife has been talking about recently, and I know she would only be reading it if she checked it out.
I think that's the one my wife has been talking about recently, and I know she would only be reading it if she checked it out.
That's what I get for thinking. She remembered a werecat one from some time ago, but I was conflating it with Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson books
She remembered a werecat one from some time ago, but I was conflating it with Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson books
I will point out that Mercy is a coyote shifter, because her father is the Coyote of native American mythology, not a were anything.
P.G. Allison has an urban fantasy series, Missy the Werecat, now at book 11 Missy's Return to West Point and the spinn-off series Tracy the Fire Witch with now book 3 Tracy's Trials and Tribulations.
Some series I find less enjoyable as they go along -- not so much I stop reading them, but they are not quite as novel as in the beginning. I loved Tinker, but find the later novels enjoyable but not quite as stunning. Same with Missy the Werecat -- the first books were fresh in their positive outlook and sense of discovery. I still read the series but find the new Missy novels to be somewhat repetitive.
To be clear, I recommend both series.
Another story here is Dragon by Fick Suck. Short but enjoyable. And a HEA ending.
Some series I find less enjoyable as they go along -- not so much I stop reading them, but they are not quite as novel as in the beginning.
Same with me. If then the author needs five or more years to come up with the next book in the series, he may have lost me. He/she had forced me to stop reading and now restarting reading the series makes it hard for me. Due to my increasing age (now 77) I remember not enough from the earlier books and would've to reread them to understand the new book fully. But I've so many books and stories already on my 'to read' list ...
HM.
Try sean-david-kilpatrick-flynn-book-1-of-wizard-a-love-story by Misguidedchild first of 3
Interesting. Nothing in the blurb made me think of this one for an urban fantasy. I'll have to take a closer look at it. Thanks.
For your consideration:
El of a Way To Go — A Universe from the Mind of Ol'Mac
This is a Universe populated by all the characters one would find in a classical fantasy setting. The twist being that the tales are set in modern day "Chicago, IL". The tales themselves are, (normally) a lighthearted romp with enough adrenaline shots to keep your interest. Enjoy the trip, Folks.
Thanks for the reminder. I've read them all, but it's been quite awhile. Time for a refresher.
Jusy saw this in the updates page, haven't read it but it is showing a 6.94 score
The Chronicles of Malcolm Harris: Fear No Evil by Terrance G Kilpatrick
Horror
While investigating a crime scene involving occult activities, Malcolm is allowed by the detective in charge of the investigation to act as a consultant on the things found at the crime scene. The layers of this mystery begin to reveal a much larger conspiracy of evil. Malcolm finds himself kidnapped as he awakens in an extravagant mansion which belongs to a creature, he never believed existed…a vampire! Malcolm is introduced to a fantastic and strange world only his imagination could allow.
Tags: Ma/Fa, Heterosexual, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Vampires, Demons, Violence
Sex Contents: No Sex
164,515 words
If you're good with dead tree (or shadow library), a series that doesn't get anywhere near as much attention as it deserves is Mercedes Lackey's "Elves on the Road" universe. There are several constituent series, most co-written with other fantasy authors.
There are about 30 books total, most novels but a few story collections, all written in a 20 year period from the late 80s to 2010.
If you want something more modern with sexual content, the three big names are of course Laurell K Hamilton, Jim Butcher, and Kim Harrison. I actually prefer Kat Richardson's "Greywalker" series to Hamilton & Harrison, but YMMV. Note that Hamilton especially starts as urban fantasy with mild sexual content and by around the 9th or 10th book becomes outright erotica in an urban fantasy world.
Thanks. I'll check out the Mercedes Lackey ones. I've read some of Hamilton's and Butcher's, but I'm really looking for fun rather than horror, upbeat and whimsical even if there are vampires and trolls. Say, something akin to Tanya Huff's Keeper books, maybe.
Okay, yeah, Lackey's style is much closer to Huff's so you'll probably like them.
There was one novel, think it was part of the SERRAted Edge series, in which a character is trying to interfere with mind-readers by reciting They Must Be Giants lyrics. It's that kind of humour. Nice light read.
Also, Supernatural Earth series from Diesel Jester / Alex Clayton over on the other site or his Patreon.
Also, not necessarily urban but modern mixed with fantasy: Rick Cook's Wizardry series... an absolute hoot :-) you can find them in Baen books Book 6 is incomplete due to medical reasons...
Have a look at Stultus. He has a wide range of works.
The Art Deco series is set in a 1930s with magic.
https://storiesonline.net/universe/437/arc-deco
Dirty Harry Potter is set in modern day vermont.
https://storiesonline.net/s/66211/dirty-harry-potter
If you are including dead tree storage books, I find the Dresden Files books entertaining.
I've got Storm Front, but I've yet to make it through it. Maybe some other time I will, but right now it's way too dark and depressing for me and life is doing enough of that already.
Ley Line Witch — a series by Uncle Jim 8 stories
The Series follows Madailein Kavanagh as she learns to use her new Ley Line Magic to protect herself and her friends, and to keep and protect her property and house.
Magic Ink — A Universe from the Mind of Uncle Jim
These stories follow the adventures of members of Clan O'Connell through many generations and a number of Realms and Realities. Additionally there are stories of other Magic users in their various Realities.
Thanks for the suggestions. Possibly on the Ley Line series, but at a later date. Right now I'm looking for something lighter than these appear to be.
As for the Magic Ink universe, someday I'll make it through the first book, but so far I haven't been able to maintain my interest all the way through.
After seeing this I spent some time trying to remember what had turned me off about the story. I finally remembered that there's another big dose of glorifying the Confederacy and other such Lost Cause stupidity. It's not that I won't read stories with that type of content, but they'd better be close to perfect in other ways.
Magic by
Lazlo Zalezac
Science is killing magic. The last of the magical beings decide that it is time for the return of a Merlin-like person to bring back the magic. The job requirements are: he's got to be an unlikely hero type that is lucky; he's got to own silver and be willing to trade it for a gift of magic; and he's got to be a horny guy with a bad fashion sense.
[More Info]
Tags: Ma/Fa, Fiction, Humor
Sex Contents: Minimal Sex
235,825 words
I am not recommending either of these solely on the basis that I have not read them, but on my shelf are books in Mike Carey's Felix Castor series (starting with The Devil You Know) and Stephen Blackmoore's Eric Carter series (starting with Dead Things). All In know is they are both Urban Fantasy.