[books] better than blake

[snugglekitty]

So, you like the premise of the Anita Blake books (dark urban fantasy, with a hint of mystery and humor), but you can't help realizing that they suck.

Have I got a booklist for you!



Bone Dance by Emma Bull
Postapocalyptic fabulousness, with plot twists impossible to foresee. Also, it's written from the first person, which you rarely see anymore. Very well done in this instance.

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
Fey war in Chicago, with a cover band caught in the middle. My comments alone cannot do it justice. The descriptions of the fey, in particular, are wonderful.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher
This is the first in the Harry Dresden series. Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. "When things go bump in the night, call me." He bears a strong resemblance to film noir dicks, and he loves to pun. Very funny, very creepy books.

Svaha by Charles de Lint
This is de Lint's only sci fi to date. It's futuristic and has a strong magical/spiritual component. A wonderful book; I've read it over and over again.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
If you haven't read it, you should. Simply amazing, like pretty much everything Gaiman does.

Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia
The premise of this book is that there are dinosaurs still walking the earth, dressed up in human suits. I'm not sure that I even need to say that it's hilarious. The film noir style only adds to the laugh factor.

A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K Hamilton
So, imagine that Hamilton wrote some books that didn't suck, that had a lot of kinky sex in them.
This is the first book in that series.

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Kind of like Snow Crash with witches and vampires. Great book. A sequel has just come out.

Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey
Unfortunately, Lackey had to stop writing these books, featuring Diana Tregarde, because they were too believable and crazy people were stalking her claiming to have the powers she was writing about. (Yeah, I know.) There are three of them - the first one is the best.

Serrated Edge books by Mercedes Lackey et al.
"There are elves in LA. It would explain a lot, wouldn't it?"
These ones are good, too. They're a little more fun and fanciful than the Diana Tregarde books. They mostly have to do with kids and teenagers. The first one is Born to Run.

Enjoy!

Comments

[sunspiral.livejournal.com]

Emma Bull is one of the best fantasy writers in the business. I'd love to see War For The Oaks done as a movie; I bet it could be done with a fairly small budget, much the way The Lathe of Heaven was done.