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I have not read much urban fantasy. In fact, my experience with the genre is limited to Neverwhere and American Gods (probably not truly urban fantasy, but I’ll take what I can get), both by Neil Gaiman. I don’t know if it’s the covers of many of the recent UF offerings, i.e., usually a person on the cover in tight clothes holding some sort of bladed weapon. I try not to judge a book by its cover, but with so many of the books looking similar, how the hell do I choose?
In an effort to remedy my situation, I have entered Shaun Duke’s (@shaunduke in the twitterverse) contest at The World in a Satin Bag, where he is giving away three copies of Procession of the Dead by Darren Shan. I don’t know if I’ll be fortunate enough to win one of the copies, but it’s worth a shot. Hopefully it will provide the jumping off point into the Urban Fantasy genre. If you are so inclined, head over to The World in a Satin Bag and sign up yourself.
Here is the Booklist review of Procession of the Dead:
Popular YA author Darren Shan’s first adult novel is a combination of horror and near-future thriller set in The City, which is the center of Capac Raimi’s world. Moving into the city to work with his small-time gangster uncle, Capac soon finds himself at the service of the Cardinal, the leader of all the criminal gangs and the ruler of the city. Capac enjoys his new life except for a few small details, including the enigmatic blind and mute monks who have a way of appearing at significant moments in Capac’s life, and the fact that he can’t really remember any of his life before he came to the City. Then he meets and immediately falls in love with a young woman who is determined to dig out the Cardinal’s secrets. Fast-paced and exciting, Procession of the Dead is a gritty, creepy, and completely successful story with an ending that leaves openings for future series entries. Suggest to readers who enjoyed Mieville’s The City and the City (2009) for its slightly fantastical setting combined with a thrilling story.
A quick rumination: Would Clive Barker’s The Damnation Game would be considered Urban Fantasy genre if it were published today? I read somewhere that horror doesn’t really sell well these days, but it seems possible that some horror has been rebranded as Urban Fantasy or Dark Fantasy. If you have any thoughts, let ‘er rip.
I’m in the process of finding talent for the cover of my book – and I can’t stress enough how fearful I am of having my book shrugged off because of a bad first impression. I don’t fault you one bit – covers really do make or break books these days. If only more writers took them seriously (or maybe they shouldn’t…otherwise it would be too difficult to pick out a book).
Hi Jonathan, good question on the dark fantasy vs. horror. Horror isn’t selling well right now, primarily because it’s gotten something of a bad rap for a variety of reasons. I belong to a Literary Horror discussion group on Goodreads and we’ve talked about this.
I think, and this is just my personal opinion, but dark fantasy is horror with a psychological bend to it. Perhaps it involves other worlds or twilight worlds, but the writing has a tone to it that the lighter urban fantasies lack.
The hope is there, but the protagonist and the reader must pass through incredible darkness to reach it. So it is fantasy in that it involves world-building or the world between, which medieval writers used to suggest death or the underworld, but it is also horror in that it is creepy and pulls no punches.
Regarding the covers: I avoid any book with a buxom twenty-something lass holding a sword. The cover immediately tells me this book is for a) persons under thirty [it’s not that the book is bad, per se, it’s just that I’ve been there and done that, so the themes really don’t interest me]; and b) it’s really a teen novel with sex, drugs, and [pick one:] vampires, celtic lore, werewolves, etc. Again, it’s just me, but I’ve already explored all these themes, so I’m not really interested. (Jaded old lady that I am.)
I’ve heard something/somewhere about Procession of the Dead and I think most who have read it enjoyed it. Thanks for the link. I’m going to pop over and visit Shaun Duke’s blog and see what’s going on.
Good topic!
Thanks for the insights. I confess that my horror experience is quite dated: King, Straub, Barker and the like. I did enjoy The Gentling Box, but that’s about the only true horror I’ve read in the last ten or twenty years. I’ll probably rely on recommendations to make decisions on genres with which I’m not familiar.
As for the covers, I swear they look like romance novels to me. If romance is your bag, cool. But it’s not mine and I don’t want to get suckered in. Also, I might be a little embarrassed to be caught reading one of those buxom blade-wielding lass books in public. It’s a shame that some good stuff goes unread by various segments of the reading population just because of covers. Conversely, I’ve read some mediocre stuff because of cool covers. I guess that’s why I trust recommendations a good bit.
I use Amazon reviews as well because of the volume of reviews. Those seem to give me a pretty good feel for what to expect.
From what I’ve read on the cover process, it is largely out of the writer’s hands. Publishers seem to go with what they consider tried and true (until that doesn’t work anymore). It reminds me of knock off movies that come after blockbusters–I’m thinking of Indiana Jones when I say that. At first glance it is difficult to believe that people go for those ripoffs, but I’m guessing the sales numbers bear it out (think Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer, JK Rowling). Apparently, people can’t get enough and go for the strategy.
All that said, I hope you find and get to use the cover art of your choice. That would be cool because you know it would reflect your vision of the book.
PS I forgot to mention it on the first go-through, but I do love your new blog theme, Jonathan! It looks wonderful!
Thanks!
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So, while horror apparently isn’t selling (didn’t they say that to Stephen King too?), genre fiction is certainly going “dark.” Not saying I’m an expert, but this seems to be the trend. Makes me ponder. Still, how can we have a world where no one writes about the monsters, the shadows, the things that creep in the dark? I may not pick up these books all the time, but they are as necessary as a slap on the bottom at birth. 🙂
I would agree with that assessment. A couple of years ago I read a thriller that resonated because of great character development and dark themes – The Black Angel by John Connolly. It was well-written and evocative (nice cliches, but true). http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/novels_ba.php. It reminded me of Clive Barker-type imagery. Oddly enough, that was when I began to think about writing again for the first time in about 20 years.
That was a bit of a ramble, but it’s a book worth exploring 😉
I’m going to check that out. Still have The Windup Girl to finish!
Alright, finish The Windup Girl and then check out The Black Angel. Seriously. Do it.
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