Urban Fantasy

Swarmthief's Dance
by Deborah J. Miller
Tor, 15 September 2006
Description: Long ago, there was war in Heaven. Rann, guardian of the Underworld, fought with the Nulefi, and in that battle the Nulefi were defeated. But though their bodies were destroyed, the spirits of the Nulefi remained, and they wander the world of Myr, cloaked in the shattered form of the Swarms, waiting for the moment of their revenge. Now they have re-awoken, remembering the glory and power of their ancient daysand one human boy, Vivreki, has witnessed that rebirth. The Swarm calls to him, pleads with him, whispers to him the secrets of a vanished age. To Vivreki this seems a miracle, but to his masters it is heresy. For very few now honour the elder gods, and those who still do keep silent about it. In fear of his life, Vivreki is hidden away from those that would kill him for his special knowledge. His memory is erased, his past denied, and a new life started for him half a world away. But the Nulefi have not forgotten Vivrekihe alone can hear them, and now he alone can save them. And as the Nulefi struggle to reach their only ally in the world, Herrukalfather of the godsdiscerns the rise of a new power on Myr. He will not tolerate another war, so even if the price of peace is the destruction of creation itself, then Herrukal will break the world. And only Vivreki can stop him.


Glass Houses
by Rachel Caine
Signet, 3 October 2006
Description: From the author of the popular Weather Warden series. Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Just don't stay out after dark. College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood


Greywalker
by Kat Richardson
Roc, 3 October 2006
Description: Harper Blaine was slogging along as a small-time P.I. when a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead. For two minutes, to be precise. When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring. But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.


Retrieval
by Jeanie London
Tor, 3 October 2006
Description: Nina is dead and must make amends.In life she refused to use her unique ability to see whether a soul ascends to Heaven or descends into Hell. Now, as a guide through the Passage between the living and the dead, she steers departing souls to Purgatory. But peace is hard to come by, even in the afterlife. Good and evil are fighting for control over the Passage--and Nina is determined not to let Hell take over. Roman breaks the dead guy rules.With his devilish charm and angelic looks, the newly-dead Roman can rally souls to fight-but on which side? His new Soul Retrieval Unit sounds like a good idea, but even in death, temptation lures Nina farther from salvation . . . or is she choosing Heaven by placing her soul in her lover's care?


Spellbinder
by Melanie Rawn
Tor, 17 October 2006
Description: There is magic in the big city...literally. New York City has a small, and by preference discrete, population of witches and wizards who live and love and go dancing just like everyone else. Holly McClure is one of them, a successful writer who tries to ignore her heritage, except when the local Magistrate needs her special gift in his coven. Holly is far more interested in Evan Lachlan, the handsome federal marshal who works with her best friend, assistant district attorney Susannah Wingfield.But trouble is coming to the City in the form of a black coven run by a murderous psychopath, and deputy marshals and ADAs are powerless to deal with that kind of crime. The danger to Holly is extreme, for her special gift is the power of her blood to strengthen and bind any spell, for good or for evil. Holly's passionate love affair will be derailed by those who want to drain her for their own purposes. In the end it will be magic against magic, and Holly McClure will have to risk all for life and love.


Watchers in the Night
by Jenna Black
Tor, 31 Oct 2006
Description: Vampires. They hunt in every major city, hidden by the crowds, shielded by disbelief. They are Killers, and their prey is human. Not all vampires are Killers. The Guardians of the Night sacrifice the superior physical and psychic strength that comes with feeding on humans to protect them. But the Guardians walk a thin line, for even a single kill could leave them helplessly addicted to murder.
When detective-turned-P.I. Carolyn Mathers was left at the altar, she never once thought her fiancé had been turned into a vampire. Two years later, Gray reappears, bringing murder, mystery, and an unbelievable tale of Guardians, blood-thirsty Killers, and his own transformation with him. And he's been accused of murder.
A first-rate P.I., Carolyn is determined to help. Gray won’t allow what he is now to taint her -- but Carolyn vows to never let him go again. But will helping Gray mean becoming a creature of the night?


Bloodring
by Faith Hunter
Roc, 7 November 2006
Description: In a novel filled with lush imagery and exhilarating action, Faith Hunter creates a near-future world caught in the throes of an ambiguous apocalypse-where a woman with everything to hide finds her true destiny revealed.
As humanity struggles with religious strife and seraphs and demons fight a never-ending battle, a new species has arisen. "Neomages" are human in appearance, but able to twist left-over creation energy to their will. A threat to both humans and seraphs, they are confined in luxurious Enclaves.
Thorn St. Croix is no ordinary neomage. Nearly driven insane by her powers, she is smuggled out of an Enclave and now lives among humans, channeling her gift of stone-magery into jewelry making. But when Thaddeus Bartholomew, a dangerously attractive policeman, tells her that her ex-husband has been kidnapped, Thorn risks revealing her identity to find him. And for Thorn, the punishment for revelation is death.

Thoughts about this kerfuffle

Note: I haven't read the book in question, nor do I know the author or the reviewer AT ALL. These are just general thoughts about the discussion here and here.

A plot that involves a female cop going undercover as a stripper to discover her sexuality is not original or innovative, not one little bit. Am I the only person who thinks this is a huge cliche, inside and outside of romance? Telling me something that stupid just makes me think that you are stupid, or at least not very widely read.

Just because you're married to someone who happens to do something for a living doesn't mean you know anything more than the basics about it, no matter how proud you are of them or how much you identify with them or with what they do. Do you think my husband knows enough about how a library works to write it convincingly? NO. Do I know enough about how railroad companies work to write them convincingly? NO. My husband and I and his best friend were all in the Army together. Despite being surrounded all the time by three people who were all active-duty Army intelligence personnel for a number of years, how often do you think I get irritated by the way our friends sometimes misrepresent or misunderstand the things that we did? Frequently. Basically, having a connection to something ON ITS OWN does not mean you can write it well. That's why authors/writers should indulge in a little something called research.

The tsk, tsk attitude that people get (authors and readers) when they see an opinion that they don't like is really annoying. Luckily, I don't review books here that frequently (and this gives me one more reason not to), so I don't have to deal with it. But I get tired of seeing discussion about books hijacked by people who want to be everybody's mother or their priest. I've got both, thanks, and I'm sure most of the reviewers have one/both themselves.

Trilogies

I really like the trend that publishing houses are going to where they release an author's series with the early books close together, a month or two apart each. I wouldn't like it if the author has just rushed to get the books out, but when it is a new author, or an author who clearly knows her pace and is able to produce frequently and in quantity, then it is great.

These books come out closely enough to one another that it is easier to keep up with the stories. Sometimes when books come out a year or so apart, especially dense fantasy and urban fantasy/paranormal books, I feel like I have to reread all of the previous books just to remember what's going on. But when a new series begins with the books released together (like Naomi Novik's Temeraire series) then it is easy to keep up and I can read the next book while I am still interested in it.

These are three upcoming trilogies that have caught my eye.

The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts
Morrigan's Cross, Dance of the Gods and Valley of Silence
August 29, October 3, and October 31, 2006
I don't read every Nora Roberts book because she has a very distinctive style that would permeate alot of my reading if I read every book, and I like variety too much. I think she's a great writer though, and so when I see something of hers that has a premise I find interesting, I will usually pick that up. This one alternates between 12th-century Ireland and modern New York and involves vampires, witches, and Irish mythology -- sounds great.


The Candace Steel Vampire Killer Series by Cameron Dean
Passionate Thirst, Luscious Craving and Eternal Hunger
October 31, November 28, and December 26, 2006
These books definitely have an Anita Blake feel (the series name, the titles, the covers) but they still look interesting. I do hope they aren't too much of a clone of the AB series, but I will definitely give the first one a try, if only in the hope that they will deliver what the AB series doesn't anymore. The covers are not bad, but they are a little on the lurid side, especially that second, red and yellow one, which is just awful.


Sara MacKenzie's Ghost Trilogy
Return of the Highlander, Secrets of the Highwayman and Passions of the Ghost
July 25, October 1, and December 1, 2006
These are time travel stories set in Scotland, so they could be terrible, but then they could be good as well. This is a new author (as far as I can tell) so I think I'll give them a chance. I'm not a fan of Outlander (more because I couldn't get into it than any real dislike) so I won't be comparing it to that, but I do hope these at least try to be somewhat accurate and don't go into the whole "Ooh, a big tough Highlander man is whisking me away, I will now swoon" type of story. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Oh, and the covers of the 1st and 3rd are terrible, but the second one looks okay (maybe because that guy has the most clothes on of the group), but really, what was the art department at Avon thinking when they came up with these?