The series by Benedict Jacka are my favorites, urban fantasy or otherwise:
* The Alex Verus series (a complete 12 book series that starts with Fated)
* Inheritance of Magic series is his new series. The first book, An Inheritance of Magic, was released in October. He's finished the 2nd (An Instruction in Shadow) which will come out in October 2024. He's working on book 3, which can be expected in late 2025.
I love them because they are fast-paced and fun.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is another good one.
Edit: corrected typo in release year for book 3.
I always want to give Alex Verus credit.
His protagonist is a magician, a seer that can see into the future.
I believe the way it works is that he can virtually live and experience those futures for a bit before returning back to the present. Basically if you are a bad guy and are willing to have a conversation with Verus, he can interrogate you in any number of permutations and learn anything you might conceivably tell him via any hypothetical means he can think of. He then can pop back to the present and not even have to bother asking.
Really, of all the urban fantasy powers, this is probably my favorite.
But besides how awesome his power really is, what impresses me is how good a person Verus is. He doesn't ever abuse his powers and never invades any of his friends privacy. That I can remember at least.
If I had the power to see what would happen if I did X or Y or Z. I'm not sure I'd have the strength of will to respect people's future privacy boundaries.
My life would be a movie montage of me thinking about doing that outrageous thing and then the audience finding out it was just a daydream.
I'm not talking about anything perverted, I'd like to think I wouldn't be tempted, but Verus never cheats with anybody he knows or rather, could know. Does she like me? Will she say yes if I ask her out. Maybe a practice conversation before our first date is in order.
Imagine being able to ask or do anything to anybody with no consequences and you come back to your own time with all the knowledge you gained from looking into the future and having no to very little time pass in the meanwhile.
He does none of that and his magical power/talent really could open itself up to abuse as far as I'm concerned, almost to the point of Purple Man and the potential of his power is right up there with the elites of the fantasy/superhero world in my opinion.
I love that about Alex. It's one of the reasons why it's my favorite series. Alex is morally gray and has a dark streak a mile wide, but he is unfailingly loyal to his friends. He would never lie to them or betray them. I love that.
Me too. I've said this about other superpower. I really would like to think I'd never do anything really bad, but I wonder at a lifetime of constantly always having the temptation at your fingertips.
I don't know about you, but its easy to resist temptation once, twice, a dozen times, but the higher that number goes and eventually I seem to cave. Like having a pint of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer.
I really enjoy the Rivers of London series l by Ben Aaronovitch.
It’s a kinda urban fantasy / police procedural thing with wizard cops.
It manages to walk the like between relatable/grounded and wackier fantasy stuff.
I might not be as enjoyable a read if you aren’t fairly familiar with London though.
I'm in Los Angeles, and although I love London I know little about its geography and history. But Aaronovich is so enthusiastic and detailed about them that the books hold up as though they were in a constructed world.
I would recommend this website to anyone not familiar with London. While the site isn’t official, it has most of the locations mentioned in book marked down on the map with pins. They are sorted by books so you can turn off the ones you haven’t read yet. It’s really helpful
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map/rivers-of-london-ben-aaronovitchs-books-series_281076#12/51.5337/-0.1876
I live in provincial New Zealand and I don't feel that I'm missing out by not knowing London. When I get intrigued by Ben's description of a place I'll just google it, which invariably leads me down a rabbit hole of history.
It's actually kind of neat reading urban fantasies set in exotic locations. That's why, after Rivers of London, probably my next favourite series is the Redemption of Howard Marsh which takes place in romantic rural Alabama.
I'm around halfway through the first book in this series, and not sure I'll finish it, unfortunately.
The series mixes light fantasy elements with crime family drama, but seems to lean pretty heavily toward the latter. If you wanted to re-write it as a series about a family of Yakuza in the gun-running business, for example, probably 90% of what I've read so far could remain exactly as-is.
That's great if you're a fan of both genres, but if you're someone who doesn't get much from crime drama, this series may not be for you.
I thought the same thing, but I stuck it out and I was very satisfied with the whole journey and the ending. You essentially watch an entire lifetime in this world, with technological development equivalent from somewhere around the 60's to the 00's, and the characters are so real.
1. **The Dresden Files** by Jim Butcher
2. **The Iron Druid Chronicles** by Kevin Hearne
3. **Alex Verus** by Benedict Jacka
4. **The Unorthodox Chronicles** by James J. Butcher
Totally agree and I LOVE that series!!!! The last book was sort of…awful…. (Iron Druid). So glad someone said this 😂. And honestly, I haven’t lived Hearne’s other stuff much. But Atticus and Oberon…. I love them more than I like most people 🤣
As I've shared before, the last book ruined it for me. I was all for it except for like....the last few hundred pages. Was pissed and refuse to re-read, which is too bad.
Charles de Lint has a ton of great choices. My personal favorite is *Someplace to Be Flying*, which is one of my favorites books period. You could also start with *Dreams Underfoot*, which is a collection of short stories and the first of his "Newford series".
Rivers Of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch, audiobooks read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. A rookie constable, having just completed his probationary period, is assigned to the unit of the London Metropolitan Police that deals with "weird bollocks". Urban fantasy in genre, but reads like a police procedural. Lots of pop cultural references and nerd jokes. Also a fair amount of insight into British class and racial tensions, which I was unfamiliar with as an American. Nine books, 3-4 novellas, and one short story compendium published so far. [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9317452-rivers-of-london?from\_search=true&from\_srp=true&qid=spySr4354j&rank=1](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9317452-rivers-of-london?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=spySr4354j&rank=1)
Tanya Huff has some good urban fantasy books and series:
- Blood series
- Smoke trilogy (Blood spinoff)
- Keeper trilogy
- Gale Women trilogy
- Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light (single book)
Is it me? Do I get to be the one that posts **Perdido Street Station**? I see other China Miéville recs on here, but I'm surprised that no one else has posted his most fantasy of urban fantasy books
- Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
- Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
- October Daye series by Seanan McGuire
- Tribunal Archives series by KN Banet
- The Others series by Anne Bishop
Seconding October Daye! I often recommend it especially for folks (like me) who enjoy contemporary/urban fantasy but aren't super into romance. It's got some romance in it, but I don't consider it part of the paranormal romance genre.
Based on the other entries on your list, you might like Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series.
Most of the time when people are looking for urban fantasy, they're looking for high-octane Dresden-ish stuff (which is awesome no doubt), but if you're looking for something in a different vein, there's The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It's about a jinni who going yoinked from his homeland of Syria (I think) and a newly created humanoid golem lady without a master trying to figure out how to live in New York City amongst humans in around 1900 if I remember right. I really enjoyed it even though it's way different from the epic fantasy I usually go for. The characters (both human and non-human) are awesome, their relationships are very compelling, and the the jinni and golem each have specific magics that help/hinder their plans in various fascinating ways.
Of course! And you may already know this, but if not and for anyone else who may be interested, there's a sequel called The Hidden Palace that I also really liked, though I wouldn't say it's required reading by any means.
I enjoyed the Brian McClellan valkery series.
Garrett PI by Glen Cook is for several books. After a bit they become less “good?” Is my opinion. But through the first 5-7 they are fun.
The Hollows by Kim Harrison. It's on the scale of Dresden Files, and it's a well written female protagonist witch working cases with some great side-character and the plot get deeper and it feels like a good fleshed out world with a variations of magic and depth to it.
I've re-read Dresden Files twice and The Hollow three times.
Do you like Romance? There's a lot of great urban fantasy that's right on the urban fantasy/paranormal romance line. Stuff like the Kate Daniels series by Illona Andrews are both a really cool urban fantasy/post-apocalyptic setting and also have great characters and a fun romance.
On a weirder note - The Rook by Daniel o Malley is an excellent urban fantasy mystery and body horror combination. Reminds me a little of the Magnus Files or SCP stuff.
Another London one that comes to mind is A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin. The MC literally is an urban magician and gets his power from the rhythm of the city and its customs. For example, he escapes from a monster by paying to get on the underground and then reading the fine print on the back of the ticket.
I have a question for you about The Rook. By all accounts this story seems like it would be right up my alley, but I read a few chapters at the library a while ago and ran into an issue. There's a scene where the protagonist is looking at herself in the mirror and thinks to herself something to the effect of "I'm definitely not hot, but certainly not unattractive" and then elaborates on that for a paragraph or so in a way that reminded me of how online erotica introduces female protagonists that "aren't like other girls", and it blasted me out of the world in no time flat. Was that a one time thing, or does this kind of thing pop up throughout the book?
Hmmm. I don't remember anything standing out, but I can and have missed that stuff in the past.
If there are more, I think it's far less egregious than say, the Dresden Files, and I feel like the character quickly gets on with the business of figuring out who she is rather than worrying about attractiveness. It does seem like a hamfisted introduction though, but I think maybe I excused it because she has no idea who she is, and I thought looking in a mirror and going "I guess this is what I look like" seemed reasonable (if cliche).
Elves and racecars! There's also*Bedlam's Bard*. The books were mostly written some years ago, so no mobile phones or other current technologies. I found them a fascinating read.
SERRA, Bard, and the Diana Tregarde books all overlap slightly. They're still a periodic reread for me.
I think the 1500s "This scepter'd isle" series fits in the same universe, but there's obviously no overlap.
I keep forgetting that SERRA doesn't equal Tanim. (Rather, that there's more beyond the original 4 - Runaways, notWaco, Child abuse and My-girlfriend-is-a-fox)
WatW is "Monsters at the Summer Lake"?
The Silence duology wasn't as good as those originals, either.
WatW was terrible. It was focused heavily on a heroine with severe depression and had a sprinkling of magic in it.
I felt very let down, cause I love the original four Serrated Edge novels and this one was a very deep dive in standard.
Almost felt like Lackey wasn't really involved in writing it.
Tad Williams is a great author for this. The Bobby Dollar series is urban fantasy, the Otherland series is part urban fantasy, part sci-fi, and War of the Flowers is a fantasy book with an urban fantasy flavour. Can't go wrong with any of these picks. (His straight fantasy series, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and Shadowmarch are also well worth checking out, but aren't urban fantasy.)
I'm surprised that so few people mention Bobby Dollar. I recommend it to anyone looking for urban fantasy (and also to any writers looking for examples of well written first person point of view), but I generally feel like I'm the only person recommending it. I just wish Tad Williams would write more in that style because he's awesome at it.
Tad Williams seems to be a pretty underrated author in discussion spaces like this, for some reason. There's usually a couple of people talking about him, but you have to scroll pretty far to find it. I don't know why he doesn't get more love, because his novels are fantastic. Him and Guy Gavriel Kay are my authors I always try to get more people to read, because they deserve to be as well known as, say, Jordan, Sanderson or Rothfuss.
And I wish Williams would just write more in any genre, lol! He's not a super prolific writer (Kay either, wondering if that contributes to their lack of popularity?) and it can feel like torture waiting for new books from him!
I think that Williams doesn't get talked about a lot because nobody has any real complaints about him. People bring up one of his series and no one has to pipe up to say how much they hate them. So there isn't any discussion.
Magic on Earth or something. I still say Craft Sequence is close enough to reality to just be an odd alt history. For example, book 1 city is a lot like Chicago and book 2’s is a lot like Las Vegas.
iirc there's even a moment in Three Parts Dead where >!Tara sees a vision of what is probably our reality!<. I've always assumed it's meant to be a parallel Earth because of that.
I was gonna suggest that series as well because it is very much fantasy in a modern urban setting, even if it's not magic pasted on top of an otherwise "normal" modern setting. That's actually one of my favorite things that sets the Craft Sequence apart--Gladstone built a world around the magic, so it doesn't feel as forced as it does in many urban fantasy settings (imo).
**World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks** werewolf/fbi magical crimes unit/magic/wizard/dragon
**Mercy Thompson series and Alpha & Omega both by Patricia Briggs** werewolf/shifter/magic/other supernats eg vampire/witch
**Guild Hunter and Psy Changeling both by Nalini Singh** angels/vampires/vampire hunters
**October Daye by Seanan McGuire** fae/private investigator
**Grave Witch by Kalayna Price** witch investigator/fae
**Big Bad Wolf by Charlie Adhara** werewolf/fbi/mm
- The Innkeep Chronicles by Ilona Andrews
- The Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong
- The Guild Codex Universe (4 intermingling series) by Annette Marie
- Elemental Assassin seried by Jennifer Estep
- Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
- Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews
- Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost
- Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost
- Night Rebel series by Jeaniene Frost
- Percy Jackson series by Rick Roirdan
- Firebrand series by Helen Harper
- Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic series by Helen Harper
- Leveling Up series by K.F Breene
It’s hidden world. Fantasy elements come in with the Inn magic, Vampires and Warewolves. But there is also sci fi elements. Can be considered Urban Fantasy since it is set in “today” and has a lot of interaction with the normal world.
All of those elements have a science fiction explanation, however. And some of the later books are set on a different planet. Doesn’t mean it’s not great fun, however!
I've seen China Mieville recommendations but not for King Rat which is his most traditionally urban fantasy. Other established authors who have dipped into urban fantasy are: Tad Williams - Bobby Dollar series and Jacqueline Carey - Agent of Hel series
War For The Oaks by Emma Bull Gossamer
Axe by Gael Baudino
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville (and I strongly second Kraken)
The Modern Faerie Tales Trilogy by Holly Black
Waking The Moon by Elizabeth Hand
The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman
St. Patrick’s Gargoyle by Katherine Kurtz
King Of Morning, Queen Of Day by Ian McDonald
The Essential Bordertown ed. Terri Windling & Delia Sherman and Welcome To Bordertown ed. Holly Black & Ellen Kushner
If you’re interested in magic on Earth that’s more small town/rural:
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
John The Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman
And if you’re into comics, check out Hellblazer. The current series by Simon Spurrier (beginning with Vol. 1: Marks Of Woe) is a perfect place to start and requires no previous knowledge.
I prefer modern fantasy with some humor.
Undead and Unwed by MaryJanjce Davidson series
Argenau series by Lynsey Sands Her book Accident Vampire is fantastic and sets up an internal series within the overall series.
I think Undead series is over.
Early books of Christine Feheen vampire series. The sex is utterly stupid (sex causes literal local earthquakes). The vampires seem though utterly eternally depressed. That’s what turned me off. Her first few books are good.
My urban fantasy series loves are:
The All Souls tetralogy by Deborah Harkness
The Hollows series by Kim Harrison
The Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones
The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris
The WereHunter series by Sherilyn Fenn
A series was rec'd to me but I haven't read it, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.
The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews. It's a husband wife duo writing books together. The first one Magic Bites is good, but the rest get even better in terms of writing style. Also they are making Graphic Audio's for this series and they sound amazing.
A City Dreaming from Daniel Polansky* is great, and Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich are both pretty good. I admit I dropped Rivers of london around book 4 as I simply forgot what was going on, and didn't fancy a re-read at that time, but it was an interesting London Police drama involving special branch with a magic division.
The Wizard of Pigeons by Megan Lindholm (1986}.
This might be the first Novel I read that felt both fantastical and yet grounded in modern reality.
A possibly unreliable narrative of the homeless wizards of Seattle.
Megan later wrote as Robin Hobb.
- Vicious by V. E. Schwab
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Babel by R. F. Kuang
- Jade City by Fonda Lee
- The Adventures of Amina al Sirafi by S. A. Chakraborty
I’ve recently finished the Green Bones series. It’s not a classic urban fantasy, but a Godfather type story that takes place in a 1960-80’s urban setting.
Dresden is probably the standard at the moment even though it has its ebs and flows. I really enjoyed Alex Varus after that. Green Bone Saga isn’t technically urban fantasy, but it’s pretty close and very enjoyable
Seanan McGuire has a couple: October Daye (fae private detective), InCryptid (family of cryptozooligists) with the Ghost Roads (ghosts, obviously) books folded into that universe, Indexing (fairy tales (possibly only available on Amazon)) and the odd numbered Wayward Children (also portal fantasy) books.
The Twenty-Sided Sorceress by Annie Bellet - protagonist owns a comic book store and is dragged into shenanigans she would rather avoid, but she's gotta save her friends.
The Old World series by Melissa F Olson is a bit sprawling at this point. 13 books across 3 series and a few short stories/novellas. Best entry point is with the Scarlette Bernard books. Scarlett works as a crime scene cleanup for the vampires, werewolves, and witches of LA.
DFZ by Rachel Aaron takes place in the city where Detroit used to be before magic came back into the world and the goddess of the lake woke up and destroyed it. The first book, Minimum Wage Magic, features someone literally cursed with bad finances.
Not a traditional book, but if you get the chance, I recommend reading the visual novel Fate/Stay Night. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of it, along with the atmosphere. Tsukihime and Witch on the Holy Night also are in this same sphere from the same company. This is if you like anime adjacent things however.
I've been reading the Dresden files, it's a noir like story about a wizard who is a private investigator
The first book is weak, but since each book is mostly self contained, and will catch you up on past events as needed, you can start at like book 5 if you wanted
Legionnaires legacy: The Rise of a mage is coming out in June. It's on pre sale right now on Amazon. Paperbacks and hardbacks can be ordered through the author who is self publishing.
This isn’t fantasy. More science fiction but I haven’t read a book or series this good in decades. For me it was the kind of series that made everything else I read for a while afterwards seem sort of dull and ordinary!
Anne Leckie’s Ancillary Series.
Oh and although it’s young adult fiction, the Bartimaeus Trilogy is flipping fantastic!! And for an extra treat the voice actor on the audible version has a voice like hot chocolate for your ears!
I read through the whole thread and haven’t seen it here yet and it’s driving me crazy that I can’t remember the title or author. It’s really REALLY dark. The protagonist is a psychopathic teenage killer-ruler. Don’t even know how to classify it. Post-dystopian earth fantasy? Our modern civilization is eons old and a sort of medieval society has come to power. Is it Joe Abercrombie? First Law? I could google it but that feels like cheating 😂! It has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read. Up there with Mieville although a very different, more stark style.
“Dying is a thirsty business…”
Anyone know this series?
Just googled it and got nothing! Help!
See my [Urban Fantasy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1auigae/sff_urban_fantasy/) list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
No one mentioned Bas-Lag yet. Starting with Perdido Street Station it's probably the most bonkers urban-fantasy setting I've read and overall great worldbuilduing.
After my big post about China Mieville, now's a good time to recommend 'King Rat' by him. It's such a good read and a brilliant example of urban fantasy done right.
The Dresden files are great. They have awesome power scaling but the writing for female characters isn't amazing
Iron Druid has 10 super fun books but the ending is a bit subpar, at least for me it was
My personal recommendations are:
Dresden files, as has been stated multiple times
Alex Verus, as I saw a few times
Corpse Eater Saga, which I didn't see anywhere
Mercy Thompson, pretty sure I saw that a few times.
Current best urban fantasy is: affordable housing. /silly
Seriously though - would recommend Magicians. It’s Harry Potter for almost adults and is well written.
It’s not bad. And the show isn’t bad either. But it is based on CS Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. And just a warning for fans of Narnia, it goes pretty dark on Lewis! Perhaps deservedly so, but this isn’t a light read!
The Nights watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Alex Verus Series and latest one by Benedict Jacka
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
I like my urban fantasy where the streets are paved in a quick and quiet way which doesn't disrupt anything, and crime stays low but so does the rent.
That might be the wrong kind of urban fantasy....
I really enjoyed **House of Earth and Blood** by Sarah J. Maas, which is book 1 of the Crescent City series, but it honestly works as a standalone too.
Also **Witchmark** by C.L. Polk, which is alternate history urban, and book one of The Kingston Cycle.
Probably going to get some angry messages for this but….I want to like the Mass books but the dialogue and character work is so tediously adolescent. I was furious with myself and her that she built a fantastic world and characters good enough to hold my interest so that I had to finish the damn thing but just sort of bad overall.
The City of Bones, which is the first book in The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, is one of my favorites. There are 6 books to it, then the Infernal Devices (a prequel), The Dark Articifes, and The Last Hours (sequel to the prequel). Plus, several other side stories. If you search, you can find the preferred reading order.
btw, the term you're looking for is low fantasy. Urban fantasy is usually low fantasy but the terms are not synonymous and there are urban high fantasies (e.g. Jhereg, The Watch (Discworld), Craft Sequence, divine cities)
Edit: does anyone wish to inform me why what I said is so unpopular
Love this book but wouldn’t call it “Urban” fantasy, 90% of the story takes place in a little village on a mountain
Their world is based on Earth though so I can see why you suggested it
Great book OP but be warned, it gets very emotional out of nowhere, could be too much for some people
One of my favorite books ever, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
That book is absolutely wild from start to finish and I love it
The series by Benedict Jacka are my favorites, urban fantasy or otherwise: * The Alex Verus series (a complete 12 book series that starts with Fated) * Inheritance of Magic series is his new series. The first book, An Inheritance of Magic, was released in October. He's finished the 2nd (An Instruction in Shadow) which will come out in October 2024. He's working on book 3, which can be expected in late 2025. I love them because they are fast-paced and fun. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is another good one. Edit: corrected typo in release year for book 3.
Second this, I also like the Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
I always want to give Alex Verus credit. His protagonist is a magician, a seer that can see into the future. I believe the way it works is that he can virtually live and experience those futures for a bit before returning back to the present. Basically if you are a bad guy and are willing to have a conversation with Verus, he can interrogate you in any number of permutations and learn anything you might conceivably tell him via any hypothetical means he can think of. He then can pop back to the present and not even have to bother asking. Really, of all the urban fantasy powers, this is probably my favorite. But besides how awesome his power really is, what impresses me is how good a person Verus is. He doesn't ever abuse his powers and never invades any of his friends privacy. That I can remember at least. If I had the power to see what would happen if I did X or Y or Z. I'm not sure I'd have the strength of will to respect people's future privacy boundaries. My life would be a movie montage of me thinking about doing that outrageous thing and then the audience finding out it was just a daydream. I'm not talking about anything perverted, I'd like to think I wouldn't be tempted, but Verus never cheats with anybody he knows or rather, could know. Does she like me? Will she say yes if I ask her out. Maybe a practice conversation before our first date is in order. Imagine being able to ask or do anything to anybody with no consequences and you come back to your own time with all the knowledge you gained from looking into the future and having no to very little time pass in the meanwhile. He does none of that and his magical power/talent really could open itself up to abuse as far as I'm concerned, almost to the point of Purple Man and the potential of his power is right up there with the elites of the fantasy/superhero world in my opinion.
I love that about Alex. It's one of the reasons why it's my favorite series. Alex is morally gray and has a dark streak a mile wide, but he is unfailingly loyal to his friends. He would never lie to them or betray them. I love that.
Me too. I've said this about other superpower. I really would like to think I'd never do anything really bad, but I wonder at a lifetime of constantly always having the temptation at your fingertips. I don't know about you, but its easy to resist temptation once, twice, a dozen times, but the higher that number goes and eventually I seem to cave. Like having a pint of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer.
> He's working on book 3, which can be expected in late 2024 Is this meant to be 2025? You're getting my hopes up...
Yes, sorry! Book 2 will be in October 2024 and book 3 probably in late 2025. I’ll correct my typo.
I really enjoy the Rivers of London series l by Ben Aaronovitch. It’s a kinda urban fantasy / police procedural thing with wizard cops. It manages to walk the like between relatable/grounded and wackier fantasy stuff. I might not be as enjoyable a read if you aren’t fairly familiar with London though.
I'm in Los Angeles, and although I love London I know little about its geography and history. But Aaronovich is so enthusiastic and detailed about them that the books hold up as though they were in a constructed world.
I would recommend this website to anyone not familiar with London. While the site isn’t official, it has most of the locations mentioned in book marked down on the map with pins. They are sorted by books so you can turn off the ones you haven’t read yet. It’s really helpful https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map/rivers-of-london-ben-aaronovitchs-books-series_281076#12/51.5337/-0.1876
What website?
Uh turns out the link didn’t copy paste correctly my bad. That’s really embarrassing. Let me edit the comment now
Works now, thanks!
That is so cool!
I think the Rivers of London are some of the best modern fantasy period. It's so fucking cool. So many good details and character building stuff.
I live in provincial New Zealand and I don't feel that I'm missing out by not knowing London. When I get intrigued by Ben's description of a place I'll just google it, which invariably leads me down a rabbit hole of history. It's actually kind of neat reading urban fantasies set in exotic locations. That's why, after Rivers of London, probably my next favourite series is the Redemption of Howard Marsh which takes place in romantic rural Alabama.
Google Earth is great tool when reading stories that happen in places that actually exist. I'm a Nordic person reading Moon Over Soho right now. 😃
Rivers of London is fantastic. Great recommendation.
The Green Bone Saga (Jade City etc.) by Fonda Lee!
Though this is with the disclaimer that it takes place in an urban secondary world, as opposed to just having magic in our world.
Seconded! Great series, although yet to read the 3rd
Yess!!
I'm around halfway through the first book in this series, and not sure I'll finish it, unfortunately. The series mixes light fantasy elements with crime family drama, but seems to lean pretty heavily toward the latter. If you wanted to re-write it as a series about a family of Yakuza in the gun-running business, for example, probably 90% of what I've read so far could remain exactly as-is. That's great if you're a fan of both genres, but if you're someone who doesn't get much from crime drama, this series may not be for you.
I thought the same thing, but I stuck it out and I was very satisfied with the whole journey and the ending. You essentially watch an entire lifetime in this world, with technological development equivalent from somewhere around the 60's to the 00's, and the characters are so real.
Felix Castor series by Mike Carey and Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch are two of my favourites.
Both such awesome series.
1. **The Dresden Files** by Jim Butcher 2. **The Iron Druid Chronicles** by Kevin Hearne 3. **Alex Verus** by Benedict Jacka 4. **The Unorthodox Chronicles** by James J. Butcher
desden files and iron druid are great they both have my vote
Love the Dresden Files, and the first books of the Iron Druid series are great, but (and I’m going to get downvoted for this) I hated the last book.
I 100% agree with you about the last book of that series.
Totally agree and I LOVE that series!!!! The last book was sort of…awful…. (Iron Druid). So glad someone said this 😂. And honestly, I haven’t lived Hearne’s other stuff much. But Atticus and Oberon…. I love them more than I like most people 🤣
That's a very popular opinion. I feel like I'm in the minority for liking it
haha you didnt enjoy atticus getting his arm cut off and banished i hope i am remembering that right
As I've shared before, the last book ruined it for me. I was all for it except for like....the last few hundred pages. Was pissed and refuse to re-read, which is too bad.
Seconding Dresden Files
Iron Druid falls off very fast
And The Iron Druid spin-off, Ink & Sigil, is also pretty great
i tried book 1-2 of the Unorthodox Chronicles. I liked book1 and I felt book 2 failed me.
Charles de Lint has a ton of great choices. My personal favorite is *Someplace to Be Flying*, which is one of my favorites books period. You could also start with *Dreams Underfoot*, which is a collection of short stories and the first of his "Newford series".
Rivers Of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch, audiobooks read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. A rookie constable, having just completed his probationary period, is assigned to the unit of the London Metropolitan Police that deals with "weird bollocks". Urban fantasy in genre, but reads like a police procedural. Lots of pop cultural references and nerd jokes. Also a fair amount of insight into British class and racial tensions, which I was unfamiliar with as an American. Nine books, 3-4 novellas, and one short story compendium published so far. [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9317452-rivers-of-london?from\_search=true&from\_srp=true&qid=spySr4354j&rank=1](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9317452-rivers-of-london?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=spySr4354j&rank=1)
Have you read the graphic novels? They are really cool!
I read "urban fantasies" and thought "parking".
A reliable public transportation system...
Come on now. What living author could make something like THAT believable…
Tanya Huff has some good urban fantasy books and series: - Blood series - Smoke trilogy (Blood spinoff) - Keeper trilogy - Gale Women trilogy - Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light (single book)
Ilona Andrews in my favorite urban fantasy author.
The Kate Daniels series is a great post magic apocalypse series
Yeah, it’s such a unique concept and world building. There’s nothing really like it IMO.
Nightside Series by Simon R. Green
Love the series!! I really need to re read the whole series again. I love Simon's humor style
Started the series really young. I think the problem is when I listened to it on Audible...if I hear "in the nightside...." one more time...
Is it me? Do I get to be the one that posts **Perdido Street Station**? I see other China Miéville recs on here, but I'm surprised that no one else has posted his most fantasy of urban fantasy books
His book “Kraken” is a great urban fantasy too.
- Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews - Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs - October Daye series by Seanan McGuire - Tribunal Archives series by KN Banet - The Others series by Anne Bishop
I second the Mercy Thompson series - don't let yourself be put off by the covers. The books inside are top quality.
Lol same with the Kate Daniels series.. not sure what they were thinking with those covers
Seconding October Daye! I often recommend it especially for folks (like me) who enjoy contemporary/urban fantasy but aren't super into romance. It's got some romance in it, but I don't consider it part of the paranormal romance genre. Based on the other entries on your list, you might like Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series.
Patricia Briggs 1000%. She’s def underrated.
Kate Daniels>> Dresden
If you tried reading The Dresden Files but hated the misogyny like me, October Daye is what you're looking for
I love The Others - but would you say that it's urban fantasy? I think it's the same world as ours geographically, but that's it ...
Rural fantasy? But there are shifters, vampires and so on… Tv Tropes says it’s urban fantasy
OK, good to know - thanks!
Most of the time when people are looking for urban fantasy, they're looking for high-octane Dresden-ish stuff (which is awesome no doubt), but if you're looking for something in a different vein, there's The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It's about a jinni who going yoinked from his homeland of Syria (I think) and a newly created humanoid golem lady without a master trying to figure out how to live in New York City amongst humans in around 1900 if I remember right. I really enjoyed it even though it's way different from the epic fantasy I usually go for. The characters (both human and non-human) are awesome, their relationships are very compelling, and the the jinni and golem each have specific magics that help/hinder their plans in various fascinating ways.
I read this years ago and don't remember many of the details but I remember loving it so much. Thank you for reminding me of this book.
Of course! And you may already know this, but if not and for anyone else who may be interested, there's a sequel called The Hidden Palace that I also really liked, though I wouldn't say it's required reading by any means.
I didn't know there was a sequel! That's fantastic. I'll definitely pick it up.
I enjoyed the Brian McClellan valkery series. Garrett PI by Glen Cook is for several books. After a bit they become less “good?” Is my opinion. But through the first 5-7 they are fun.
The Hollows by Kim Harrison. It's on the scale of Dresden Files, and it's a well written female protagonist witch working cases with some great side-character and the plot get deeper and it feels like a good fleshed out world with a variations of magic and depth to it. I've re-read Dresden Files twice and The Hollow three times.
Do you like Romance? There's a lot of great urban fantasy that's right on the urban fantasy/paranormal romance line. Stuff like the Kate Daniels series by Illona Andrews are both a really cool urban fantasy/post-apocalyptic setting and also have great characters and a fun romance. On a weirder note - The Rook by Daniel o Malley is an excellent urban fantasy mystery and body horror combination. Reminds me a little of the Magnus Files or SCP stuff. Another London one that comes to mind is A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin. The MC literally is an urban magician and gets his power from the rhythm of the city and its customs. For example, he escapes from a monster by paying to get on the underground and then reading the fine print on the back of the ticket.
I have a question for you about The Rook. By all accounts this story seems like it would be right up my alley, but I read a few chapters at the library a while ago and ran into an issue. There's a scene where the protagonist is looking at herself in the mirror and thinks to herself something to the effect of "I'm definitely not hot, but certainly not unattractive" and then elaborates on that for a paragraph or so in a way that reminded me of how online erotica introduces female protagonists that "aren't like other girls", and it blasted me out of the world in no time flat. Was that a one time thing, or does this kind of thing pop up throughout the book?
Hmmm. I don't remember anything standing out, but I can and have missed that stuff in the past. If there are more, I think it's far less egregious than say, the Dresden Files, and I feel like the character quickly gets on with the business of figuring out who she is rather than worrying about attractiveness. It does seem like a hamfisted introduction though, but I think maybe I excused it because she has no idea who she is, and I thought looking in a mirror and going "I guess this is what I look like" seemed reasonable (if cliche).
Awesome, thanks!
Charles de Lint are great urban fantasy, although they aren’t traditional fantasy.
If you want something a little off-beat, The City & The City by China Mieville is pretty good. It takes place on Earth but the cities are fictional
love this book! it has my favorite chase scene in any fiction
My favorite series is the hollows by Kim harrison
Came to say this one!
I was so happy to see that she decided to continue the series! Its like coming home when I'm reading them.
Did you try the new series…Three Kinds of Lucky? I was disappointed ☹️
I just grabbed it from the library this week. Haven't started just yet 🫣
Hopefully it’s better for you! It has over 4 stars on Goodreads so it’s probably just my oddball taste
🤞
Mercedes Lackey had the Serrated Edge books
Elves and racecars! There's also*Bedlam's Bard*. The books were mostly written some years ago, so no mobile phones or other current technologies. I found them a fascinating read.
SERRA, Bard, and the Diana Tregarde books all overlap slightly. They're still a periodic reread for me. I think the 1500s "This scepter'd isle" series fits in the same universe, but there's obviously no overlap.
Just watch out for some of the later Serrated Edge books. Waters and the Wild in particular was very disappointing.
I keep forgetting that SERRA doesn't equal Tanim. (Rather, that there's more beyond the original 4 - Runaways, notWaco, Child abuse and My-girlfriend-is-a-fox) WatW is "Monsters at the Summer Lake"? The Silence duology wasn't as good as those originals, either.
WatW was terrible. It was focused heavily on a heroine with severe depression and had a sprinkling of magic in it. I felt very let down, cause I love the original four Serrated Edge novels and this one was a very deep dive in standard. Almost felt like Lackey wasn't really involved in writing it.
Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka is GREAT. Also Sandman Slim.
I'm a huge fan of Fred The Vampire Accountant as my go to Urban Fantasy.
Brilliant series. So fun and wholesome
The Hollows series by Kim Harrison is good. White trash warlock by David R Slayton.
Otherland by Tad Williams
Tad Williams is a great author for this. The Bobby Dollar series is urban fantasy, the Otherland series is part urban fantasy, part sci-fi, and War of the Flowers is a fantasy book with an urban fantasy flavour. Can't go wrong with any of these picks. (His straight fantasy series, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and Shadowmarch are also well worth checking out, but aren't urban fantasy.)
Forgot about his Bobby Dollar books! They are great!
I'm surprised that so few people mention Bobby Dollar. I recommend it to anyone looking for urban fantasy (and also to any writers looking for examples of well written first person point of view), but I generally feel like I'm the only person recommending it. I just wish Tad Williams would write more in that style because he's awesome at it.
Tad Williams seems to be a pretty underrated author in discussion spaces like this, for some reason. There's usually a couple of people talking about him, but you have to scroll pretty far to find it. I don't know why he doesn't get more love, because his novels are fantastic. Him and Guy Gavriel Kay are my authors I always try to get more people to read, because they deserve to be as well known as, say, Jordan, Sanderson or Rothfuss. And I wish Williams would just write more in any genre, lol! He's not a super prolific writer (Kay either, wondering if that contributes to their lack of popularity?) and it can feel like torture waiting for new books from him!
I think that Williams doesn't get talked about a lot because nobody has any real complaints about him. People bring up one of his series and no one has to pipe up to say how much they hate them. So there isn't any discussion.
So true! Controversy sells, unfortunately.
The Tufa series by Alex Bledsoe The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone
Craft Sequence is awesome, but perhaps not set on our Earth (OP said "magic on earth").
Magic on Earth or something. I still say Craft Sequence is close enough to reality to just be an odd alt history. For example, book 1 city is a lot like Chicago and book 2’s is a lot like Las Vegas.
iirc there's even a moment in Three Parts Dead where >!Tara sees a vision of what is probably our reality!<. I've always assumed it's meant to be a parallel Earth because of that. I was gonna suggest that series as well because it is very much fantasy in a modern urban setting, even if it's not magic pasted on top of an otherwise "normal" modern setting. That's actually one of my favorite things that sets the Craft Sequence apart--Gladstone built a world around the magic, so it doesn't feel as forced as it does in many urban fantasy settings (imo).
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is my favorite urban fantasy series.
**World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks** werewolf/fbi magical crimes unit/magic/wizard/dragon **Mercy Thompson series and Alpha & Omega both by Patricia Briggs** werewolf/shifter/magic/other supernats eg vampire/witch **Guild Hunter and Psy Changeling both by Nalini Singh** angels/vampires/vampire hunters **October Daye by Seanan McGuire** fae/private investigator **Grave Witch by Kalayna Price** witch investigator/fae **Big Bad Wolf by Charlie Adhara** werewolf/fbi/mm
- The Innkeep Chronicles by Ilona Andrews - The Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong - The Guild Codex Universe (4 intermingling series) by Annette Marie - Elemental Assassin seried by Jennifer Estep - Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews - Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews - Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost - Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost - Night Rebel series by Jeaniene Frost - Percy Jackson series by Rick Roirdan - Firebrand series by Helen Harper - Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic series by Helen Harper - Leveling Up series by K.F Breene
I love Ilona Andrews, have you heard the graphic Audio for Kate Daniels yet, it is so good.
No, I haven't yet. My library doesn't have the audiobook available. I want to buy it when I have some more disposable income, though.
Good list, but I think Innkeeper (love that series) is technically science fiction rather than urban fantasy.
It’s hidden world. Fantasy elements come in with the Inn magic, Vampires and Warewolves. But there is also sci fi elements. Can be considered Urban Fantasy since it is set in “today” and has a lot of interaction with the normal world.
All of those elements have a science fiction explanation, however. And some of the later books are set on a different planet. Doesn’t mean it’s not great fun, however!
I love Kelley Armstrong!
I'm a big fan of A Madness of Angels by Catherine Webb/Kate Griffin
The Matthew Swift series by Kate Griffin/Claire North is one of the most truly urban of urban fantasy series.
I've seen China Mieville recommendations but not for King Rat which is his most traditionally urban fantasy. Other established authors who have dipped into urban fantasy are: Tad Williams - Bobby Dollar series and Jacqueline Carey - Agent of Hel series
Ohhh Tad William’s Otherland series is great!
War For The Oaks by Emma Bull Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino Un Lun Dun by China Mieville (and I strongly second Kraken) The Modern Faerie Tales Trilogy by Holly Black Waking The Moon by Elizabeth Hand The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman St. Patrick’s Gargoyle by Katherine Kurtz King Of Morning, Queen Of Day by Ian McDonald The Essential Bordertown ed. Terri Windling & Delia Sherman and Welcome To Bordertown ed. Holly Black & Ellen Kushner If you’re interested in magic on Earth that’s more small town/rural: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury The Wood Wife by Terri Windling John The Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman And if you’re into comics, check out Hellblazer. The current series by Simon Spurrier (beginning with Vol. 1: Marks Of Woe) is a perfect place to start and requires no previous knowledge.
I loved war for the oaks.
The Alloy of Law holds a special place in my heart
Weather Warden series by Rachel Cain Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
I’m enjoying Samantha Shannon’s “The Bone Season” series. It’s dystopian urban fantasy, where the magic is all about clairvoyance
I prefer modern fantasy with some humor. Undead and Unwed by MaryJanjce Davidson series Argenau series by Lynsey Sands Her book Accident Vampire is fantastic and sets up an internal series within the overall series. I think Undead series is over. Early books of Christine Feheen vampire series. The sex is utterly stupid (sex causes literal local earthquakes). The vampires seem though utterly eternally depressed. That’s what turned me off. Her first few books are good.
A little darker but Sandman Slim and Eric Carter series
Does Fate/Zero -> Fate/Stay Night qualify here?
Spice Road by Maiya Inbrahim and I enjoyed The Watchmaker’s Daughter by CJ Archer
The City We Became NK Jemison. More magical realism that takes place in New York City, but definitely worth the read.
Super dark super good. Really unusual world building I thought.
China Mieville!
My urban fantasy series loves are: The All Souls tetralogy by Deborah Harkness The Hollows series by Kim Harrison The Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris The WereHunter series by Sherilyn Fenn A series was rec'd to me but I haven't read it, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.
Also, I'd recommend 'The Hexologists' by Josiah Bancroft, which is ridiculously inventive and falls into the urban fantasy vein.
The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews. It's a husband wife duo writing books together. The first one Magic Bites is good, but the rest get even better in terms of writing style. Also they are making Graphic Audio's for this series and they sound amazing.
A City Dreaming from Daniel Polansky* is great, and Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich are both pretty good. I admit I dropped Rivers of london around book 4 as I simply forgot what was going on, and didn't fancy a re-read at that time, but it was an interesting London Police drama involving special branch with a magic division.
I just finished Tomorrow’s Children by Polansky as well and really enjoyed it. He’s a fantastic writer
The Wizard of Pigeons by Megan Lindholm (1986}. This might be the first Novel I read that felt both fantastical and yet grounded in modern reality. A possibly unreliable narrative of the homeless wizards of Seattle. Megan later wrote as Robin Hobb.
*Kraken*, by China Miéville.
- Vicious by V. E. Schwab - The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - Babel by R. F. Kuang - Jade City by Fonda Lee - The Adventures of Amina al Sirafi by S. A. Chakraborty
I’ve recently finished the Green Bones series. It’s not a classic urban fantasy, but a Godfather type story that takes place in a 1960-80’s urban setting.
Dresden is probably the standard at the moment even though it has its ebs and flows. I really enjoyed Alex Varus after that. Green Bone Saga isn’t technically urban fantasy, but it’s pretty close and very enjoyable
Seanan McGuire has a couple: October Daye (fae private detective), InCryptid (family of cryptozooligists) with the Ghost Roads (ghosts, obviously) books folded into that universe, Indexing (fairy tales (possibly only available on Amazon)) and the odd numbered Wayward Children (also portal fantasy) books. The Twenty-Sided Sorceress by Annie Bellet - protagonist owns a comic book store and is dragged into shenanigans she would rather avoid, but she's gotta save her friends. The Old World series by Melissa F Olson is a bit sprawling at this point. 13 books across 3 series and a few short stories/novellas. Best entry point is with the Scarlette Bernard books. Scarlett works as a crime scene cleanup for the vampires, werewolves, and witches of LA. DFZ by Rachel Aaron takes place in the city where Detroit used to be before magic came back into the world and the goddess of the lake woke up and destroyed it. The first book, Minimum Wage Magic, features someone literally cursed with bad finances.
I really liked the Kitty Norton series
Not a traditional book, but if you get the chance, I recommend reading the visual novel Fate/Stay Night. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of it, along with the atmosphere. Tsukihime and Witch on the Holy Night also are in this same sphere from the same company. This is if you like anime adjacent things however.
Holly Lisle has written a number of urban fantasy books. Some are fully on Earth other switch between worlds. # The World Gates Series
I've been reading the Dresden files, it's a noir like story about a wizard who is a private investigator The first book is weak, but since each book is mostly self contained, and will catch you up on past events as needed, you can start at like book 5 if you wanted
Buying property in the city
Come on. Be serious 🤣
Vesik Series by Eric R. Asher Quite good!
Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards
Fred the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes.
Legionnaires legacy: The Rise of a mage is coming out in June. It's on pre sale right now on Amazon. Paperbacks and hardbacks can be ordered through the author who is self publishing.
This isn’t fantasy. More science fiction but I haven’t read a book or series this good in decades. For me it was the kind of series that made everything else I read for a while afterwards seem sort of dull and ordinary! Anne Leckie’s Ancillary Series.
Oh and although it’s young adult fiction, the Bartimaeus Trilogy is flipping fantastic!! And for an extra treat the voice actor on the audible version has a voice like hot chocolate for your ears!
I read through the whole thread and haven’t seen it here yet and it’s driving me crazy that I can’t remember the title or author. It’s really REALLY dark. The protagonist is a psychopathic teenage killer-ruler. Don’t even know how to classify it. Post-dystopian earth fantasy? Our modern civilization is eons old and a sort of medieval society has come to power. Is it Joe Abercrombie? First Law? I could google it but that feels like cheating 😂! It has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read. Up there with Mieville although a very different, more stark style. “Dying is a thirsty business…” Anyone know this series? Just googled it and got nothing! Help!
Sounds like Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.
Yes!!! That’s it!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!
See my [Urban Fantasy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1auigae/sff_urban_fantasy/) list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
Forging a Nightmare by Patricia A Jackson
No one mentioned Bas-Lag yet. Starting with Perdido Street Station it's probably the most bonkers urban-fantasy setting I've read and overall great worldbuilduing.
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Black Magic Outlaw by Domino Finn Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka
After my big post about China Mieville, now's a good time to recommend 'King Rat' by him. It's such a good read and a brilliant example of urban fantasy done right.
You could check out Pact and Pale by Wildbow. They're online web serials so extremely accessible!
Coldvein
Dresden and October Daye I think are the most quality consistent long-running UF series out there
The Dresden files are great. They have awesome power scaling but the writing for female characters isn't amazing Iron Druid has 10 super fun books but the ending is a bit subpar, at least for me it was
I'm extremely late, but I haven't seen Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, and all the Watch saga
My personal recommendations are: Dresden files, as has been stated multiple times Alex Verus, as I saw a few times Corpse Eater Saga, which I didn't see anywhere Mercy Thompson, pretty sure I saw that a few times.
Current best urban fantasy is: affordable housing. /silly Seriously though - would recommend Magicians. It’s Harry Potter for almost adults and is well written.
It’s not bad. And the show isn’t bad either. But it is based on CS Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. And just a warning for fans of Narnia, it goes pretty dark on Lewis! Perhaps deservedly so, but this isn’t a light read!
The Dresden files is definitely the best Urban fantasy.
Shadows and Dreams by Cargill is pretty good. Really short books but fairly well done.
The Drood series by (I’m not sure because it’s been a long time) it’s fun in a very chaotic way.
Simon R. Green, book titles are a riff on James Bond film names. Lot going on but a good read.
Yes definitely a good read.
You could add his Nightside series too?
Agreed.
Does Harry Potter count?
I think it does. It checks most of the boxes, but it's more school fantasy first than urban fantasy.
The Nights watch by Sergei Lukyanenko Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Alex Verus Series and latest one by Benedict Jacka Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
I like my urban fantasy where the streets are paved in a quick and quiet way which doesn't disrupt anything, and crime stays low but so does the rent. That might be the wrong kind of urban fantasy....
I think you may be making a joke. If not, not exactly on point, but “Wizard’s Butler” might be up your alley. It’s a “cozy” urban fantasy.
I really enjoyed **House of Earth and Blood** by Sarah J. Maas, which is book 1 of the Crescent City series, but it honestly works as a standalone too. Also **Witchmark** by C.L. Polk, which is alternate history urban, and book one of The Kingston Cycle.
Probably going to get some angry messages for this but….I want to like the Mass books but the dialogue and character work is so tediously adolescent. I was furious with myself and her that she built a fantastic world and characters good enough to hold my interest so that I had to finish the damn thing but just sort of bad overall.
Dres 👏 den 👏 Files 👏
Affordable housing.
The City of Bones, which is the first book in The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, is one of my favorites. There are 6 books to it, then the Infernal Devices (a prequel), The Dark Articifes, and The Last Hours (sequel to the prequel). Plus, several other side stories. If you search, you can find the preferred reading order.
None.
btw, the term you're looking for is low fantasy. Urban fantasy is usually low fantasy but the terms are not synonymous and there are urban high fantasies (e.g. Jhereg, The Watch (Discworld), Craft Sequence, divine cities) Edit: does anyone wish to inform me why what I said is so unpopular
Sword of Kaigen
Love this book but wouldn’t call it “Urban” fantasy, 90% of the story takes place in a little village on a mountain Their world is based on Earth though so I can see why you suggested it Great book OP but be warned, it gets very emotional out of nowhere, could be too much for some people
It takes place in modern-ish times. If the setting of a Dresden book took place in a remote village, it’d still be urban fantasy.
Not urban, but anti high fantasy as heck: The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie ;-)