urban fantasy

  • Book review: Madhouse by Rob Thurman

    The boys are back in Rob Thurman’s Madhouse, a story that combines action, sharp humor, and a seriously creepy bad guy. When Niko and Cal Leandros take a job tracking down a few lost artifacts for a museum, they have no idea how dangerous things are going to get. Rob Thurman has a real gift… Continue reading

  • Book review: Dog Days by John Levitt

    After Mason is attacked by a giant magical spider, he realizes things around San Francisco are even weirder than normal. Since he used to be a supernatural enforcer, his threshold for “weird” is a little higher than the average jazz musician’s. In an effort to get to the bottom of what’s going wrong in his… Continue reading

  • Reality with a twist

    Back in May, Shelf Talk presented readers with a series of lists I wrote featuring authors who focus their work on vampire fiction. The goal of these lists was to provide readers with new opportunities to delve into the world of vampires and hopefully get a few suggestions for ourselves (and we did, so thanks!). It… Continue reading

  • Book review: Dead to Me by Anton Strout

    When Simon Canderous accidentally drops his drink through the ghost of a beautiful woman, he knows things are going to get weird. Luckily, as the newest member of New York Cities’ Department of Extraordinary Affairs, “weird” is his profession. Armed with the ability to see the past of anything he touches (psychometry), Simon stumbles his… Continue reading

  • The Vampire List, Part 2: Urban vamps

    If you’re looking for vampires, the best place to find them is in the library. I’m serious. Even the undead like to read. You can also check the bank, the grocery store, the gas station, and, considering current gas prices, probably even catching a ride on a Metro bus. The point is, in the parallel… Continue reading

  • A Chicago-based wizard turns hard-boiled detective in The Dresden Files

    The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher chronicles the adventures of Harry Dresden, the world’s only wizard-for-hire, as he investigates crimes with a magical twist and saves the city of Chicago from assorted minions of evil, including vampires, demons and fiendish goats. While some of the basics mechanics of this series aren’t new — magical… Continue reading