Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for classic fantasy tropes, without demanding the creation of an entirely-imagined world. Although precursors of urban fantasy date back to the 19th century, the term dates back to the 1970s. The current popularity began in the 1980s, with writers encouraged by the success of Stephen King and Anne Rice.

Characteristics

Urban fantasy combines selected imaginary/unrealistic elements of plot, character, theme, or setting with a largely-familiar world—combining the familiar and the strange. Such elements may exist secretly in the world or may occur openly. Fantastic components may be magic, paranormal beings, recognizable mythic or folk-tale plots, or thematic tropes (a quest, battle of good/evil, &c.). Authors may use current ''urban myths'', borrow fictional technologies, or even invent occult practices, as well as using established supernatural characters and events from literature, film, or comics. The ''urban'' component is usually found in the setting - typically a large or small city - or even a suburban community in a metropolitan area. Common use of contemporary technologies (automotive vehicles, communications, etc.) and everyday community and social institutions (such as libraries, schools/universities, markets) also establishes a familiar context. The period in which the action occurs may be the fairly recent past or the near future, but will typically require merely only casual historical or other special knowledge from the reader. The city-setting is a tool; used to establish a tone, to help move the plot, and may even be acknowledged as a character itself.

Urban fantasy is most often a sub-genre of low fantasy (where magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world) and/or hard fantasy (treating magic as something understandable and explainable), and works may be found in the sub-genres of horror, occult detective fiction, or the various "punk" genres. Common themes include coexistence or conflict between humans and other beings, and the changes such characters and events bring to local life. Many authors, publishers, and readers particularly distinguish urban fantasy from works of paranormal romance, which use similar characters and settings, but focus on the romantic relationships between characters.

Unrelated uses of "urban fantasy"

The term ''urban fantasy'' has been in use from the early 20th century. It originally described a characteristic of some object or place. Horst Schmidt-Brummer's 1973 book about Venice, California is subtitled "An Urban Fantasy", to denote a nostalgic appreciation for the unique city. In ''New York Times'' advertisements in 1928 through 1930 for the St. Regis hotel, the term implies that the hotel is a sort of paradise: "Never was an urban fantasy so enchanting..."

History

Predecessors

During the late Romantic era, writers of sensational fiction (including Mary Shelley, Dickens, Hoffmann, Le Fanu, Hugo, Poe, Wilkie Collins, Stoker, &c.) wrote melodramas that explored social anxieties induced by new technologies, population shifts to industrial-centers, and immigration. Early modern fiction that re-imagined the contemporary universe is by manipulating one or more social/political realities exploded with highly-popular works by Jules Verne, and Doyle's Professor Challenger stories. Jack London's 1908 dystopian novel ''The Iron Heel'' preceded by a year H. G. Wells