urban fantasy + science fiction
Dec. 19th, 2011 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI have been reading more first books to try and find something that is what I consider proper Urban Fantasy and not just Paranormal Romance. The covers and blurbs aren't usually terribly helpful. So far all I can figure to do is read them and see what the sex to plot ratio is. So far if the main character is a succubus, sex worker current or former, or goes into heat regularly it has not so much worked out as urban fantasy. If the plot is basically a skimpy covering for shagging lots of people it's not the genre I was looking for.
... I'm likely to read it anyway, but.
But! The other thing I have noticed is: a lot of urban fantasy is secretly science fiction.
I get annoyed about books with inherited powers, where the different races of fantasy are, you know, races, including magic users. It's an old aristo model, it's all wrong. I want stories about study and deciding who to be and making yourself over. Magic should be great for that, but thus far that's not the story I'm mostly finding.
But I am finding a lot of near-ish future alt worlds, where humanity turns out to have lots of species, werewolves and mages and vampires and whatever else this book stirs into the mix. Something happens, all the species are out of the broom closet, government knows and has to deal, new laws, new reactions to old prejudices, etc etc. But often what has happened is new science, genetics and so forth. Biotech distinguishes between beings that previously all walked around being human, and there's a big explosion of consequences.
But in a bunch of different series lately it has also been about genetics changing people, about vampirism as viral, or what happens to inborn skills when you can extract them and breed new genelines, or genetically transform ordinary humans to be species that were previously birth only. It's science fiction about biotech, with fur and fangs.
I haven't thus far read one off the urban fantasy shelf that takes as background my favourite theory - once humans have biotech of sufficient standard, they're going to make the races of fantasy. I mean, we all know people who never cosplay human, what if they could take a treatment and go there for real? When a little style is applied to the possibilities, it's not just a bundled set of advantages and disadvantages. It's everything we ever dreamed of. And all the nightmares.
There's several different authors I've read with series going where their protagonist is a woman with really special genetics and everyone wants a piece of them. With all the ick involved.
Combine it with the biotech thing and the tendency to lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of sex...
It's interesting issues about gender and procreation and social tensions and pressures to have children and pressures to have the PERFECT children and of course all the stuff about finding The Right Guy or guys or group or pack or whatever. Trying out alternate paths for size. Chosen family mixing with genetic legacies.
But it's also kind of like Bujold and the replicators and Ceta and Jackson's Whole, throwing new reproductive technologies at humanity and seeing how it works.
But it's urban fantasy, not biopunk or whatever you'd call it, because there is also magic. Only sometimes I don't know why, because all the basic issues are social and biological.
Or, possibly, the stuff I'm interested in is social and biological, so I pick that up. I don't like the biological model of magic. It irritates me. So maybe I'm ignoring what the point is of having spells as well as fangs.
I'm also kind of low level annoyed at characters who are Super Special Brilliant And Unique. It's hard to explain why. It's like the shift from when stories were mostly about kings to when they're mostly about, well, everyone. I don't want to put kings or queens back in the story. I want stories about how people are pretty much equal but do stunning things anyway, especially working together.
So, this book I put down to check my email and write this post, where someone is a super special werewolf vampire hybrid who shags millionaires? I'll probably finish it because it won't take me but a couple more hours, but I'm thinking it's not my thing.
Is there an SF genre I could be looking up? I at least know the shelf to look on to find the werewolf/vampire/necromancer who is a private detective / police officer / bounty hunter genre.
... you know, sometimes, it is so weird, that that is a sufficiently established setup to call a genre.
But I read them like I eat crisps. Just one more...
... I'm likely to read it anyway, but.
But! The other thing I have noticed is: a lot of urban fantasy is secretly science fiction.
I get annoyed about books with inherited powers, where the different races of fantasy are, you know, races, including magic users. It's an old aristo model, it's all wrong. I want stories about study and deciding who to be and making yourself over. Magic should be great for that, but thus far that's not the story I'm mostly finding.
But I am finding a lot of near-ish future alt worlds, where humanity turns out to have lots of species, werewolves and mages and vampires and whatever else this book stirs into the mix. Something happens, all the species are out of the broom closet, government knows and has to deal, new laws, new reactions to old prejudices, etc etc. But often what has happened is new science, genetics and so forth. Biotech distinguishes between beings that previously all walked around being human, and there's a big explosion of consequences.
But in a bunch of different series lately it has also been about genetics changing people, about vampirism as viral, or what happens to inborn skills when you can extract them and breed new genelines, or genetically transform ordinary humans to be species that were previously birth only. It's science fiction about biotech, with fur and fangs.
I haven't thus far read one off the urban fantasy shelf that takes as background my favourite theory - once humans have biotech of sufficient standard, they're going to make the races of fantasy. I mean, we all know people who never cosplay human, what if they could take a treatment and go there for real? When a little style is applied to the possibilities, it's not just a bundled set of advantages and disadvantages. It's everything we ever dreamed of. And all the nightmares.
There's several different authors I've read with series going where their protagonist is a woman with really special genetics and everyone wants a piece of them. With all the ick involved.
Combine it with the biotech thing and the tendency to lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of sex...
It's interesting issues about gender and procreation and social tensions and pressures to have children and pressures to have the PERFECT children and of course all the stuff about finding The Right Guy or guys or group or pack or whatever. Trying out alternate paths for size. Chosen family mixing with genetic legacies.
But it's also kind of like Bujold and the replicators and Ceta and Jackson's Whole, throwing new reproductive technologies at humanity and seeing how it works.
But it's urban fantasy, not biopunk or whatever you'd call it, because there is also magic. Only sometimes I don't know why, because all the basic issues are social and biological.
Or, possibly, the stuff I'm interested in is social and biological, so I pick that up. I don't like the biological model of magic. It irritates me. So maybe I'm ignoring what the point is of having spells as well as fangs.
I'm also kind of low level annoyed at characters who are Super Special Brilliant And Unique. It's hard to explain why. It's like the shift from when stories were mostly about kings to when they're mostly about, well, everyone. I don't want to put kings or queens back in the story. I want stories about how people are pretty much equal but do stunning things anyway, especially working together.
So, this book I put down to check my email and write this post, where someone is a super special werewolf vampire hybrid who shags millionaires? I'll probably finish it because it won't take me but a couple more hours, but I'm thinking it's not my thing.
Is there an SF genre I could be looking up? I at least know the shelf to look on to find the werewolf/vampire/necromancer who is a private detective / police officer / bounty hunter genre.
... you know, sometimes, it is so weird, that that is a sufficiently established setup to call a genre.
But I read them like I eat crisps. Just one more...