Hiya All,

Just finished reading J.B.'s "Ghost". Awww... gee I love Jim Butcher but now I am ALL OUT OF BUTCHER!  Can anyone suggest authors who write in a similiarly scary/funny/sci-fi fantasy vein? I have read all of Terry Pratchett, Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews, and Patricia Briggs, so no go there please. Thanks! Much appreciated. I have browsed the Sci-Fi forum but I am not terribly interested in outer space or alien-based stories.

What about the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton or The Hollows series by Kim Harrison?  They're both vampire series so they might work if you like Butcher.

The genre that I think you are looking for is "urban fantasy". It is much more closely aligned with traditional Fantasy than with Sci-Fi. Usually means "set in the modern world (a world we more or less recognize) but with magic. or vampires. or werewolves. or demons. or fae. or all of the above. It is also related to paranormal romance, which has the attributes above, but a romance is the central focus of the story. There are a lot of series that cross over the boundaries.

The Forums that you shoudl check out are the "Paranormal" forum (many many threads devoted to urban fantasy and paranormal romance) and the "Fantasy" forum (you will still find a lot in there, but skews more towards traditional fantasy).

The ones you give as examples skew more towards the urban fantasy genre ... so here are some that I particularly like:

All of these have male protagonists:

Connor Gray series by Mark Del Franco (wizard)

Cal and Nick Leandros series by Rob Thurman ( really great series (starts out a little slow, as you continue the books keep getting better) about 2 brothers, one paranormal, one his older brother and protector)

Dog Days series by John Levitt (wizard)

Felix Gomez series by Mario Acevedo (war veteran turned vampire ... I like these books, they are fun)

Female protagonists:

Night Huntress series by Jeanienne Frost (the main series follows the same characters, the spin off novels are pretty much para-romance, but the main series, while falling a lot more towards romance than The Dresden files does, still has great, really engaging storylines.)

Night Tracker series by Cheyenne McCray (I'm really enjoying this one, there is more romance than the Dresden Files but it is not the central focus of the books).

Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter (shifter, really good)

October Daye series by Seanan McGuire (fae)

And finally ... a note about Anita Blake ... the first 7 or 8 books are good. All of the ones that follow consist of 90% sex scenes (really), 5% scenes set in a shower or bath to get cleaned up either in preparation for or after sex, 4% male characters whining about how their lives (before Anita) were terrible because their penises are too large (swear to God) and 1% plot (consists mostly of introducing new characters for Anita to have sex with). OK, I'll admit it, I still read them, but mostly because I just can't imagine that the newest one could possibly be as bad as the previous 10 .... I just can't look away from the trainwreck. (But I stopped buying them new a while ago).

You know, I did wonder which category to put Butcher in, but when I searched him on PBS he came up in the SciFi thread, so that's why I posted here. He's probably in Fantasy too. Thank youboth for the book recommendations. I am not a Laurell K fan, but I have read the first of the Kim Harrison books. I can;t remember why I didn't continue the series--got distracted by Robin McKinley's "Sunshine", I think.

I will look up all the books you've suggested and see if I can discover some new treasures. I do love the fact that so many SciFi and Fantasy authors do book series, so that if you like their stories you can read more.

Meanwhile I am reading a non-fiction book by Jack Kornfield called "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry", a book exploring what happens after we have moments of enlightenment and still have to do the grocery shopping etc. afterward. Delighful and insightful.

Thanks again for the great suggestions!

What about Simon Green?

Hi Emily,

Funny you mention S.G.  The first time I read one of his books --"Something From the Nightside" -- I thought he was the worst writer I had ever read and I hated his braggart main character John Taylor, but by the time I finished the book I saw the sneaky charm in the character and began to like the outrageous and funny plot Green had devised. Now I have read (and traded) all the "Nightside" books!

I also liked "Sandman Slim" by Richard Kadrey. It has a little of the Dresden books in it although it is darker and more violent-- more steampunk than fantasy. The hero, James Stark, was a hitman in Hell for 11 tears before returning to earth. His sidekick is a talking decapitated head (kinda like Bob the Talking Skull) but over-all the tone is more "dirty-ass", as William Gibson describes it in his review. It is also told in first-person present tense, which you either love or hate. Opening lines: "I wake up in a pile of smoldering garbage and leaves in the old Hollywood Forever cemetery behind the Paramount Studio lot on Melrose, though these last details don't come to me until later. Right now all I know is that I'm back in the world and I'm on fire."

Kind of a grabber...

I looked up some of the books Sara suggested last night and ordered the first in the Connor Gary series by Mark Del Franco. Will let you know if it's good.

 +1 Simon R. Green

Nightside, Secret History, Ghostfinders, Hawk & Fisher

All Good Series!

-RD

Haven't seen "Hawk and Fisher" series before. Will check it out THANK YOU!

You guys are great, thanks for so many terrific suggestions!

Did you read Jim's other series the Codex Alera?  It is a different syle but I enjoyed it almost as much as the Dresden Files.  I started the first Nightside book and had the same reaction you did, I may have to go back and give it another try.

Mike

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to thank you again for the suggestions. I read two books in the Connor Gray series by Mark Del Franco and  the first book in the Felix Gomez series by Mario Acevedo. I liked them, but not as much as Butcher --enjoyable nonetheless. Next up is Dog Days series by Levitt. Started "Codex Alera" by Butcher but kept getting interupted and lost the thread. Will have to go back  to it another time.

Any great new discoveries?

Someone at Borders recomended the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne today when we were discussing the Dresden files.  first book seems to be Hounded. 

Mike

Have you tried Ilona Andrews?  I love everything she has written.

Hi Wendy,

Yes, I'm a big fan of the husband and wife team who call themselves Ilona Andrews. Read 'em all, I think, except The  Edge book #3. Love Kate Daniels! She actually seems to have a functional brain, unlike a lot of the leather-and-sword set heroines.

Can recommend the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey and wow, these books are a knock-out. The first one is called "The Devil You Know". There are five books so far. Mike Carey does the Lucifer series for DC Comics and has a gift for outlandish fantasy and pithy dialogue. The hero is a freelance exorcist and a downtrodden but ferociously tenacious guy whose sorta sidekick is a succubus named Juliette. Good stuff. You can really get into Felix Castor's ghost-ridden version of modern-day London. The opening scene of the first book, where Felix put a teenaged bully in his place, is a real jaw-dropper. Felix does the right thing, but he's not always a nice guy the way Harry Dresden is. Not for the romantics out there but overall really absorbing and entertaining. 

I love Harry Dresden so I thought I'd give Felix Castor a try.  Thanks for the recommendation.

Hope you like him, Alison!

 Both the Hearne and Carey books have long waiting lists so I went and bought the Kindle version of Hounded.  It's pretty good !

Took Alison's suggestion and read "Hounded" by Kevin Hearne. Wow, so much fun! The main character is Atticus, a 2100-year-old Druid passing himself off as a 21-year-old slacker/bookstore owner. The story is fully of wit and humanity, a hero with a knack for getting himself into trouble,  and--let's get to the important stuff here--a talking dog named Oberon. Oberon only talks in Atticus' mind, not out loud, but they have some hilarious conversations. I read the next two booksin the series, "Hexed" and "Hammered" and am really looking forward to "Tricked" coming out next year. Highly recommend these for Butcher fans.

Trey has a recommendation for fans of Butcher - read his year end review of Circle of Enemies.

I will look for "Circle"; not sure who Trey is but will search PBS. I just got the first Harry Connolley book on my Kindle Fire and am looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the recommendations!

Still loving Kevin Hearne's "Iron Druid Chronicles" and looking forward to the fourth book, "Tricked", coming out next year. Hearne's Facebook page is a riot. If you're a fan, Hearne is holding the first annual Atticus and Oberon Sausage Fest this year, with commemorative pint glasses on sale.

On the nonfiction front, reading "1493: Uncovering the World Columbus Created". Fantastic!

Here is the link. http://www.amazon.com/1493-Uncovering-World-Columbus-Created/dp/0307265722http://www.amazon.com/1493-Uncovering-World-Columbus-Created/dp/0307265722

I broke down and had to buy Hounded from Amazon, the reviews are too good, and the wait ( on PBS ) too long.

Mike

The PBS blog carries book reviews, Trey does Fantasy Friday.

If you check out the collection Mean Streets (ISBN 0451462491), you get a sampler of a few others in the same category. There's a Dresden story, and one from Simon R. Green. The others are from Kat Richardson and Thomas Sniegoski.

Thanks Jan, I actually have a copy of Mean Streets at home!  Very enjoyable. I have been reading Kevin Hearne's delightful "Iron Druid" series about a Druid named Atticus and his dog, Oberon. First book is "Hounded". On his Facebook page, Hearne suggested Regan Summer's short book "Don't Bite the Messenger" which I thought was fun; it's a fast-paced tale of a feisty messenger in Alaska who delivers messages among warring vamps.

I read some of Thomas Sniegoski's Remy Chandler books but he kinda went off coursein the last one, I think. Lost my attention but will give him another look.

Read and enjoyed a compilation book called "Angels of Darkness" with stories from Ilona Andrews and Sharon Shinn among others. Pretty good stuff.

What are you reading now? Any good new authors?