Paranormal books are all the rage these days. Many are being turned into movies and those that aren't are still rocking the book market to its core. Publishers simply can't create enough fantasy and paranormal books to readers of satisfy..
At the center of these paranormal urban fantasy genre reads is the. It's a genre that is widely popular in both the adult and young adult book worlds. Even middle grade books are coming out with more of them for readers to devour.
But what is "urban fantasy" exactly? With all the fancy book genre and subgenres within them, in all the different genres can get a bit confusing. So hopefully this article will help clear up what exactly it means in the book world.
Let's first break it down. We've got the word "urban", and we've got the word "fantasy".
When we think of fantasy we think of elves and otherworldly adventures like the famous the Lord of the Rings saga. If those types of books are what you think of when you hear the word fantasy, then you'd be right in categorizing them as such. (A) A fantasy world takes place outside our own realm of existence. New and fictional worlds are created to house fantasy creatures and lands within them.
Now let's look at the other word, "urban". "Urban" by definition means a populated city or town, but in this case it can also be expanded to the modern world as we know it. Many of us may not live in Chicago or New York, but for the most part we live in a modern urban society (populated).
So when you put those two words together you get essentially "fantasy within our modern world". So these are the fantasy realms and creatures we've come to know have broken the boundaries into our own very ordinary, and sometimes very boring, world.
An urban fantasy can feature a multitude of characters such as vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies, elves, etc. There are no limits to the kinds of creatures an urban fantasy can provide. But the only requirement is that they are among our world as we know it right now.
Some people argue that the difference between paranormal and urban fantasy is that paranormal is when these creatures are in the outskirts of our world and the population as a whole doesn't know about them; whereas with an urban fantasy they are part of, and very much out of the closet to, our population.
This will probably be something that is debated for as long as paranormal books are around. But I personally believe the urban fantasy is anything involving mystical and fantastical beings who make our boring and plain to the world a little bit more exciting just by being a part of it.
Love the urban fantasy books? Then be sure to check out my reviews for paranormal books to find ideas for your next read urban fantasy.
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