One of the coolest things about Corvallis is the art in the alleyways downtown. This was actually a selling point for moving to Corvallis. I would have moved regardless, since Corvallis had my James, but the alleyway art made me really like this town before I even moved here. Something about the kind of mindset that says to itself, “Hmm, these alleys, kind of boring, huh? Bit ugly. Let’s put some art up,” really appeals to me.
Hearkening back to Monday’s post (again), there’s this, a post by Stacia Kane, who apparently writes some urban fantasy stuff, which looks pretty good, and anyway, I’m rambling, so, the post: The Books are Out There. Basically, she says, “Hey, there are books out there that don’t use vampires and werewolves. You should read some of those,” only she says it much more eloquently. Anyway, I wanted to chatter some more about our favorite overused urban fantasy cliches. I started to have a thing to say about it on Monday, but I was writing between classes, and didn’t have...
Since we were speaking of everything being the same in urban fantasy, let’s look at Rick Riordan, and his Percy Jackson and the Olympiansseries. I read these books all in a row over the course of five nights. I read all through the night, unable to put these books down. Technically, these are “kids’ books.” Well, “young adult,” I suppose, is the proper designation. But, unlike a lot of kids’ books these days, Rick Riordan’s series doesn’t talk down to its audience. They’re smart books, written in a voice that neither patronizes its audience nor alienates any adults that...
Half past six on a gray and darkening Friday evening, and the bell over my shop door chimed. I’d made the bell myself, and it always chimed a little early. I appreciate some advance warning. I shooed Randall toward the corner, pushing his bag into his hands and whispering “Quiet, now. Business.” Black Alice © Marci Sischo & James Agle All rights reserved Tweet At my command, tendrils of shadow drifted up towards the ceiling, so thin and wispy they were practically invisible. The wisps infiltrated the natural shadows that collected in the corners, thickening them, darkening them. My...
One of the biggest complaints I hear about urban fantasy is that it’s “all the same”. There’s always vampires, there’s always werewolves, there’s always wizards of some sort. It’s the same monsters and heroes over and over again, doing basically the same things. I guess, compared to other genres, I don’t understand this complaint. Let’s take “high fantasy” for example. I could apply the same complaints pretty easily. They’re all the same. It’s always some innocent setting out on some epic quest to save the world from some uber evil villain who wants to rule and/or destroy the world....
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