by G. A. Jamieson (liifehouse)

Urban Fantasy: the elusive cousin of High Fantasy. Grungy, brazen, streetwise; just like the urban settings it depicts, Urban Fantasy takes the fantasy genre and gives it a thorough shaking down. Not only are its protagonists faced with fantastical scenarios, they are also faced with the daily trials that urban areas throw at you.

For many, Urban Fantasy is still a very much unknown sub-genre of fantasy. Mentioning it often results in blank faces and whilst some booksellers welcome it with excitement, some refuse to even contemplate it. However, the odds are you have already read and enjoyed Urban Fantasy without realising it. Terri Windling's Bordertown? Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere? Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series? J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter? To name but a few. I am sure you have read at least one of those and enjoyed it.

But what is it? I hear you ask. It is anything you want it to be. Provided it is set predominately against an urban backdrop, it can have any fantastical twist you want. The limits are only those of your imagination. Love your bloodsuckers? No problem. Want to run with the pack? Fine. Like elves and their pointy ears? You're on! Long to be a Gryffindor? Sorted.

Due to its flexibility, Urban Fantasy novels tend to straddle several genres: horror, romance, action. Whilst this makes the sub-genre wonderfully versatile, it can make it difficult for it to be fully recognised as the urban backdrop can be mistaken as merely the 'setting' to the story. Think Platform 9 ¾: we were so blown away by an alternative platform co-existing at King's Cross (through a wall no less!) that we forgot its urban setting. Same with Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Azkaban, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts itself. Without the urban walls, bricks and mortar providing an anchor for J. K. Rowling's magical world, there would be no Harry Potter.

So, how could you define Urban Fantasy? It's where the fantastical world borders the mundane. It's where the majority, living in the urban setting, have no idea of the fantastical world lurking about them. They carry on with their everyday lives oblivious to the magical. It is only through the protagonist's encounters with the fantastical that help them, and us, become aware of it. For example, Terri Windling's Bordertown depicts a dystopian metropolis that lies along the border between "the Elflands" and "The World". Here, both magic and technology refuse to follow anyone's rules, Elves play in rock bands and human kids recreate themselves in artists' studios. Whilst in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, "London Below" is a magical realm that coexists with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above".

To some, Urban Fantasy can only exist in modern, urban settings. But to other authors, the time of the story is as versatile as the sub-genre itself. Personally, I believe that provided the novel is set within an urban environment, when the story takes place is irrelevant: Tudor, Elizabethan, Victorian, it does not matter. It is a flexible sub-genre, so why needlessly tie it down to the here and now?

Similarly, some authors chain the sub-genre to cities and cities only. However, some Urban Fantasy writers do allow their novels to roam smaller towns and even the countryside. Everyone has their own opinion of where Urban Fantasy belongs: solely in urban settings or any dwellings created by man. However, for me, the versatility of the sub-genre is what appeals; so, provided there is an urban anchor, such as a village or castle, a rural setting would not change it from being Urban Fantasy. In fact, that added dimension could only enhance the appeal of the world being created, surely? I mean, the rural School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (i.e., Hogwarts) didn't put anyone off Harry Potter now, did it?

NB: As I'm British, the English uses British spelling and grammar.

Example of Urban Fantasy on Wattpad:
The KeyMaster by G. A. Jamieson (liifehouse)

Synopsis:

Unlock the past to save the future.

Erica Shylocke is your average university student: her studies are ticking along nicely, she's got a part-time job and she's having a blast in London with her friends. Apart from her boyfriend, everything's great! Until she meets Michael Nicholas and he reveals the world to be more than she realised. Lost Souls? Faeries? Time travel? A personal grudge?! And to top it all her lifelong secret is now out!

Then to make matters even worse someone's creating an army of Lost Souls, but who and why? Apparently Fate has delivered Erica and her secret to help put a stop to everything. Pressure? Just a bit!

As you can imagine, Erica has her work cut out but she can't help wonder: Who is Michael Nicholas? What is the secret he's hiding? And why can't she fall for 'normal' guys?!

Join Erica on her epic adventure into Time itself!

Excerpt:

It was then that Erica noticed another of her 'regulars'.
He was tall with dark hair that curled unabashedly behind his ears. Wrapped up in a smart three-quarter jacket, lined silk muffler, top hat and leather gloves, he looked as if he had stepped straight out of a Victorian photograph. She slowed as she approached him, studying his surreptitiously. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties but there was a sense of agedness about him that fascinated and intrigued her. Not to mention his good looks.
He stood with his back towards them, to one side of the circular space of High Street Kensington Station's Arcade. As usual, he stood with his hands in his pockets and a look of concentration upon his face and, as usual, he was keenly watching the embellished date high up on the æze on the wall opposite him.
He had been standing in this exact same spot this past week, night after night, waiting for something. But for what? Erica let her gaze follow his: sure enough, the date read '1960' just-as-it-always-did?!
For, just then, the embossed numbers quivered and warped; changing silently to read '1781'. Then, after a few moments, just as quietly, they shuddered, warped again and returned to their original date.
Stunned, Erica stood stock-still, mouth agape, her eyes wide in disbelief. She felt someone approach her; closing her mouth quickly she found herself facing the man, looking into eyes as blue as sapphires.
"How much did you see?" He asked his eyes alight with curiosity.
"Erm, not much," she said, unsure whether what she thought she had just seen had actually happened. Just then the lawyer pushed past her, giving her a look as if she had lost her mind. Shaking his head, Erica overheard him begin to complain about 'nutters' to his fiancée on the other end of the phone.
"Meaning everything," the man quipped in reply.

Inspirations:

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Music

https://youtu.be/3IVQOMLW_4w