Urban Fantasy

Urban Fantasy has been serious business for the past few years. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series was one of my favorite until I just stopped reading due to lack of character development. I also enjoyed MaryJanice Davidson's Queen Betsy series until i just stopped reading. Maybe I'm fickle, but I think some series just run out of steam.

Of course, there are some that just are coming to a head. I highly recommend Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson books as well as her Alpha and Omega series that is set in the same world.

And I recommend the Southern Vampire Mystery books, AKA Sookie Stackhouse novels. Told from Sookie Stackhouse's point of view (first person), the novels are funny, scary, and full of life.

And yes, these are the novels that the HBO series, TrueBlood, is based on.

Previous to these books, the only time I've heard the name "Sookie" was from Witches of Eastwick. Apparently, it's a form of Susanna. This Sookie has telepathic powers. She has spent her life bombarded with other people's (sometimes inappropriate) thoughts. But when she meets a vampire called Bill Compton, she realizes that there is a blessed silence with him. Sookie can't read vampire thoughts.

Some readers can say that there is a glut of Urban Fantasy novels being published today. After the success of Laurell K. Hamilton, dozens of authors have given vampires and werewolves a try. What sets Patricia Briggs apart is the powerful core she creates for each character.

I've just discovered Patrica Briggs after picking up Iron Kissed out of a stack of used books. Being a burnt-out reader of urban fantasy, I was wary of giving the book a try, especially since it seemed I was jumping into the middle of a series that featured another love-triangle between a girl and her supernatural friends.

But the world and characters that she created stand up and beg for reading. I answered the call with delight.

Cry Wolf takes place in the same world as her Mercy Thompson novels and centers around Anna Lantham, a newly turned werewolf. After 3 years of constant abuse, she finds herself saved by Charles Cornick, a 200-year-old werewolf who happens to be one of the most powerful dominate werewolves in North America.

Guillermo del Toro

makes beautiful films. Even the gruesome bits are filmed in such a way that you can't help but be fascinated even as you cringe.

I just got back from watching Pan's Labyrinth. It's playing in limited release in LA. The theater was sold out for the 8pm showing. Luckily we got there early and found some excellent center row seats.

This movie is beautiful. Ofelia, the main character, is a child in the middle of a war. She is fascinated by fairy tales and stories. And...she is the reincarnation of a lost fairy princess.

The movie is by turns horribly realistic and breathtakingly fantastic. The war that raged through Spain during World War II is bloody, with people shooting to kill and ensuring that there are no survivors with bullets to the head.

Ofelia must complete 3 tasks to prove that she is the true princess and the director does not pull any punches. The tasks are gruesome and dangerous. You cannot help but love Ofelia who is a bit lost in the dangerous world. Her mother is frail and heavily pregnant. Her step-father a monster.

I loved this movie. It's beautiful and dark. The characters are complex. It is not for children and has graphic depictions of, um..., let's just say flesh gets cut.

If you get a chance to watch this movie, do. At the end, the theater was silent. It was that good.