Deconstructing Urban Fantasy

In the wake of Lilith Saintcrow's "Angry Chicks in Leather" articles of a few weeks back, NYT bestselling author Carrie Vaughn offers her own two cents on the subject.

Here's an excerpt:

So. In urban fantasy (again, using the current popular marketing definition), we have violent, kick-ass heroines who are also subject to insecurities and exhibit several other problematic traits that bring their real, functional strength into question. This genre is admired for its strong women characters — that’s often the reason given for its appeal and popularity. But is the genre also guilty of undermining some of those strengths?

This is where I put my academic hat on. I’ve been studying urban fantasy with kind of a morbid fascination because I think it says something about our culture. When the same tropes appear over and over again, and are this popular, it means something.

Click on this link to read the whole piece.

By the way, I'm about 75 pages into Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (Canada, USA, Europe) and I'm really enjoying it! Kitty eloping in Las Vegas! This has trouble written all over it!;-)

2 commentaires:

Ruth Schaller said...

I just love the cover of that book. But I'm here today to let you know that I've got a post up with an award for you! So come on over and check it out!

RobB said...

HI Pat,

Thanks for posting the link, I posted them in SFFWorld, too. Vaughn's posts are very well-thought out and on the whole, not as defensive and off-putting as Saintcrow's