The Daughters of Buffy

Ask and ye shall receive. Just yesterday, some of us here at Double X were waxing nostalgic for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and lo: Today, Salon book critic Laura Miller offers a run-down of "urban fantasy" novels whose heroines would make our dear, departed, demon-killing California girl proud. Among others, Miller discusses the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris (basis for the HBO series True Blood) and the Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton.

"Urban fantasy" ends up being a bit of a slippery genre. At one point, Miller calls it "a cross of fairy tale, noir and classic coming-of-age narrative." There's sex and romance aplenty—though in varying ratios, depending on the series in question—but the stories generally avoid the pat, happily-ever-after endings usually found in romance novels. In Miller's depiction, the books are delicious but also nutritious—perfect for those nights "when my brain is just too weary for Ian McEwan but not soft enough to settle for The Mentalist.

Sign me up.

Besides being an excellent service piece—thanks for mapping out my summer reading list, Laura!—the essay also offers a fascinating glimpse into the ways we categorize art, particularly pulpy "genre" art, and art that's by (or for) women. Urban fantasy novels are sometimes called "paranormal romances," a term that, as Miller shows, can be wielded with a sneer. Snobbery sucks, but I'm hardly one to throw stones—I'd heard that label before, and even though I'm a big fan of both of those constituent elements (demons? sex? what's not to like?), I never really bothered to check out the offerings. Thank god, then, for critics like Miller, who know how to make us feel good about eating our candy.

Photograph of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar by Getty Images.

Tags: anita blake, buffy the vampire slayer, laura miller, Romance novels, sookie stackhouse

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Nina Shen Rastogi California native, theater and comics fan, Slate "Green Lantern" columnist

Comments

Seconding the recommend

By: Starling | Wed, 06/24/2009 - 13:32

Sunshine is definitely a must-read, although McKinley never does series work, so be aware that it's a one-time thing. Which is a pity; her urban fantasy world is the most nuanced of the writers listed. Start that summer reading with Patricia Briggs, whose excellent novels convinced me to give urban fantasy a try, despite a deep hatred of all things werewolf/vampire. Charlaine Harris is also a good writer, as Laura Miller observes, although I found Sookie fatigue set in by about book four. Her standalone Harper Connolly trilogy is a better body of work.

another for the list

By: Hazelnut | Wed, 06/24/2009 - 12:49

Robin McKinley's Sunshine belongs on this list as well; having read most of her juvenile fiction as a kid, I was surprised that she'd attempted the sexy vampire genre, and even more surprised how much I enjoyed it. (Note that this is not juvenile fiction, although YA readers who've made it through sex ed shouldn't be too shocked.)