Abstract: | It is not a coincidence that urban fantasy is being identified with modern,
futuristic metropolises. On its streets, two worlds are juxtaposed: the real
and the magical. Unlike the first one, the latter is concealed in shadows, hiding
elves, vampires, and other magical creatures from the watchful eyes of
ordinary citizens. Only a handful of informed humans have the right to
step into this world, which is presented only to the select few. The author
of the article Guns and Hats, or a Drowner on a Bicycle: On the (Retro)Industrial
Adaptation of Urban Fantasy Subgenre distinguishes between three main tropes
of the eponymous convention: a presence of the city, a coexistence of
magical and empirical world, and an influence of organisations guarding
the secret of the otherworld. All three mentioned tropes are exemplified in
two contemporary fantasy novels—Adam Przechrzta’s Adept (The Adept)
and Charlie Fletcher’s The Oversight, both set in the nineteenth-century fictionalised
reality, which bears resemblance to urban fantasy subgenre. In
the end, nineteenth-century city turns out to be the best locale to set a fantasy
story that addresses the primary sense of urbanization. |