The Sword and Laser discussion
Are there any "high fantasy" books that take place in the 20th century?
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Butchers Dresden Files series uses a lot of high fantasy elements, but also religious, and supernatural elements. I mean Merlin was a real person in this universe, as was Excalibur, but so are vampires and werewolves. The thing is even though it uses those other elements, it's usually written as action, not fright. I know there are other examples, I just can't think of them right now.
Little, Big by John CrowleyThe Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
The Knights of Breton Court by Maurice Broaddus
Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara (well, it's high fantasy in a VR game)
Broken Empire Trilogy (takes place far in the future but with the vestiges of our skyscrapers and some modern technology left behind).
Matthew wrote: "Curious thought came into my mind. Are there any fantasy books out there that use the very traditional tropes of fantasy, but have them in a 20th century context? Wizards and dragons and trolls and all that, but also skyscrapers, cars, suits and ties, electricity, iPhones."This is really more along the lines of Urban Fantasy. That said, Charles De Lint's stories and novels set in Newford might be a place to start. Emma Bull's War for the Oaks is sort of in there.
I haven't read them, but there seem to be a number of YA novels that fit this criteria.
The Lightning Thief
The Field Guide
What is the difference between Urban Fantasy and high fantasy set in current times?
Rasnac wrote: "What is the difference between Urban Fantasy and high fantasy set in current times?"I don't have a lot of experience with urban fantasy, but what i am looking for is sort of the same social or world structure as we would see in high fantasy set in a modern place setting. Give me a king and a queen and all that, but have them living in a penthouse. Most of the urban fantasy I have read has the fantasy part hidden from the rest of the world. I am looking for something where the fantasy part is explicitly the the world we all live in
First that came to mind were the novels of Charles Williams. The Greater Trumps and The Place of the Lion for instance. His books are so weird (yet good) they often get overlooked.
Next That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis. It has Merlin and the Pendragon in mid-twentieth century England.
Next That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis. It has Merlin and the Pendragon in mid-twentieth century England.
+1 for Dresden files (royalty, check, nobility living in penthouses, check)+1 for Percy Jackson (gods instead of royalty, but living in mortal world)
Most of Gaiman's books, like American Gods are set in modern times
Are you perhaps looking for alternate history scenarios where royalty retain power?
Not really fantasy, but The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross has the feudal social structure mixed with modern times, but he does it by using an interesting parallel universe scenario where goods are transported back and forth between universes.First book in the series is The Family Trade
Steve wrote: "Are you perhaps looking for alternate history scenarios where royalty retain power?"I guess so. I guess it is tough for me to articulate what I am looking for. It doesn't have to by "our" 20th century. I mean, what would middle earth be like in it's 20th century technology phase is more of the world I am looking for.
Matthew wrote: "Rasnac wrote: "What is the difference between Urban Fantasy and high fantasy set in current times?"I don't have a lot of experience with urban fantasy, but what i am looking for is sort of the sa..."
I've been looking for this exact thing. Urban fantasy doesn't really fit with it, as it is, as you put it, hidden magic.
The closest thing I got recommended was Keeping It Real, which has magic, set in present day, with current technology, but, not really "our" earth.
It's an OK, book, but wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
It's a series, and the books aren't that long, so try the first one, and if it doesn't strike your fancy (it didn't for me), you can easily skip the rest of the books.
You could always try tracking down some of the Shadowrun books, which are set 50 or so years in the future, but in our world, where in 2012, magic reappears. The world itself is a cyperpunk/fantasy mashup.
I haven't read the Shadowrun books myself, as it is a pen and paper RPG world and I don't want to "ruin" or "change" the world me and my friends have built on, but if might fit well for you, link provided below.
Shadowrun Series
Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series might fit the bill. The first 3 books are set in your typical fantasy era. The fourth book take place in modern times but retains the magic system. The original trilogy is excellent. I haven't gotten to the rest of the series yet, but I'm looking forward to enjoying it.https://www.goodreads.com/series/4091... for the series page.
It's certainly not this world, but John Meaney's Tristopolis series (Bone Song and Black Blood) takes place in a relatively technologically modern setting. (Except it's run by necromancers so everything is powered by the spirits of the dead, more-or-less.)
MaybeThe Bone Season ? It is set in modern times(alternative history), and the "magic" system is fairly well known in the world, although not many can use it. The "magic" system is more based on psychic powers, then traditional magic, and it's users are persecuted for having there ability's.
Ilona Andrews' Edge series sort of has a high fantasy vibe. It's set in the modern world which borders on a magical realm where things are high fantasy like. The first book is On the Edge.
Seconding Percy Jackson. Although supernatural due to demigods / gods, they are still very well written. They're also YA, but I'm durned if that matters to me considering the quality of story and sly humor.
Several political memoirs come to mind.
Seconding shadowrun. Dragons, wizards, elves, trolls, cyberwarfare, cybernetic enhancements, machine guns, etc. There's no mediaeval society, although some of the dragons, elves, etc, are a bit old-fashioned in that regard.But fundamentally, it's hard to have 'middle earth in the 20th century', since the whole point of the 20th century is the way that technology, in order to be implemented, must change the social fabric.
How's about this one:
Takes place in modern London, with decidedly fantastic elements.
Larry Correia's stuff is full of dragons, monsters and high magic. Then it gets shot up big time with modern weapons!Larry Correia
Garth Nix's Abhorson series has a magical society existing alongside a modern society. Starts with Sabriel.
I'm kind of shocked that Dresden is the only thing mentioned thus far that's both remotely well known and fits the description of "what if a fantasy world progressed to the twentieth century?" This seems like a genre that would pretty dang successful today
It's not really fitting his description of "if middle earth advanced to the twentieth century" IMO. Even structurally it's more picaresque novel than it is high fantasy quest.
I am currently reading The Law of Nines which fits the bill. However, most of the magic refers back to the Sword of Truth books so it might not make much sense if you haven't read them.
AndrewP wrote: "I am currently reading The Law of Nines which fits the bill. However, most of the magic refers back to the Sword of Truth books so it might not make much sense if you haven't read them."Did Terry Goodkind stop spouting Ayn Rand nonsense? After spending a good part of a year masochistically reading Sword of Truth up to around Confessor/Book 11 and seeing them go steadily downhill, I vowed to cut my losses, such as they were.
"Modern era in a fantasy world" (not "fantasy in our modern world") is a very interesting concept. But the main problem is, in most of the fantasy worlds, magic is more or less the substitute for technology. If you can fly with a magic carpet or broomstick, why would anyone bother to invent an airplane? So, I think the answer might be a world, that the inventors use science to adapt magical or fantastical elements to technology. So instead of an nuclear reactor, let's say this fantastical-modern world is using dragons' fire to produce electricity in a "dragon reactor"; or Eleves using mithril to build spaceships, and palantirs for astronomy. Kinda like the concept of "alchemy" with a modernist angle.. I'd like to see what bizarre devices creative minds of genre authors can invent with such a fun premise...
I know that Brandon Sanderson is planning on writing several more sequel series to Mistborn. His original idea was to write a medieval-esque trilogy, then a urban fantasy trilogy, and then a futuristic trilogy all taking place in the same world of the original Mistborn trilogy with the same magic. He has already released one book, called the Alloy of Law that takes place 300 years after the first trilogy and the era that it takes place in would be comparable to the 1910s of our world. They have trains, the beginnings of automobiles, skyscrapers in the process of being built, electricity, and guns.
I would give the Mistborn series a go if you haven't already.
OK, it's not a book. But a good combination of High Fantasy/ Medieval times and modern technology. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/69949
Stealing the Elf-King's Roses by Diane Duane might fit this partly, a couple connected universes the 'home' one of which is contemporary earth + magic. The story is better than the cover indicates.Rachel Pollack's Temporary Agency might be close, I remember people in the city going out to shop for spells and charms.
Most other stuff I can think of is in the past, or the 'magic comes back' subset, or the 'we don't talk about it' subset.
Long thread so I'm not sure if others have mentioned this, but the later Discworld books somewhat fit into what you're asking for. Not 100%, but close.
Laura K. Hamilton's series about the fey detective might fit. There are fairies who live amongst humans but they also have their own lands complete with queens, kings, a royal court, etc. There is also the issue of how powerful fey who were at one time worshiped as deities adapt to no longer being allowed to let themselves be seen as gods.
I think that Thief's Magic by Trudi Canavan fits this topic really well. It deals with a multitude of modern issues that we have today cleverly in a fantasy world. There are many worlds in this story and one of them is a world that combines technology with magic. If you want to read more about it, you can check out my review.
Matthew wrote: "I guess so. I guess it is tough for me to articulate what I am looking for. It doesn't have to by "our" 20th century. I mean, what would middle earth be like in it's 20th century technology phase is more of the world I am looking for."Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. It's one of the only secondary-world fantasy novel series I can point to and say this is what an archetypal medieval fantasy world would look like if it developed 21st century notions of law, governance, and social structures. You have modern-feeling metropolises full of millions of people who rely on utilities like lights and running water--only the utilities are provided by imprisoned gods kept in line with magical contracts enacted by necromancers who operate like lawyers and hedge fund managers. Oh, and there's parkour practitioners, police who turn into justice golems when on duty, and goddess-powered poker games.
There are several tabletop RPGs in a similar vein--Eberron comes to mind--but the Craft Sequence is the first thing I can think of with regards to prose fiction.
Oh I can't believe I didn't think of this before but the new Avatar series, while mediocre overall, does a fantastic job of establishing a super interesting setting where the medieval setting of the first show has advanced to a 19th century level of technology. Not western high fantasy, but definitely a similar kind of thing we've been talking about in this thread.
Rob that is a great example. And after you say it, I could see where a magic system like that from NOTW could stand the test of time and be brought into more modern times. That could make some interesting fan fiction.
Rasnac wrote: ""Modern era in a fantasy world" (not "fantasy in our modern world") is a very interesting concept. But the main problem is, in most of the fantasy worlds, magic is more or less the substitute for technology. If you can fly with a magic carpet or broomstick, why would anyone bother to invent an airplane? ..."Newton's Cannon and the other three books of the quartet deal with this subject really well. If it was set in the 20th century instead of the 18th, it might have been perfect for this thread.
Alan wrote: "Newton's Cannon and the other three books of the quartet deal with this subject really well. If it was set in the 20th century instead of the 18th, it might have been perfect for this thread. "I bought Newton's Cannon after reading Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Guess I was on a Newton kick. Never got around to reading it though. You enjoyed it?
I'll second the Shadowrun books, sounds like exactly what your looking for. I've read many of them. Definitely recommend starting with the secrets of power trilogy by Robert N. Charrette: Never Deal With a Dragon, Choose Your Enemies Carefully, and Find Your Oun Truth, good intro to the world.
Sky wrote: "I bought Newton's Cannon after reading Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Guess I was on a Newton kick. Never got around to reading it though. You enjoyed it?..."Yes, I did. I thought Newton's Cannon was extremely well done. You might call it alternate science, rather than magic but that would be a matter of opinion, particularly later in the series.
I haven't read the Baroque Cycle so I can't really compare the two but, if it was anything like Cryptonomicon, these books are muuuuch shorter, more lively and more popcorn-ish reading - but that's a comparative thing. Stephenson is way more idea-dense than most authors.
Thanks Alan, popcorn is good many times :)
If you're broadening the scope, then Walter Jon Williams' novels Metropolitan and sequel City on Fire feature a modern society which is powered by a substance called "plasm" that certain skilled practitioners can manipulate.The superhero novels by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge, Black and White and sequel Shades of Gray take place in a world that has technology plus the usual inexplicable powers of superhumans. No explanation is given, it's just the way the world is.
The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathon Stroud has djinn and wizards in the modern world. The Amulet of Samarkand is the first one.
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I'm not looking for anything steampunk or supernatural, just something like what would all of these worlds be like if the technologically progressed like we have over 2000 years.