Fantasy metropolis

[Alistair]

Most fantasy stories, like myths before them, are built on an archetypical quest, so they travel a lot (hence, maps).

But for reasons that I couldn't explain (except, whim) I long for stories set in a city, in all its variety: guilds, taverns, markets, mansions, gardens (hanging or not)...

I suppose it might be more common in sword & sorcery than high fantasy. The examples I can think of are from TV series, which is probably why I wish to find this trope in books.
Thanks for the tips!

[Jabotikaba]

Thraxas
Legends & Lattes

[Colin]

Angel with the Sword by CJ Cherryh
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee

True, these are more on the science fiction side, but we are definitely in a city in both.

[CBRetriever]

Stephen Brust's Vlad Taltos series is mostly set in a city. And all the boks can be pretty much read as stand-alones

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

Six of Crows is set in a city inspired by Amsterdam and Venice.

[Kaa]

The Astreiant series by Melissa Scott is named for the city it takes place in.

This may not be what you have in mind, but many of the Discworld books focus on aspects of life in the city of Ankh-Morpork.

[Kaa]

Is "secondary world urban fantasy" the kind of vibe you are looking for (there are several lists out there on this theme) or more high fantasy than that?

[Alistair]

Thanks again, everyone.

[Alistair]

Kaa wrote: "Is "secondary world urban fantasy" the kind of vibe you are looking for or more high fantasy than that?"

This is a good point, and one that I forgot to mention.
Instictively, I'd say I'm rather looking for a non-contemporary setting (high fantasy, sword & sorcery...); but a rich secondary worldbuilding in urban fantasy (Neverwhere comes to mind) would also be interesting.

[Alistair]

Ines wrote: "Six of Crows is set in a city inspired by Amsterdam and Venice."

I had thought about this, since Ketterdam in the tv series is a rather fitting case in point. I've been told the Six of Crows diptych is much better written than the the main Grishaverse trilogy; the allegation was actually that somebody else must have ghostwritten either of the two... Can it be read independently?

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Kaa wrote: "The Astreiant series by Melissa Scott is named for the city it takes place in."

Link. It looks good. And there are... six books in the series!

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CBRetriever wrote: "Stephen Brust's Vlad Taltos series is mostly set in a city. And all the boks can be pretty much read as stand-alones."

Again, here's the link.
I remember we tried to get Jhereg in a poll recently (was it your nomination?), so I was already interested in the anthological The Book of Jhereg. And there are a lot of titles in the series!

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Jabotikaba wrote: "Thraxas."

There's another long running series. This seems quite ironic, which doesn't hurt.

[Alistair]

Apparently the Rook & Rose trilogy, which is currently a candidate for an epic fantasy nomination, would fit. Has anyone read it?

[Mike the Magnificient]

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is set in a rather medevial-ish city with lots of character (and characters).

The Martian series by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A Princess of Mars, etc.) feature many cities of the type you describe.

[Len]

Would you consider Gormenghast and Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake as suitable? I suppose Gormenghast is really a gigantic castle but it resembles a self-contained city.

And if you stretch things a little into SF, then John Christopher's The City of Gold and Lead features the city of the alien Tripods built on Earth.

The floating academic city of Sanctaphrax appears in Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's The Edge Chronicles 6: Midnight Over Sanctaphrax: Third Book of Twig.

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

Alistair wrote: "Ines wrote: "Six of Crows is set in a city inspired by Amsterdam and Venice."

I had thought about this, since Ketterdam in the tv series is a rather fitting case in point. I've bee..."

I've only read Six of Crows and the sequel and I didn't feel like I was missing any information or world building.

[Jae Xuân (brief hiatus travel)]

Would highly recommend A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, if you haven't already read it. Historical fantasy set in an alternate Cairo, Egypt cityscape

[Alistair]

Jae Xuân wrote: "Would highly recommend A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, if you haven't already read it. Historical fantasy set in an alternate Cairo, Egypt cityscape."

It's not everyday that you find such a highly recommended novel, by an author admired for his worldbuilding, with an unusual setting. This has to be high on the list.

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Ines wrote: "I've only read Six of Crows and the sequel and I didn't feel like I was missing any information or world building."

The smart move, surely!

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Len wrote: "Would you consider Gormenghast and Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake as suitable?"

I'd say no but I might be wrong.

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Len wrote: "The floating academic city of Sanctaphrax appears in Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's Midnight Over Sanctaphrax."

I need to move there!
(full disclaimer: I loved Dauntless and have been orphaned since it went off-line).

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Mike the Magnificient wrote: "The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is set in a rather medevial-ish city with lots of character (and characters).

The Martian series by Edgar Rice Burroughs feature many cities of the type you describe."

I was aware of both series, and both look interesting. And again, S&S.
Misfits, and thieves especially, seem to thrive in this type of setting.

[Alistair]

P. Djèlí Clark's A Master of Djinn has already been mentioned.

I can now say that his recent stand-alone novel The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, current fantasy Book of the Month, also offers an excellent setting in the teeming city of Tal Abisi.

[CBRetriever]

Adrian Tchaikovsky's Tyrant Philosopher's series and Shadows of the Apt series have several books that are set in realistic seeming cities

[Economondos]

There is always the sub-series set in the largest city on the Discworld. Start with Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett and follow the adventures of the night watch attempting to keep the peace. The books have all your requirements: guilds (assassins, thieves, fools), taverns (by clientele adventurers, watchmen, undead), markets (street, shop, Dibbler's tray of suspicious sausages), and a lot more.

The series in order can be found here on GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/series/1062...

[Alistair]

Thanks!