Book Blogger Hop No. 145: Urban Fantasy, or Horror?

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

Halloween Edition!!

This event is hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

It's getting close to Halloween.

If you HAD to read one of

these two genres, which would

you prefer -- urban fantasy,

or horror, and why?

(Submitted  by Maria @

A Night's Dream of Books)

WARNING TO HORROR FANS!!

I totally dislike the horror genre, so I have 

made some pretty negative statements

about it in this post. So read no further 

if you think you could find yourself getting 

upset by the opinions I express here.

You have been WARNED!!

My Answer

Here's the short and sweet answer: urban fantasy, hands down!! Lol.

Now, you didn't think I was going to leave it at that, did you? Of course not! I enjoy writing long (but not TOO long) posts for these BBH questions. Besides, I submitted this question myself, and for a very good reason: I totally DETEST the horror genre! 

Although I've written other posts about my dislike of this genre, I've never written one in which I compare it to urban fantasy. Actually, these two genres have some similarity to each other. There's one big difference between the two, though, and that's the degree of emphasis placed on fear and gruesome details. 

Horror writers have a field day describing the frightening events in their plots in all of their gross, hair-raising, disturbing, details. They also delight in describing the abject terror felt by their protagonists, who are usually helpless to deal with all the horrible, frightening villains.  As I have stated in other posts on this subject, I do not now, nor have I EVER, enjoyed being frightened out of my skin. Fear is NOT a pleasant emotion to me, nor will it ever be. I also dislike feeling disturbed in any way by the sheer impotence induced in the reader by a horror writer. Fear and helplessness is not an enjoyable combination. Some people do enjoy this combination. I am definitely NOT one of them!

Urban fantasy, on the other hand, may also include some frightening events in a plot, but the protagonists are usually not as helpless as those in a horror novel. Fear is hardly ever an overriding factor in an urban fantasy novel. Instead, the writer's focus is on how his/her protagonists solve the main problem presented in the plot. These writers might employ suspense, true, but it's not for the purpose of inducing an emotion of terror in the reader, and keeping that emotion predominant for most of the book. Instead, any terror in an urban fantasy plot is dealt with and overcome by the protagonists, with or without allies. 

Where these two genres might overlap is in the type of characters involved. In urban fantasy, there might be vampires, werewolves, and witches, just as in the horror genre. However, these characters are frequently the good guys. If any such creatures are the bad guys, they are usually classified as "rogues". This happens often with vampires, for example. The good vamps do not drink blood from humans, or, if they do, they only take enough to nourish themselves, and never kill these humans. Rogue vamps, on the other hand, DO kill humans, and relish doing so. Therefore, the good vamps are frequently involved in an ongoing war with the rogues, to prevent them from killing humans. 

This is one type of plot I have often come across in urban fantasy novels. However, the genre is in no way limited to dealing with the three types of characters listed above. These novels can also deal with such mythological characters as fairies (frequently known as "The Fae"), unicorns, angels, gods, demi-gods, dragons, magicians (also called "mages"), elves, goblins, trolls, etc. In other words, these novels can and do often include characters that one would expect to find in fantasy novels. The difference here, of course, is on the fact that urban fantasy usually has a modern urban setting, instead of the typical medieval setting most common in fantasy novels. 

If one takes into consideration all of the above differences between the horror and urban fantasy genres, it's immediately evident that the latter is much more interesting to read. Now, this is my own personal opinion. Of course, horror fans will not agree at all with me. And this is just fine! There are all sorts of reading tastes in the bookworm universe (and the book blogosphere), which means that anyone can agree or disagree with me. 

Bearing the above in mind, I maintain that an urban fantasy novel is far more interesting, fascinating, and a much more entertaining read than a horror novel, for several reasons. 

First of all, characterizations have to have more depth. I have not read that many horror novels, but I would imagine that characters in these novels lack depth, and that's because of the fear factor, which overrides everything else. Perhaps I'm wrong about this, and if so, my apologies to horror fans.  :)

Second, ever since I first began to read UF, I have found it VERY refreshing to see creatures that would totally inspire fear, if they were to appear in a horror novel, actually being depicted as good guys in an urban fantasy novel. Furthermore, in most UF novels, these creatures are depicted as being humane, caring, and even funny! 

Third, the world-building in UF novels can be utterly fascinating, and make the reader want to actually LIVE in one of these novels. Not so with horror novels! For example, I would NEVER want to live in The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty! To this day, I STILL don't know why I even read this book, but I learned my lesson: stay away from the horror genre!! Lol. 

Fourth, the plot resolution in UF novels often lends itself to more than one book, and the reader tends to fall in love with the good guys, thus creating the desire to see more of them in future sequels. I don't think this type of thing is common with horror novels. I mean, where can the author go with their characters, if these characters have come to an untimely end in one of these novels? Thus, from what I've noticed -- again, I might be wrong here -- horror novels usually tend to be stand-alones. Stephen King, for instance, does have a series -- The Dark Tower. He also has a couple of trilogies. But, for the most part, his books are stand-alones.

Fifth, quite a few UF novels are also in the category of PNR, or paranormal romance. And I definitely have a VERY soft spot for romance! It's especially exciting when supernatural creatures are involved, of course!

Bottom line: as Halloween approaches, I feel the need to read UF novels, and not horror novels. I want to read books that will take me out of this humdrum reality, but WITHOUT scaring me so much that I'll have nightmares! That's just the way it is with me. I mean, hey, take a look at my Halloween header. Does it look at all scary to you? LOL. And, look! The pumpkin is even grinning. It's enjoying the kitty's affection. Awwww........   :)  (When you come to the end of this post, you'll see another CUTE Halloween image.)

To clinch my case, let me recommend some GREAT UF (many are also PNR) titles, just PERFECT for this supernatural season, MINUS the heebie jeebies!

Young Adult Fiction

The Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer

The Vampire Academy Series, by Richelle Mead

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, 

by Heather Brewer

The Abandon Series, by Meg Cabot

The Nightshade Series, by Andrea Cremer

The Shadow Falls Series, by C.C. Hunter

The Demon Trappers Series, by Jana Oliver

The Revenants Series, by Amy Plum

Adult Fiction

The Children of the Night Series,

by Amanda Ashley

The Loving Husband Series,

by Meredith Allard

The Dark Series,

by Christine Feehan

The Dark Dynasties Series,

by Kendra Leigh Castle

The Sentinels of New Orleans Series,

by Suzanne Johnson

The House of Comarré Series,

by Kristen Painter

The Love at Stake Series,

by Kerrylyn Sparks

The Argeneau Series, by Lynsay Sands

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

If you're participating in this hop,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!!