The Urban Fantasy Author Blog

Presented For Your Consideration: Our List Of The Top Ten Best Urban Fantasy Authors

Who are the best active writers in the urban fantasy genre? There are many possible contenders, and much like any top ten list, the merits of including some authors can be disputed, as well as any omissions. But these are the authors that we consider to be indispensable in the genre, and in our opinion, these are the top ten best urban fantasy authors who have contributed significant works to the canon and are still active today.

Neil Gaiman

We must begin with Neil Gaiman, a giant in the field. Gaiman has made his mark through both literature and comic books, and his prose is always a delight. Gaiman is the rare talent who can infuse humor with danger and find mystery and magic in the mundane. His Sandman series is the stuff of legend, and his novels Neverwhere, Good Omens, and others are worldwide bestsellers.

Ilona Andrews

A New York Times bestselling author, Ilona Andrews is a creator of gems in the urban fantasy genre. Her novels are about struggles for power, people with magical abilities that are still somehow tragically vulnerable, and romance that is fresh and never cloying. Her Kinsman Universe and Hidden Legacy series are standouts.

Jim Butcher

Best known for The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher was strongly influenced in his early life by such fantasy works as The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Over the past couple of decades, he has risen to prominence through his Cinder Spire series, and his name has regularly appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

Patricia Briggs

Author of the wildly popular Mercy Thompson series, Patricia Briggs knows how to write engaging urban fantasy that tantalizes and captivates. She has been nominated for such honors as the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy, and her Sianim series wins over new acolytes every year.

Kelley Armstrong

A consistent New York Times bestselling author in her own right, Kelley Armstrong is possibly the best-known Canadian writer of urban fantasy. She has published over thirty novels, and her Women of the Otherworld series features strong, fully-realized female protagonists.

Kim Harrison

Kim Harrison is the nom de plume of American author Dawn Cook, known for her smash hit Hollows series. Though she has earned a prominent spot on the top ten list of best urban fantasy authors, she has also successfully written in the young adult and accelerated-science genres.

Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearne is the author of the Seven Kennings trilogy, The Iron Druid Chronicles, and many others. An Arizona native, he has enjoyed a long relationship with Del Rey publishers. His novel Tricked allowed him to crack the New York Times bestseller list for the first time.

Anne Bishop

Anne Bishop successfully navigates the line between urban fantasy and dark fantasy. She took home the Crawford Award in 2000, and all three of her Black Jewels trilogy were bestsellers. She has been nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy, and also a Locus Award for Best First Novel.

Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep publishes novels for the Pocket Books line. She is best known for urban fantasy but also writes in the paranormal romance genre. Her Elemental Assassin series and her Mythos Academy books are her most well-known contributions. She was recently nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Paranormal Fantasy novel.

Kat Richardson

Rounding out the list is Kat Richardson, best known for her nine Greywalker novels. Harper Blaine, the heroine of the series, is one of the most well known and recognizable characters to emerge from the urban fantasy genre in the past decade. Richardson has a keen grasp of how to incorporate horror into her fantasy, and her novels contain many chilling passages.

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What do you think? Are these the ten best urban fantasy authors, or did we leave anyone out? As always, feedback is welcome. Let the discussion commence.

Here Are The Top Ten Best Urban Fantasy Novels of 2018

This has been an excellent year for the Urban Fantasy novel. The genre continues to have its zealots, but more casual readers have discovered some of the preeminent authors who are making an impact, and they have helped to bolster sales. We consider these to be the top ten best Urban Fantasy novels of 2018 to date, open to debate, of course.

Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton

In this latest novel featuring the popular protagonist Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Anita finds herself pitted against a new form of lycanthropy on a remote Florida island. It has afflicted a single family for generations, and the monsters it creates are more than even the intrepid Anita can handle on her own. She’ll have to swallow her pride and ask for help, but from the deadliest of places.

Purchase Serpentine on Amazon

The Night Dalia by R.S. Belcher

The second novel in the Nightwise series, Belcher reintroduces us to Laytham Ballard, who once protected humanity as part of the Nightwise, modern-day mages who must hold hellish supernatural forces in check. This time around a powerful fairie has hired Ballard to find his long-lost daughter. He’ll have to travel the globe and match wits with sex clubs and street gangs to solve this deadly cold case.

Purchase The Night Dahlia on Amazon

The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards

The first novel in the Tarot cycle, Edwards introduces us to to the last member of a murdered House tasked to find a missing nobleman. In the process, he must uncover clues about his mysterious past. It’s one of the best Urban Fantasy novels to come out this year, and this series shows a great deal of promise.

Purchase The Last Sun on Amazon

Sworn to the Night by Craig Schaefer

This is the first of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. Marie Reinhardt of the NYPD is on the trail of an elusive serial killer. In her sleep, she has mysterious visions depicting herself living other lives, being a knight errant fighting in strange wars. Meanwhile, college professor Nessa Roth is trapped in a loveless marriage and dealing with her emergence as a fledgling witch. When these two meet, destiny seems to have a hand in it. Will they join forces to help one another?

Purchase Sworn to the Night on Amazon

Cast in Deception by Michelle Sagara

The thirteenth novel in the Chronicles of Elantra series, this is a return to form by New York Times bestselling novelist Sagara. She once again shows that she is at the top of the genre with another offering featuring the lost Baranni children, intent on restoring their family’s honor.

Purchase Cast in Deception on Amazon

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

This is the tenth novel of the series featuring Kate Daniels. When we catch up with her, she has started a family with Curran Lenart, the former Beast Lord. She would love to set her magic aside, but paranormal problems persist in hounding her.

Purchase Magic Triumphs on Amazon

Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe by Marshall Ryan Maresca

Maresca has a unique vision for the Urban Fantasy novel, and never is this more apparent than in this latest effort. The Rynax brothers are dealing with poverty, street violence, and marginalization. But they’d much rather go beyond those to deal with the shadowy forces in high society that are pulling the strings.

Purchase Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe on Amazon

Dragon Blood by Eileen Wilks

Wilks certainly knows the Urban Fantasy genre, and she proves her mastery of it once again with Dragon Blood, where the battle against a vengeful goddess reaches its apex. Lily Yu faces her greatest challenge in a frightening new realm.

Purchase Dragon Blood on Amazon

Constance Verity Saves the World by A. Lee Martinez

Constance Verity is adept at saving the world, but keeping her personal life together is another matter. Martinez has been recognized in the past by Booklist and other publications of note, and with good reason. Her pithy prose blends humor and action in equal measure, making her a standout in the Urban Fantasy genre.

Purchase Constance Verity Saves the World on Amazon

A Glimmer of Hope by Steve McHugh

McHugh gives us book one of The Avalon Chronicles, introducing us to Layla Cassidy, who wants a chance at a normal life. But her father left behind a brutal legacy, and she must deal with that first if she ever stands a chance of achieving that normalcy.

Purchase A Glimmer of Hope on Amazon

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These are our top picks for best Urban Fantasy novels of 2018. What do you think? Any arguments? Any that we missed?