Voting for S&L Book 6: Did someone say "elfpunk?"
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 5:08PM
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 5:08PM
Actually, no one said elfpunk. But that's kind of way Tom and I are intrigued by this sub-genre. Yes, we've done cyberpunk before, but what about the gritty and enchanting synthesis of urban life and elves and fairies? Seeing as though I've never heard if the genre before, oh... today... we turned to the experts at Amazon to show us the light. Amazon user Luna Eclipse wrote up an amazing list of elfpunk novels, and here are the five I've selected for voting as well as the blurb written by Luna for context!
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
War for the Oaks: A Novel by Emma Bull
Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale by Holly Black
Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco
Voting closes at midnight on the 19th, so get those votes in! All books available on the S&L store either way.
[poll=7]
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
"Reminiscent of Holly Black's Tithe, Wicked Lovely follows the exploits of Aislinn, a teenage girl with The Sight. Having spent her entire life trying to avoid the fairies, she suddenly finds herself being sought after by their king, who believes she may be the queen he's been searching for."
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
"With no TV, no video games and no radio in sight, Kendra and Seth are prepared to be bored out of their minds while staying with their grandfather in his huge secluded manor while their parents enjoy themselves on a cruise...till they discover their grandfather is the guardian of Fablehaven, a sanctuary for all sorts of fairy tale creatures. A must have for all you fairy-lovers, young and old."
War for the Oaks: A Novel by Emma Bull
"If you are a fan of faeries, 80's music, and foppish attire, you will love this novel set in 1987 Minneapolis. This book was kind of slow at times but it was still pretty good. I absolutely adore the Phouka!
Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale by Holly Black
"The final, decisive battle between the Night and Bright courts is about to take place, and all the characters from both Tithe and Valiant are in the mix. Black's best work yet."
Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco
"In an alternate reality Boston where you are just as likely to see a troll or an elf walk down the street as you are to see a human, Fairy hustlers are winding up dead with their hearts cut out and replaced with stones. Druid Conner Grey uses his magical abilities to crack the case in this fun, interesting novel."
Voting closes at midnight on the 19th, so get those votes in! All books available on the S&L store either way.
[poll=7]
Reader Comments (26)
I read the first two books, Wicked Lovely and Fablehaven, they were OK. We could do better.
I voted for Unshapely Things, it sounds like it might be cool. Its a shame Eoin Colfer wrote his Artemis Fowl series for kids, they were AMAZING.
Toughie! I voted for Emma Bull because she writes damn fine books, but I like the sound of the Del Franco story.
I think Mercedes Lackey did a whole series of books about Elves in LA. She partnered with other writers on a few of them. Also very good.
-DP
Ooh and shoutout to Sean Wiggins in the Ning Forum for introducing me to the term elfpunk!
"Corny’s goofy gay butt finally gets some play"...are you kidding me? The nice weather must be getting to your heads...
I definitely want to re-read War for the Oaks. It will remind me of a place long ago, and bumping into Emma Bull at my college bookstore. :-)
@CW - OMG!! I didn't see that in the blurb, I was just cutting and pasting from the Amazon article! Yikes! It's been removed, sorry!
Man are we going down a dark and weird path with that novel, i.e. the one currently in first. His second novel looks as dark and eerie as the first. But I am in this for the long haul and will read whatever the group votes on.
I voted for Ironside. I didn't check the description, but hopefully its about an elf in a wheelchair who solves mysteries.
Ben,
Ha, Ha, Ha.
A book series thqt, while not on the list is Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. hamilton first in the Merry Gentry series. Very elfpunk by definition, albiet a tad too erotic in parts for some. The story is good and the author has done her research on farie.
I voted for Unshapely Things but from Luna's list I would also recommend Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino. After you read it, you will have a new appreciation for the music of The Doors. :)
It looks like Unshapely Things is the winner (so far). Does anyone know where to get an ecopy of the book? I tried Fictionwise but no dice. Also tried eBooks.com and Amazon is so Kindle happy, they don't even try to get another format. Booksamillion. OnlineBooksDirect.com, B&N online...zip.
Any suggestions? PLEASE?
Half.com has some copies. Borders.com also has it. I'm lucky because I've been meaning to read this book but have not gotten around to it.
oh sorry I just reread your post Geekdad I didn't see the word ebook.
[...] RothfussTom: Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. Film version is called Stalker.ELFPUNK!Vote for the next fantasy book, in the sub-genre of elfpunk!(so far, Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco is winning!)Voting ends [...]
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Ironside is indeed the third in a series (Tithe is the first). The first two are fun, quick reads and they seem to be written to stand alone fairly well. It's also not out in paperback 'till July (for ease of carrying around). Unshapely Things sounds great from the blurb, but I would love to see the group read something written by a woman sometime soon.
That's ok Joyce. I don't think the book exists in ebook format since I have tried a number of places.
You could always see if your nearest library has a copy... http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780441014774
Kiss of Shadows is definitely elfpunk at its best. It was a really good book. But it isn't for the prudish that is for sure. But it is well written and consistent. I'm up to the third in the series and it is still really good.
Michael,
I opted for the dead tree edition, i.e. Amazon used books.
Wow. Elfpunk! Let's do a Dragonlance novel next!!!!!