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The world needs urban fantasy now more than ever
The rise of fantasy fiction and particularly romantasy may have its roots in escapism from the absurdity of the real world, but what about urban fantasy? Is there still a place for it in our literary landscape? Or is the real world beyond redemption?
For those unfamiliar with urban fantasy, it’s a subgenre that typically uses the real world as a setting but infuses it with supernatural or magical elements. The inhabitants of the real world are usually oblivious to all things weird in their world but not always. My Cross series of supernatural thrillers, for instance, is urban fantasy.
The urban fantasy genre has been going strong since the 1980s or so and has proven to be highly adaptable to publishing trends, mixing it up with romance, mystery, horror and more.
But is it still a viable genre for the 21st century, where the elite do what they will with no repercussions, wars are endless Groundhog Day distractions, global orders are disintegrating, and AI threatens to leave everyone jobless if not turned into paperclips? Can literature even engage in any meaningful way with a world like this?
The data suggests so. Urban fantasy accounted for around 25% of sales in 2025, and an increase in late 2025 indicates that urban fantasy is increasing in popularity even more. Readers haven’t given up on our world yet.
I firmly believe that it is time for a resurgence of urban fantasy. The world is seriously lacking in wonder — and I don’t mean WTF wonder but magic. We need something that can transcend this miserable existence but also transform it, in the imagination if nowhere else.
Because the imagination is the ultimate reality, isn’t it? It’s how each of us perceives the world and shapes it — how we understand the world.
The magic of urban fantasy is something that ruptures reality, that plays by different rules or no rules at all. It rejects the logic of the world and promises freedom and change.
Urban fantasy is the re-enchantment of the mundane, the promise of a world that is more than bland and generic offices, algorithms and billionaires that exploit us at every turn, and lives with no future. In urban fantasy deeper meaning to our existence isn’t gone, it’s simply hidden and waiting for us to discover it.
The world needs urban fantasy now more than ever to show us what it can really be.
The appeal of fantasy in an absurd world
What’s driving the boom in fantasy books?
The publishing industry has seen huge increases in fantasy sales over the last few years, to the point that even Smaug would be envious. The fantasy and sci-fi category jumped 41% in total sales in 2024 and performed even better in 2025. (I haven’t yet seen the final numbers for 2025, but predictions were around a 25% increase over 2024.)
While much of this has been driven by the marriage of romantasy and BookTok, there’s more to the story.
Fantasy’s appeal as escapism tends to rise when the real world becomes too difficult and stressful. Certainly in a time of serial wars, the breakdown of global orders, unaffordable housing, food insecurity, the Epstein revelations, AI job losses and everything else, an alternative fantasy world can seem pretty appealing. Especially if it’s a world where good can actually triumph over evil and individuals are capable of making a difference. In that sense, fantasy is as inspirational as it is a psychological refuge.
And is it really any surprise that romantasy, which is leading the fantasy charge, has exploded at the same time that women’s rights are under attack in the real world?
It’s worth remembering that Harlequin romances used to be very popular in non-western countries as much for the freedom and agency their characters enjoyed as any romantic storylines. It was no accident that when the Berlin Wall fell Harlequin employees were right there, handing out copies of their books to the East Germans streaming across the border. Romantasy is a logical continuation of that in a world that has grown perhaps even more distressing for many.
The very nature of fantasy as presenting alternative worlds to our own also makes it very attractive to those interested in writing about queer subjects or issues of diversity and representation — at the same time those are under attack in the real world. You can create whatever kind of social order you want in fantasy, including those currently not possible in real life.
So what’s ahead for the fantasy genre? Has it reached its apex — its Mount Doom, if you will?
Likely not. Especially if you check out the latest deals at Publisher’s Marketplace, which is one new romantasy title after another. Given the state of the world, it would be wise to expect an ever expanding universe of imaginary worlds where fictional characters can rise from being powerless nobodies to actually change their worlds for the better.
The real world isn’t going to improve any time soon, so we may as well imagine what alternatives could be like and dream of lives where we all matter. There’s no better genre for this in the present moment than fantasy.
Productive Goblins – The December 2024 Bibliofiles edition
I went on a bit of a Christopher Buehlman binge in December, reading The Daughters’ War and then re-reading The Blacktongue Thief to compare them. Each of them is a brilliant read, as is Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Tainted Cup. I hope you like the books in this edition of the Bibliofiles as much as I did.
Fiction
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
The thief Kinch finds himself sent on a mission by the Takers Guild to accompany Galva, a hardened veteran of the Goblin Wars, to a distant city that has been attacked by giants to… well, he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do there. But he knows better than to cross the Takers Guild, which seems to have its hands in everything behind the scenes.
What follows is a crazed and absolutely fantastic adventure where they make their way across a most hostile land, encountering monstrous goblins, strange magicians, a very cunning kraken, and a very peculiar blind cat. Kinch falls in love with a young witch and tries to redeem his troubled past, but nothing is what it seems in this book.
And the storytelling, oh gods, the storytelling! It’s equally dramatic, horrifying and comic, as Buehlman always hits the right notes to keep the reader reading on. Kinch is one of the best narrators to ever tell a fantasy tale, and this tale is as original as it is inventive on every single page. Every character has a great backstory and wonderful arc, the magic is weird and captivating, the action scenes are unpredictable and real, and you never know where the story will take you next.
The Blacktongue Thief is one of the best fantasy books to ever grace the genre. I can’t wait to read whatever comes next from Buehlman.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55077697
The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buhelman
Goblins. Guts. Glory.
The prequel to Christopher Buehlman’s absolutely magical The Blacktongue Thief, The Daughters’ War is set in the Goblin Wars that form the background of the first Blacktongue book. The Daughters’ War follows the warrior Galva from The Blacktongue Thief through the bloody conflict that nearly ended humanity at the hooked claws of the goblins. It’s a very different book, however, as it falls more into grimdark or even horror fantasy than the fantasy caper of The Blacktongue Thief. Perhaps that’s fitting for a book about humanity’s desperate struggle against a race of hungry goblins that want nothing more than to enslave and eat them.
As different as it is, though, The Daughters’ War is another brilliant read from Buehlman, who has quickly become the envy of every other writer in the field. His invention of the war corvids used to fight the goblins — fierce giant birds created through dark magic — is one of the best additions to the fantasy genre in decades. And this is the best invocation of the horrors of war since Joe Abercrombie’s Heroes. As the army of Galva and her fellow dams — female warriors as the goblins have killed most of the men — move through ravaged cities and witness the devastation of the goblin hordes, the tension grows and grows until the inevitable battle. This is no Tolkien fantasy where a handful of noble hearts prevail against the horde, though. It’s war at its ugliest and most brutal, and sometimes the good guys — or good dams — don’t win. An absolute masterpiece of the genre.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790571-the-daughters-war
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Sherlock Holmes detective stories meet fantasy in this tale of murder, contagion and leviathans. The Sherlock Holmes part is played by the quirky Ana, an intellectual who doesn’t leave her quarters if she can help it and instead lets her assistant Din do all the legwork for her. Din, the narrator, is an engraver, which means he can remember everything he encounters, even if he doesn’t understand it. The two are one of the most memorable pairings in fantasy fiction since Frodo and Sam. Or maybe Frodo and Gollum….
Ana and Din are brought in to solve the mysterious death of a military officer in a mansion where he doesn’t belong, after a plant has erupted from his body and torn him apart. It turns out he is not the only one to suffer such an affliction, and the deaths lead to a breach in a fortification that keeps the strange and deadly leviathans out of the land. Their investigation takes them deep into the intrigues of the empire, and the murder mystery also becomes a political thriller and class critique, with a touch of horror thrown in.
The Tainted Cup is an incredibly layered tale, where every detail is memorable — and every detail matters. It’s one of the smartest and most intriguing fantasy books ever written. I’m looking forward to following all the future adventures of Ana and Din!
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/150247395-the-tainted-cup
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
What happens when Dread Lord Gavrax wakes in his castle/lair/laboratory with no memories of who he is but with an army of goblins at his disposal, an untrustworthy second-in-command, a captured princess in the dungeon, a village full of frightened servants and a group of other dark wizards that want him to take part in a ritual to summon something even worse than them? You get a fun, cozy fantasy that keeps you guessing while never taking itself too seriously.
Dreadful is a perfect read for these troubled times. The only real drawback is you’ll likely finish it too quickly and leave yourself wanting more.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63051209-dreadful
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Are you suffering from burnout or overwhelm? Struggling to be productive in a world where pseudo-productivity seems to be the only thing that matters? (You know, looking busy rather than producing actual meaningful work.) Maybe you need to embrace slow productivity instead.
Newport looks at a handful of historical and contemporary figures to reveal their secrets to getting things done — Jane Austen, Steve Jobs, even Jewel. It all boils down to carving out periods of intense focus by eliminating distractions and other demands on your time. In short, focus on quality rather than quantity.
Of course, this is easier said than done depending on how you are trying to apply this to your life. There are a few strategies suggested here, but overall it’s more of a philosophical approach than it is a how-to guide. Newport presents the big picture of how much focus matters and then leaves it to the reader to determine how to change their lives to create a more focused approach to their projects that matter.
It’s not exactly new material — Newport has covered much of this ground before in his other books, particularly in Deep Work. But if you’re a fan of his work or you’re looking for ways out of the overwhelm cycle, then Slow Productivity should be on your reading list.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/197773418-slow-productivity
peter darbyshire 