Urban fantasy: the Hunter's Kiss series

[bibliogramma]

The Iron Hunt, Marjorie Liu

I'm picky about my urban fantasy. First of all, I tend to prefer what I think of as first wave (such as Diana Paxson's Brisingamen, Emma Bull's The War of the Oaks, R. A. MacAvoy's Tea with the Black Dragon) and second wave urban fantasy (Lackey's Diana Tregarde, SERRAted Edge and Bedlam's Bard series, Tanya Huff's Victory Nelson and Keeper series) to the overwhelming flood of BTVS-influenced urban fantasy that I think of as third wave urban fantasy.

The Iron Hunt is squarely within the parameters of third wave urban fantasy, but it is not exactly a typical third wave urban fantasy, and its protagonist, Maxine Kiss, is not exactly a typical third wave urban fantasy heroine.

Yes, there’s the trope of the Chosen One who gains her powers only when the previous Chosen One dies – made more emotionally fraught here by making the role of Chosen One - in this case, the Hunter – hereditary, passed from mother to daughter down through the millenia.

And there is a somewhat overcomplicated and yet at the same time familiar back story about an ancient war between evil powers – in this case, demons – and the forces of good who manage to lock away the evil, at least for a while, and then create guardians to defend humanity against demons whose influence can still extend beyond their confines, in the shape of humans possessed and turned into zombies.

And of course, the seals are weakening and something resembling Armageddon or Ragnarok hovers on the horizon and unexpected allies begin to gather around Maxine, who may be the last Hunter and who is naturally special, different in some way from Hunters who have gone before.

But despite the elements of the formula, there are also some striking new twists and interesting questions that remain unanswered at the end of this, the first volume of a series. It’s enough that I’ll be looking for the next volume.