I was very impressed with the milieu descrbed by Daniel José Older in *Ballad & Dagger*:
It is set in Little Madrigal, a fictional neighbourhood in Brooklyn which is a melting pot of Santería, Jewish and Caribbean pirate culture. The place with its very own rhythm, the people, the food, the MUSIC! – everything is described so vividly that you start googling whether this is a real place and you somehow just hadn’t heard of it.
The book is a young adult mythological urban fantasy, which I didn’t enjoy quite as much as I thought I would (the sequel in particular was both too violent and too romantic for my personal taste) but I very am glad I read it because the setting stuck with me and the unique blend of cultures (which reflect the author’s own heritage) really makes it special.
striximperatrix on
Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey, though there is an erotica element there, FYI.
The Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O’Brian. Historical fiction rather than fantasy, but very absorbing.
The Chanur series, by C.J. Cherryh. Very vivid sci-fi.
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Hugh Howey’s **Wool** – post-apocalyptic
Have you read Dune yet?
I was very impressed with the milieu descrbed by Daniel José Older in *Ballad & Dagger*:
It is set in Little Madrigal, a fictional neighbourhood in Brooklyn which is a melting pot of Santería, Jewish and Caribbean pirate culture. The place with its very own rhythm, the people, the food, the MUSIC! – everything is described so vividly that you start googling whether this is a real place and you somehow just hadn’t heard of it.
The book is a young adult mythological urban fantasy, which I didn’t enjoy quite as much as I thought I would (the sequel in particular was both too violent and too romantic for my personal taste) but I very am glad I read it because the setting stuck with me and the unique blend of cultures (which reflect the author’s own heritage) really makes it special.
Kushiel’s Dart, by Jacqueline Carey, though there is an erotica element there, FYI.
The Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O’Brian. Historical fiction rather than fantasy, but very absorbing.
The Chanur series, by C.J. Cherryh. Very vivid sci-fi.