Canonical Books

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I was so inspired by a post on Drunk Writer Talk (that was itself inspired by a episode of the DBSA podcast - a podcast about romance books that I hadn't heard of but absolutely need to listen to), that my "short" comment turned into an entry-length post.

So: canonical books - what books/authors really seem to define some of my favourite genres (in my decidly personal opinion)? Like the podcast and the post before me, I divided them into "old" and "new" canon. Here goes. . .


Urban Fantasy – Old Canon –  Emma Bull's War for the Oaks - one of the first books to be called "urban fantasy", and one of the first to really blend our world (Minneapolis, in this case) and the supernatural world (faeries)
New Canon - Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series. . . or at least the first 8 or so books. Maybe it's not so "new", but it has the characteristics of what I still consider to be urban fantasy today: a host of supernatural races who are involved in our world (whether or not our world knows it), a kick-ass female protagonist with a special power of some sort, and plenty of romantic parts. Plus, it's written in the first-person.

Paranormal YA – Old Canon – LJ Smith (Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, Night World, Dark Visions). It may have seemed that she was a later entry onto the scene because her books were re-released, but they were what I grew up on in the 90's. Strong heroines, lovestories with soulmates, supernatural creatures, and interesting powers. Butthese were also quite short and relatively “clean” in pretty much every way.
New Canon – Holly Black's Modern FaerieTale series. One of the first supernatural YA series that really pushed the envelope on what YA could do. Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series (also faeries) had a similar tone. Neither shied away from a gritty atmosphere and language, sex, and topics like drinking and addiction.


Dystopian – Old Canon – Brave New World.1984. Fahrenheit 451. Need I say more?

New Canon – Er. . . YA. Yep, I'd say the new canon in dystopian has swung pretty much entirely into YA. Canon books? The Hunger Games and Uglies. Maybe I could say Cormac MacCarthy's The Road in here for the adult side, but I just don't feel it really represents what's happening in dystopian fiction today.

What books do you consider "canon" - new or old - in these genres, or your own?