Every once in a while, I love to pick up an urban fantasy. Quite often, it’s because Jim Butcher, the author of The Dresden Files, is connected to the book. In the case of Heroic Hearts, some of the biggest names in the urban fantasy world have stories in this anthology. There are stories by Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris. But, several of the stories by authors I didn’t know were the ones that appealed to me most. I’m going to be looking for some older series by these authors.

If you’re not familiar with urban fantasy, it’s a subgenre of fantasy in which the action takes place in an urban setting, usually a city between the 19th and 21st century, although stories can take place in a future world as well. Jim Butcher’s introduction provides the dictionary definition of hero, the subject of this anthology, as “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” He sees them a little differently. “They’re the everyday humans who happen to be standing there when something bad happens, and when there is a sudden need for skill, courage, or intelligence. They’re the regular people in irregular circumstances who find themselves considering others first and standing up to do whatever needs to be done.” Of course, in the case of these stories, many of these “regular people” already have some sort of unusual gift or ability.

Take Vedette, a young woman in Anne Bishop’s “The Dark Ship”. Her face was ruined by her father, a tavern owner who wanted to keep her working there instead of marrying. Vedette defies the customs of her home area because she’s an Intuit who senses things about the sea and ships. She saves a pony from a trap, although she knows the cruel captain whose men set the trap might kill her. The dark story tells what happens to Vedette because of her actions.

I cried over Anne Bellett’s “Train to Last Hope”, the story of two mothers searching for their daughter who disappeared ten years earlier. One has never given up on her. One is convinced she’s dead. In “Fire Hazard”, Kevin Heard sends his Druid, Atticus, to Australia to help during the fires. But, it’s Atticus’ Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, who becomes a hero.

It’s R.R. Virdi’s “Grave Gambles” that will send me back to look for his trilogy, the Grave Report. Grave Beginnings, the first one, introduces Vincent Graves, who bounces around from body to body searching for the killer of those murder victims.

I first became a fan of urban fantasy when I read Jim Butcher’s first Dresden File book, Storm Front, over twenty years ago. I’m still convinced many of these stories are good detective stories or crime fiction wrapped up in the supernatural. I just wish I was more familiar with these authors, and had more time to read their books. Heroic Hearts is an excellent introduction if you’re looking to discover authors.

Heroic Hearts, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes. ACE (Berkley), 2022. ISBN 9780593099186 (paperback), 350p.

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