Borderland (novel series)
Borderland is a series of urban fantasy books and stories for teens written by Terri Windling. Most stories take place in Bordertown, a dystopian city on the edge between the Elflands (a magical realm of post-Tolkien elves) and The World. The series includes five anthologies and three novels and has inspired fan groups, gaming groups, and costume events like the Borderzone parties in Los Angeles.
Bordertown is part of a shared universe. The Elflands have returned to the World, and the areas known as the Borderlands lie between Bordertown and the World, where magic and technology don’t work in predictable ways and strange mash-ups can happen. The exact location isn’t fixed, but Bordertown often feels like it’s in North America. It even has a SoHo district, similar to New York’s, that is largely depopulated and used by youths from both the World and the Elflands. In these settings, urban fantasy blends with a post-apocalyptic mood.
The Borderlands books focus mainly on disenfranchised youth culture in Bordertown, exploring themes like gang violence, race relations, miscegenation, makeshift social groups, class tensions, and generational clashes. Music from the 1980s influences the tone. A reviewer described Borderland as a fresh, unusual fantasy setting that’s great for role-playing games or discovering a new world.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:13 (CET).