It’s a new year and a new decade, and for our January Roundtable, we’re talking new worlds in a post that celebrates the brilliance and care that goes into worldbuilding, often considered a genre qualifier when it comes to science fiction and fantasy. So we asked our contributors, “What fictional world do you want to live in?”and to give examples of works that do worldbuilding well. Pack your bags, grab your multiversal passport, and let the journey begin!
Erin S. Bales: When I first started thinking about this topic, my thoughts immediately leapt into the future. Why? Look, I love fantasy. I write it, and read it, and love the Dragon Age games like there’s no tomorrow. However, as cool as magic is, most fantasy is set in the Past, usually somewhere in, or in between, “medieval” times and the Victorian/steampunk era. Which often means a lot of dirt, human refuse, and misogyny. No indoor plumbing. A lack of modern medicine. Also — confession time, dear Chicers — I just don’t care that much about magical creatures. I’ve always been more interested in the Ferengi than fairies, more into Trill than trolls. (If Gene Roddenberry’s vision doesn’t do it for you, those are both aliens from the Star Trek Universe.)
So, yeah, my mind went out into space and all of the amazing futuristic worlds I’ve visited. There is, as mentioned above, the Star Trek Universe, James S. A. Corey’s Expanse, Mass Effect’s Milky Way, and the possibility of exploring space and time in a blue box with one’s Doctor of choice. (For the record, my choice is David Tennant, always and forever.)
That said, not being scientifically minded, my chances of applying to and/or getting into Starfleet Academy would be very low, which means I’d probably spend most of my time Earthbound. As much as I love Corey’s world, I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I think traveling through space with only a thin sheet of metal between me and a vacuum triggers a streak of claustrophobia buried deep in my psyche. And while it would be fun to moon over Doctor David, there’s far too much running in the Whoniverse for my liking. Which left me with Mass Effect…
Okay, if I can choose a universe to live in, then I’m also assuming that I get to choose my race/species, too. Being a human in ME wouldn’t be too bad, but why pass up the chance to see the galaxy from a whole different perspective, right?
There are a couple of races/species that are hard passes right from the start: The slowly dying Drell, for one. The wormlike Vorcha, for another. Elcor, Hanar, Keepers, Salarians, Volus, Batarians, and Krogans — all right out. I can’t even wrap my mind around joining the Geth, and the Quarians’ suits (not to mention the constant prejudice they face) makes them fairly unappealing as well. And while the love of my life is a Turian, their militaristic lifestyle isn’t really my jam. So, in the end, I have to go Asari. With their ancient culture, their emphasis on learning and knowledge, their biotic powers (space magic), and their thousand-year lifespans, their homeworld of Thessia, described as the “crown jewel of the galaxy,” “the apex of democracy,” and the “beating heart of galactic love,” is where it’s at. And since Asari/Asari procreation is frowned upon, I’d be free — nay, encouraged — to go out there and have my little Turian tryst. That’s a win-win in my book!
Kelly McCarty: It seems to me that there are a lot of fantasy books with the premise of “Medieval Europe — but this time, dragons are real.” Jacqueline Carey should get credit for creating a fantasy version of Renaissance France that is unique and dramatically different in her novels set in the land of Terre d’Ange. Not only does Carey create fascinating characters and an epic story, she invents an entirely new religion.
Elua, the god of Terre d’Ange, is born from the blood of Jesus and the tears of Mary Magdalene. Rejected by God and imprisoned by the King of Persis, Elua is rescued by eight angels who then become his companions. The three most important are Kushiel, God’s punisher who flogs sinners; Cassiel, who loves Elua but is consumed by guilt for rejecting God, and Naamah, who has sex with strangers to aid Elua. The D’Angelines are the descendants of these angels and they are all extremely physically beautiful.
Elua’s credo is “Love as thou wilt,” and his descendants are quite unlike Christians. They take a very open-minded approach to sexuality. Bisexuality is their norm and sadomasochism is not shocking or shameful. Courtesans, called servants of Naamah, perform a holy service. The Court of the Night-Blooming Flowers contains thirteen houses of courtesans, with each house catering to a specific sexual preference. The Eglantine House is about entertainment, the Mandrake House about dominance, and the Valerian House about submission. Servants of Naamah receive elaborate tattoos that cover their entire backs, called marques.
It is said that Naamah so marked the backs of those lovers who pleased her, scoring her nails against their skin. They bore the traceries of those marks of ecstasy all the days of their lives. We do it in homage, and out of memory (Kushiel’s Dart, p. 585).
The D’Angelines approach to sexuality is psychologically different than ours. I wish that Carey spent more time exploring what a world that treats sex as sacred would be like. One of my complaints about Phèdre’s Trilogy is that we don’t get spend enough time just existing in Terre d’Ange before the action and intrigue starts.
The D’Angelines are a libertine people who prize beauty, but they also value scholarship. Poets are highly revered and Phèdre, the courtesan and spy from the first trilogy, is as intelligent as she is beautiful. The D’Angelines also love a great party. The entire city of Elua goes all out for Longest Night/Midwinter Masque, an elaborate costume party featuring gorgeous fashions. These books are very cinematic and I’d love to see Terre d’Ange brought to life. Hopefully, I will get my wish, as Lionsgate optioned the Kushiel’s Legacy series for the television network Starz.
Kendra Merritt: I have often thought about disappearing into Tamriel, the massive beautiful world of The Elder Scrolls series. I could spend months exploring its cities and its countryside. Oh wait, I already have. I’ve logged hundreds — maybe even thousands — of hours in this fictional but completely immersive and realistic land.
It all started with Oblivion, my very first open world RPG, and it was like coming home to a place I’d never been before. Like a book that I could step into. I could go literally anywhere I wanted, climb every mountain, ford every stream. I could talk to anyone I met, and not only did they talk back, they all had names and lives that they lived within this fantastic realm. Every building was explorable, every town had a story. I could be anything I wanted to be, from a shining hero with magic in my hands to the most heinous of murderers. Or I could just gambol along the road and pick flowers if I wanted to, gosh darnit.
At first, I think it was just the scope and the detail of this world that took my breath away. I grew up with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Mario 64, so expansive games with lots of lore weren’t unfamiliar, but Tamriel was the first that felt real to me. As if I could step into it and instantly know where I was just from the landmarks and the feel of it alone. That feeling has only grown stronger with Skyrim, which most people will admit is just one of the prettiest settings of all time. And Elder Scrolls Online has managed to capture that amazing scope again by allowing you to venture through areas none of the previous games have touched, like Summerset and Greenshade, but also taking you back to Morrowind and Skyrim and Cyrodiil.
These games appeal so strongly to my explorer’s heart, and really that is what’s kept me coming back to them over and over again. It’s that feeling that I can dive off the path and disappear into the woods to discover ruins or little hamlets or shrines. What’s around the next corner or over that far hill? Oo, what’s that shiny thing I can see through the trees? The Elder Scrolls series has managed to capitalize on that thrill of mystery and discovery more than any other game I’ve played so far.
I love Mass Effect for the story. I love Dishonored for the challenge. But I love The Elder Scrolls for its world.
And nothing will ever beat the nostalgia I feel for the way it’s presented in Oblivion. It was my first and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I even picked up the remastered version on PC over the holidays. I think it’s time for a new playthrough.
Kristina Elyse Butke: The world design in the Souls series and Bloodborne (both helmed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and produced by FromSoftware) is so gorgeous that I’d love to live there, even with all those beautiful, nightmarish creatures hellbent on killing everything.
Yes, my tastes run toward the dark and weird.
My favorite setting in Dark Souls is probably Anor Lando. The shot of the expansive sky and the sun stretching out over the land, with shadows created by the towers and turrets and buttresses…it takes my breath away each time.
Miyazaki took inspiration from Milan’s Il Duomo Cathedral and plunked it into an expansive fantasy landscape replete with gargoyle demons, impish batwing creatures, knights and knightesses, giant princesses, deadly duos, and eldritch lords. This combination of environment, architecture, and character design creates a cohesive, memorable setting in an expansive, lovely and twisted world, and is emblematic of all the care put into every aspect of the Souls series’ worldbuilding.
And then there’s Bloodborne, which has echoes of the designs and styles of the Souls series, but is less an expansive medieval-like world and more of an updated setting that blends influences from the 18th and 19th centuries, flitting between dark romanticism and Gothic stylings (and did I mention I’m a sucker for cloaks and tricornes?). According to the fansite Bloodborne Lore, “The game itself takes partial inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft and Bram Stoker, as well as taking some building designs from real-life locations in Romania and the Czech Republic.” The key monsters here are reinterpretations of vampires (Vilebloods), werewolves, and many, many other twisted beasts that definitely borrowed from Cthulhu and company in their character design.
The game’s primary location is the city of Yharnam, and the atmosphere here is stunning. There are phrases I learned in art history class — chiaroscuro and tenebroso, which are styles of art that emphasize the contrast of light and dark — that I think apply to the stylings of this game that make it so memorable. Terrible and gorgeous, don’t you think?
Lane Robins: I’m a character person, so my focus is usually on the characters and not their surroundings. That said, I have three awesome worldbuilding favorites to share.
First, the city of Ankh-Morpork from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Just brilliant. Ankh-Morpork is, at first glance, a standard fantasy city, but over the course of more than a dozen novels, it became a real place in my head and heart — where a city watch is staffed with trolls and golems and werewolves and a king-in-hiding. Where there’s an entire cuisine to be avoided at Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler’s food stall. Where the seamstress’s guild will look at you very oddly if you bring them clothes to be mended. It’s just a living, breathing entity in my head. I love it to pieces and I’m not the only one who feels this way. There are art books and games and entire wikipedias dedicated to this fictional but vibrant city.
Second, Walter Jon Williams’ Drake Majistral series. In these three books (Crown Jewels, Rock of Ages, House of Shards), we’re invited into a mashed-up future culture where an alien species assimilated the human one to hysterical results. It’s the Kardashian insanity before there were Kardashians — a celebrity culture built around the human vices that the aliens won’t allow themselves but are fascinated by. Drake Majistral, for example, is an Allowed Burglar, who steals valuables and gains celebrity points doing so. It’s just so much fun; I would love to visit there.
And of course, Martha Wells’ Raksura series, which gives the reader a truly alien (but oh, so sympathetic) hero in Moon — a shape-shifting orphan who has to navigate complicated social structures to fit in with an entire society he never knew existed. The Raksura books are big fantasy — there’s an alien every other page and the landscape is utterly different from ours. Flying islands abound. Skyscraping trees serve as homes to entire communities. And oh yeah, if you aren’t careful, the Fell will come and eat you alive. It’s complex and utterly alien and utterly convincing.
Merrin: My gut reaction, the first and most immediate answer that comes to mind, is the world of Pern from Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. It wasn’t the first fantastical world I’d ever visited, but it was my favorite for a very, very long time. It was the first world I’d seen that combined fantasy and sci fi elements in a way that I found intriguing.
Also, I mean, who doesn’t want to ride a dragon? Have one psychically bonded to you? Yes, please. And even if I was never deemed important or special enough to be a dragonrider, there’s always the chance that I could find a nest of fire lizard eggs and have my own tiny dragon. I was frequently a lonely and misunderstood child who faced a lot of upheaval as a military dependent, and the idea of having a friend that loved you and literally could and would never leave you was very appealing. The threat of Thread not so much, but you take the good and the bad.
It’s tempting to also say Narnia, since those were definitely a comforting and sometimes challenging place to visit as a child. It’s still not a place I would mind visiting; to have tea with Mr. Tumnus, to walk the halls of Cair Paravel, or to just sit and have a conversation Aslan, who is not safe, but good.
I’m tempted as well to say Middle Earth, but I feel like it’s important to be specific on the time frame of when I’d like to visit, and I can’t pin that down. I want to sit in Bag End with Bilbo and Frodo, to have some tea while we listen to Sam whistle in the garden. I want to celebrate with the free people of Middle Earth in the White City of Gondor after the fall of Sauron. I want to see the world as Galadriel did, when it was new, before Melkor began the waves of destruction.
I guess, in a sense, it’s possible to do all of those if I joined Middle Earth as one of the Ainur, so I guess that could be my final answer. Think how excited Frodo would have been to meet me before he began his quest.
If there’s one thing that J.R.R. Tolkien never skimped on, it was worldbuilding. His plots were rushed in parts and too drawn out in others, but there was no way you could leave the world without an inkling of the deep history behind every single stone, and I want to see all of it. To walk in that world and know it the way Tolkien did.
Final answer: Pern and Middle Earth are a toss up.
As always, our discussions are not complete without you! We welcome your opinions — what fictional world would you like to live in? Do you like to look towards the future or the past when it comes to setting? Whose work did we leave out in our Speculative World Tour? Please comment below and we’ll see you in February for our next Speculative Chic Roundtable!
Tolkien – Middle Earth
Mervyn Peake – Gormenghast
Frank Herbert – Dune
Ursula K. Le Guin – Earthsea
George R.R. Martin – Game of Thrones
Katherine Kurtz – Deryni Chronicles
Brandon Sanderson – Elantris, and too many more.