First, I want to clarify what I mean by world building. I mean a new world created from scratch (fantasy or SF) OR a post-apocalyptic world in which significant changes have occurred.
I have a list of Captivating or Spellbinding Stories that will be on another list, which will be focused on tales of a world like ours with small changes.
So, having said that; as usual, this is my opinion only and I do not speak for everyone.
Secondly, I have decided to skip some of the "obvious" ones or authors whom I have just mentioned recently so as to have a more interesting post.
Tolkien: Obviously a G.O.A.T. of world building and thus not being discussed here
Lackey: Valdemar is a great universe, but I have just talked about it recently; so skipping for now
McCaffrey: Pern is an excellent example of world building, but again, have just talked about her & this world so skipping for now.
Herbert: Dune is everywhere right now, so out of pure perversity (because why do what everyone does?), I am skipping it for now.
Elfquest isn't a world familiar to everyone, but it was huge when I was younger and significantly impacted me and made me think about fantasy worlds and comics in a whole new way. You can still find these books, but they are more difficult due to their age (they were started in the 1980's). Essentially, Wendy & Richard Pini have created a world in which an elvish race landed on an earth in the early caveman days; and this changed history for both. Elves became divided by the initial massacre as well as the continued violence; and humans....well humans are pretty much horrible for the entirety of the series. One of the things these stories did for me as a child; and still worked when re-reading for this blog is that it was the first time I had seen humanity as evil and bad.....school and general pop culture always made history (the stuff they talked about at that time) seem like humans were the best; even words like "humanity" MEAN to be caring of another and put them first. So, seeing a story where prejudice and fear create divisions and hatred was eye-opening for me. Speculative fiction has always been a great way to explore topics, and stories like this opened a door to think about how evil some humans can be to others, especially those who are different.
Now at first glance, you may think I am breaking my own rule about "other worlds" with this series; but once you get past the first book you really start to see the multiverse that Willingham has created. In Fables, you have storybook & fabled characters hiding in plain sight in NYC, but when Snow White's sister, Rose Red, is murdered only the Sheriff Bigby Wolf (Big Bad Wolf) can help figure out what happened.
In this series, we have people on the run from "The Adversary" who eats entire universes in their quest to make everything orderly and efficient....unruly stories and magical creatures have to keep running; until they end up on our world....the last place to run. Of course readers get to check out a multitude of universes, as well as "The Adversary"; and Willingham even did some spinoff series' (My fav is Jack of the Fables); but the world building of making realities out of core fairy tales is amazing; and the chutzpah to tie freedom of expression to imagination and oppression to uniformity is why Willingham's books have done so well and won him so many awards. You should look for them and read them, they are pretty incredible.
No one has ever, or will ever, build a universe as immense and imaginative and as funny as Pratchett's Discworld series. He was one of a kind and is missed. However, if you haven't read any of these books, this one is a good place to start (there are 41 books in the universe all together, including the Tiffany Aching books). While it is technically #4, it is a good starting point as everyone knows who Death is, or thinks they do. So, a story about Death, and his life, his universe, his restlessness and reality (or unreality) works even without the knowledge of the rest of Discworld, though you are quickly introduced. Discworld, is the story of a flat world balanced on the back of 4 elephants, on the back of a giant tortoise; and all of its denizens who have magic and adventures and will make you laugh and cry. This is a VERY British universe, so if you aren't familiar with that style of talking/writing, you may need to google a few things; but it is SO worth it.
Sagara's "Cast In" series is set on a world where a variety of species of creatures live, as well as humans. It seems to be a dumping ground of sorts, as no one knows (until later in the series) how all of these diverse populations ended up on this world all together; but here they all are.
The series focuses on Kaylin, a human orphan who has been on her own since age 5 and who is now an official member of The Hawks (a division of law enforcement). She has unusual abilities related to strange tattoos she has and learning more about them is also a significant part of her journey; but mainly it is about solving a crime and about discovering her own prejudices and trying to make the world better. Kaylin is a sucker for any kid in trouble, and it is a great way for her to get past her own fears sometimes because she will jump into any fight to save a child. Sagara builds characters who are believable and flawed as well as a variety of species with their own languages and customs and magics. This is not a series that is on the top of everyone's lists but I think it should be.
.jpg)
Grant's Newsflesh series, at first glance, appears to be a simple zombie story. However, it is an exploration of a world where a virus has infected and affected all of the Earth, disrupting and changing every part of humanity, culture and the world. This post-apocalypse story uses science and politics and a study of the evil we do in the name of "good"; while also expertly explaining how we got here and all the ways things are different. Yes, there are a lot of similarities to our world but the things they find normal (blood tests upon entering any establishment or vehicle, limits on human interactions, changes to diet for all creatures, environmental effects and more) make this world, to me, changed enough to count as world building. In Feed, Grant explores both the political system, the news and the humanity of living in a world where zombies are just something you live with. I can't say too much or it will ruin it; but you start with meeting some bloggers who are picked to follow a hot presidential candidate on his campaign and who find out there are nefarious things afoot that they need to explore and tell the world about.....if they survive to tell it.
Shannara is technically a post-apocalyptic story, as the magic and many races happen after a nuclear disaster. The first book has a lot of Tolkien influences but as Brooks gets going, you really see how he has built his own universe and how he ties it back to the disasters that formed it. The first book actually got a short-lived series on Mtv (no idea where it is now); and getting into Brooks' writing style can be challenging, as he is old school fantasy with lots of words and explorations of magic adventures. However, listening to it again for the purposes of this blog, it still holds up as a story and as a universe.
There are a huge number of books in the series, and they are very dense....but Brooks builds a universe that he can go back and forth in time with; building up a character, then going backwards to show a different time line, then jumping forward several generations and seeing what is happening there. I actually love the way he jumps around as it keeps you focused on the worlds and the characters are interesting stories within those worlds. Worth a look into, if you want to explore some different fantasy worlds.
Notaro is a relatively new author, largely self published through Amazon & Kindle Unlimited. This first story came out in 2022, and is another post-apocalyptic story. In this one, there are shifters and magi and humans....and then there are monsters from other dimensions who keep breaking through to our world. In this world the United States is split into two countries, with a giant wall separating them as well as a major philosophical difference; in one all are equal and in the other, humans are first, shifters are tolerated (but tagged so one can keep track of them) and magi are loathed, and have no rights to anything (cannot own anything, humans can force them to do anything) ...but Magi aren't eliminated because they are the only thing that can repair the rips that the monsters open when they come into our universe and the shifters are the only ones who can kill them.
This is, as you can tell, a dark series....full of terrible things, but Notaro also builds hope and shows us love and found family in spite of the horrific world they live in. The first story starts with Madeo and Jude who are magically tied together since infancy. Both have suffered terribly as mages but are working to make their lives as good as they can be. When Madeo is assigned a new team of shifters, the alpha lion, Cosmo really likes him but is pretty clueless on his privileges or of Madeo's feelings. In the series, they work on their team and find their own relationship. This series isn't for everyone as it is pretty dark, and has a M/M romance as well; however, it is different and I think it works for this topic.
Roanhorse's Sixth World series is a post-apocalyptic series set in a world where flooding and other natural disasters have destroyed life as we know it; and some of the only societies/safe spaces left...are former Indian Reservations. In this world where magic works and gods can come talk to humans, there is still a Mad Max feel to things as far as living conditions. Maggie is Dine, and is a monster hunter with abilities of her own. When she uncovers a monster that is more terrifying than she can imagine, she will stop at nothing to save humanity from its evil.
Roanhorse is an Indigenous writer as are her characters. Her world building for this series is impressive, with just enough of "normalcy" that you almost miss the horrors, until they smack you in the face. This is an adventure series with fantasy elements; so it's a non-stop ride while you are reading as fast as you can....and then you read it again in case you missed anything (or maybe that's just me?) Definitely don't miss this series or anything this author writes.
This is a really old series, but it's one of my favorites. Set on an alien world where children are sold instead of fostered, Flinx is purchased by an old woman who just wants him to have a decent life (she is a cranky but lovable sort of woman of about 90). Flinx is not normal with abilities that have been genetically manipulated and he is sought out by both the government (to contain the monstrosity) and the scientists who created him (to be whatever they wanted him to be). This series explores a variety of alien worlds, and yet is full of what it means to be a decent human as Flinx works to figure out who he is and to protect those he loves from terrible people. Might be difficult to find, but worth the work.
Last but not least is this series, which only has one full novel but several novellas in addition to the novel (the novellas came out first so I would suggest reading them in that order).
Clark builds an alternative world, one in which Egypt resisted colonization because of its magic and Djinn; but the story is still set in the early part of the 20th century with a world war on the horizon.
Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantment and Supernatural Entities. No one says anything about Fatma liking to wear English men's suits, but only because she is very, very good at what she does. Clark builds a steampunk style world but with a non-European flow and focus which was rightfully nominated for many awards. At its heart, Master of Djinn is a mystery but it is also a magical exploration of "what if"; what if sexuality weren't a big deal, what if colonization didn't ruin everything, what if magic could corrupt absolutely? I cannot wait to read more in this series and highly recommend this book and the novellas set in the same universe.
Thanks for reading, feel free to contact me or leave a comment
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment