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 Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:09 am
Hokay, more discussion time! This time, I'm gonna focus on your favorite bits of worldbuilding in published fiction. 3nodding
Personally, I've always been a fan of the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen). The feel of the world (even though Nix himself admitted to mostly making it up as he went along) just sucks you in. The Charter, the necromancer's bells, the river and it's different provinces in Death, and the division between Ancelstierre and the Old Kingdom... it all makes you feel like you're part of a living, breathing world.
Another book that I discovered more recently is Clockwork Heart, by Dru Pagliossotti. It's setting is a steampunk city called Ondinium, and the society is split into several different castes. One of these castes is called the Icarii (singular: Icarus). They use flight suits made of a lighter-than-air metal called Ondium to fly from province to province, delivering messages. Now... a lighter-than-air metal sounds REALLY cool to me, and I think it's a neat addition that makes me wonder what else might be in the world.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:26 pm
Glen Cook's Black Company series and the Garrett books. I love how he implies all these things about the world, and feeds you tidbits about it without the infodump. It helps that in first person you can't really infodump, but it doesn't change the fact that it's wonderfully done. Having read the first three Garrett books recently, I was amazed by how much he was telling the reader without actually telling the reader. The culture and magic system are hinted at without ever being shoved in your face, and it works.
Granted, that's more execution of it all, but that's an important part of worldbuilding--if you don't show the world properly, you lose the magic of the world.
I also love the amount of thought put into the Uplift series. The species are very detailed and the Galactic culture is thought out perfectly--it all makes sense, and the little things, like one species being uplifted for their booming voices, make the world that much more real.
Also, Star Control. While this is a game, there was a lot of thought put into even the minor species, like the Supox and Thraddash. Tons of things are implied and left to the player to figure out, which makes it more real then the massive info dump or complete lack of worldbuilding that is far too common in gaming. Even the species biology--you couldn't even see half of the VUX, and you only knew what the "face" and arms of a Spathi looked like. There was a lot of detail put into the history as well--how the Ur-Quan felt when they were mind-controlled into killing their only friends, the truama the slavery caused them... It was just... wow. [/fangirly, much?]
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:19 am
Although it seems like this topic is dead, it caught my interest.
The only two worlds that I can think of right now are Bleach and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
I'm not sure I could really explain in much detail why I like the Bleach universe. It's things like the use of Spanish for things relating to Hollows. And the details of Arrancars and Visoreds come about. Well, maybe not how they come about, but at least a good definition of what they are, and the similarities between the two.
Avatar I like for its well-incorporated Asian influence. And the Bending. Oh, the bending! The way the Bending movements are adapted from (or at least influenced by, I don't remember) Asian martial arts, and fit with their specific element so well. And how a Bender isn't necessarily all powerful; tie up their arms/legs, and they can't do anything. It's the details like that.
Anyway. Hopefully that made sense to somebody.
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:00 am
Well, I'm a bit surprised no one mentioned Tolkien. The guy was and still is the source of inspiration for many of us (at least for me sweatdrop ).
Apart from that, I haven't read/watched much stuff recently, so I don't know a lot of authors... But I agree about Avatar being good (the one with the bending, of course, not that blueish-pocahontas-thingy).
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