What is the single best fantasy/sci- fi world out there?
Man that is a hard question and it really gets to what should be in a "created" world. I mean there are the worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars which are so vast and well characterized. Obvioulsy, many people feel at home in these worlds, so much that they spend a large part of their lives there(which might seem a little odd, but hey, to each his own - I've spent a great deal of time in both myself).
Both Trek and Wars though, while they grew out of the vision of a single guy (Roddenberry and Lucas respectively) have since had others add to the milieu so to speak.
I am thinking about one world, completely envisioned by a single guy and then developed so well that we feel it is real. Of course, many of us would say the master would be Tolkien. As the images above show, however, I think Dune would almost qualify as just such a world. What a great place Frank Herbet gave us with those books.
What makes these uniquie? Is it merely the detail? I don't think so. I think those can be found in other, less well-loved worlds. I think it is the consistency of having the one voice. One guy thought of the races, the languages, the places. One guy wrote the books that introduced us (another great one is Redwall by Brian Jacques). We could all come up with a whole list of these worlds. RObert Jordans, Terry Brookes, Stephen King's Dark Tower, etc. etc. etc.
We wander in those worlds and find ourselves entranced as much with the storyteller as the setting and thus it all combines to form a place we want to visit again and again.
Don't get me wrong...Star Trek and Star Wars have great appeal, but even then, we fans seem to gravitate to a particular "voice" in that world. For example, I like Peter David's Star Trek voice and I love Timothy Zahn's vision of Star Wars.
So what's the morale? Hell if I know, but I think I have discovered something about fantasy worlds. The detail is only part of the draw. The thing that will keep people coming back is the passion the writer has for the world and its inhabitants. So I guess I would just offer that as a caution to us sci-fi/fantasy writers. Any of use can generate a detailed list describing a "new world", but if its not immersive enough that you want to live there, then chances are no one else will even want to visit.
Adios,
JG
Ah the fantasy/ Sci-fi worlds. It is easily one of the most important aspects of a novel and many times can make or break a novel. I also happen to be a big fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek. Bu the thing that sets them apart for me is the consistancy of the novels in the world. Basically in Star Wars whether it is a video game, comic, short story, or novel, it is considered to have happened in the world. Where in Star Trek the novels are not considered to happen in the movies or TV shows which lacks consitency. I agree with Joel that it seems the better or more consistent thought out and detailed worlds are ones that only have one author working on them. I also agree that Tolkien and Herbert gave us probably two of the most imaginative worlds that will ever be created. It seems that many writers today try and put more emphasis on the characters and not the world. Is there a happy medium. Terry Brooks and the world of Shannara seems to have found this but since he started writing his books in the seventies does he count as a modern author? There are many great authors out there who have given us great characters and worlds and there are just as many characters and worlds that need to be discovered.
Posted by: David | July 03, 2004 at 06:54 PM