Encountering Fantastic Worlds, Part 2 continued
Yesterday I began looking at some of my favourite worlds in adult fantasy fiction, here—a post that followed on from last week’s look at fantastic worlds in Kids/YA fantasy lit, here.
But the trouble was, even by adding lots of refining criteria as explained yesterday, I found it impossible to narrow my list to just three or four worlds. Although perhaps that isn’t a trouble at all, as it means I get to do another post—in fact, maybe it’s the stuff of celebration! π ‘Anyways’, I am doing another post, and including a few honourable mentions as well!
So yesterday I looked at Middle Earth (how not?), The City & The City’s Beszel and Ul Qoma, and the historical, magic-realist New York of Winter’s Tale. And here, still in alphabetical order by world name, is what I have for you today:
P is for Palimpsest, from Catherynne M Valente’s novel of the same name
I said at the conclusion of yesterday’s post that I’d noticed that two of the three favourite worlds listed were cities—and promised more. That more is Palimpsest—and like Mieville’s Beszel and Ul Qoma there is a sense in which it overlaps with our world. There are definitely portals between the two, but they can only crossed by contracting what is effectively a sexually transmitted disease and then having intercourse with another individual who is similarly cursed—or blessed. (But never, if I recall correctly, the same person twice.)
Palimpsest, as I have mentioned, is a city: of mechanical insects and hieratical streets; of houses that may be sentient and trains that may be alive; of legends and lovers; of an ongoing war and the wounded who have been cured—or cursed—with the heads of beasts. It is a chaotic, sensual, bestial, cruel, and beautiful world—one of the most original I have encountered in fantasy and with a compelling sense of place. Like the passage those who would emigrate there must take, however, Palimpsest, may not be for everybody. But if you do make the journey, stick with it: the world, I believe, is well worth the effort.
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R is for the Rain Wild River in Robin Hobb’s Liveship Trilogy—and now the Rain Wild Chronicles
Robin Hobb’s Rain Wild river is another of those worlds that seized my imagination from the first moment I encountered it. Imagine a vast, navigable river through a world of dense rainforest—where the water is so corrosive that it will eat through any vessel except the famous Liveships, those made from the wizardwood that has its secret source in the Rain Wild environment. The ground adjoining the river is corrosive, too, eating away at pilings and building foundations so that the Rain Wilders live in Trehaug, a city built in the trees.
The Rain Wild world is one of trade and trading families—but there is also aΒ price to be paid for the vast wealth generated by the Rain Wild river: all those who live there mutate, so that many infants are born deformed and those who survive develop scales and protuberant growths on their skin. For this reason most Rain Wild traders wear veils when outside their own society, even when dealing with non-Rain Wild, trader kin.
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T is for The Tree in Mary Victoria’s Chronicles of the Tree trilogy
Robin Hobb’s Rain Wilds feature a treehouse city in a deadly rainforest—but imagine a world that is all tree, a Tree as vast as the Himalaya mountain ranges where the sub canopies are the equivalent of continents. This is the world of Mary Victoria’s Tree, where cities are built from bark on the vast branches, and dirigibles powered by tree ether navigate the leaf thickets between sub-canopies, or risk crossing the empty Gap. The religions of the Tree’s various cultures revere the life-giving properties of the Sap and the metaphysical Tree of Being is an important spiritual concept. And there really are no other Trees, just the sub-canopies of the one World Tree—and although there may be Loam and Roots beneath these canopies, all that is known is the seething, cloud-filled void known as the Storm.
I believe there are few worlds in adult fantasy as carefully realised as this one, where every aspect of life and society is a physical, technological, or metaphysical derivative of The Tree.
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So there you are—six fabulous worlds of adult fantasy, both older and new, but also, I hope, with a few inclusions that are outside the usual square. But it was a hard task getting the list down to six, so here, without further ado, are my own personal honourable mentions:
The Honourable Mentions:
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E is for Europa — the alternate 19th century Europe of Phil and Kaja Foglio’s steampunk, graphic novel series, Girl Genius Online: Adventure–Romance–Mad Science; aka Sparks, Clanks and Jager-monsters—I just love it!
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K is for Kelewan — the world of the Tsurani Empire in Raymond E Feist and Junny Wurts Daughter of the Empire trilogy—an elaborately structured, medieval Korean-style world of politics and intrigue. And of those of you who read my Heroines series know, I think Mara of the Acoma rocks.
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M is for the many worlds of Steven Erikson’s Malazan series—Genabackis, Darujhistan, the Seven Kingdoms, the Tiste Edur Lands—to name just a few. And then there’s all the alternate ‘realms’, such as the Azath …
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N is for Neverwhere, the alternate London, or world below London, of Neil Gaiman’s tale of the same name. A longstanding favourite of mine and for inventiveness and style leaves most urban fantasy imaginings for dead (just inho, she adds hastily!)
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S is for Sky and Shadow, the magically elevated city of NK Jemison’s Inheritance trilogy. I know, I know, another city—but it really is very cool and cleverly imagined.
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W is for Westeros in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I al-most wasn’t going to include Westeros at all, simply because I already had Middle Earth for the medieval European, pre-industrial worlds, with the Malazan worlds as an alternate take on that theme. But then another genre-loving buddy said: ‘you-just-can’t-not-have-Westeros!” And I thought–you’re right, I can’t. Besides, there’s that fabulous wall of ice (and as you know, I love Walls! π ) … and moreover, Winter is coming!
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And that’s it—for this week. But I will be back next week with the final instalment of my “Encountering Fantastic Worlds” series, when I delve into the multi ‘verses of SciFi—another enduring love.
*Big grin*
What do you think of Susanna Clarke’s regency world with its Faerie influence? Her writing bugs some people but I was quite fascinated by the stilted, mannered society and those magicians you just want to take by the shoulders and shake. The fae, with all their power, behave like spoiled children… not likeable, but intricate and interesting.
Mary, the Tree definitely deserves its place here! But unfortunately I am one of those folk who is not a Jonthan Strange & Mr Norrell fan. And although I was taken with her world initially, it didn’t really add enough to what a reader may encounter in any genuine nineteenth century novel to enthuse me as an exercise in world building. That is the difference, I feel, with Mark Helprin’s “Winter’s Tale”—his backdrop is genuine historical New York, but he then layers in ‘otherness’ that for me, makes it a great urban fantasy world.
Ah, I can see why. It’s a frustrating universe (SC’s.) One wants more. Mostly, one wants characters one can empathise with!
I wondered over on my blog what you thought of the Harry Potter universe. Again, those are books that didn’t pull me in as they have pulled so many others, but I do think JK created the most wonderfully evocative world based on a spin off of 1940’s boarding school tales. Plus magic!
Suffice it to say that I felt greatly exercised when I finished reading Strange & Norrell—and yes, I did read it all, from go to whoa! But I am going to leave it at that!:)
I have replied on your blog—but yes, totally agree with Harry Potter as a fabulous exercise in world building and one that should have gotten a mention. A sad case of missing the obvious! Philip Pullman’s Compass world is another that should probably be there—both in the Kids/YA post tho’
These are all interesting worlds all right – (OK, I have not read the Jemmisen books yet), but what about your own world Haarth.
The bits of it that I have read about (The Wall, Jaransor etc) are elemental, stark and at times brutal. Is this true for the rest of Haarth?
Darryl, I discussed Haarth a little, here, and again last week when I quoted from my recent Library talk and particularly focused on the Gate of Dreams, which is a psychic/metaphysical/magical aspect of the world, or worlds … And I think it probably is fair to describe the Wall and Jaransor as “elemental, stark, and … (even) … brutal” but I shall have to think more on my reply, if only becasue I don’t want to give away too much about the parts of the world readers will encounter in The Gathering of the Lost.
Hi Helen, from the other side of this fabulous world. As mentioned briefly on Mary’s blog, it looks to me like you’re doing a further update and expansion of Alberto Manguel’s classic, here (to read the first few pages: http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Imaginary-Places-Updated-Expanded/dp/0156008726 and to read Alberto’s web page link about it: http://www.alberto.manguel.com/) Perhaps there should be a Wikiversion of this encyclopedic collection to which people can contribute, as you have done? Because imaginary places are not about to diminish; there seem to be more of them all the time. I wonder how the message could reach Harcourt?
B. Mainly I’m just having fun and indulging my love of the genre! π Manguel’s site does look interesting tho’ and a Wiki would be a great idea if someone were prepared to moderate it. But I think you’re right: imaginary places aren’t going away. As Ursula le Guin would say, they’re all just there in the air, waiting for us to make manifest—not unlike Daniel Abraham’s andat, which is a slightly less happy analogy for creative manifestation! I prefer the image of Athena, springing from the Mind of Zeus, or Prometheues bringing fire from heaven (before the whole eagle & tearing-out-the-liver scenario.)
Hi Helen,
I personally really love Tamora Pierce’s land ‘Tortall’ and also Mercedes Lackey ‘Valedmar’ It is like going home everytime I re read one of their books.Those two worlds are brilliant for world building.
Also I liked the Neverending Story by Michael Ende. That was a great world because it kept changing all the time. That book shaped a lot of my views on life now.
Tarran–I’m reading a Tortall novel right now: Tamora Pierce’s “Lady Knight”!:) I’m not so familiar with Valdemar although I have read the first trilogy quartet that starts with ‘Arrows of the Queen’—I think I came to it just a little too late age-wise, ao although I enjoyed the books they didn’t gel quite as much as they might have done a few years’ earlier. The Neverending Story, of course, is quite simply a classic.
Ahh that series is good. I have them all – just a touch addicted! I find when I read them I have to read them all in order and one after the other other, which gets a bit hard when there is over 18 of them lol. The latest Valdemar books have had bad reviews ( well not bad, just people think its the same story re hashed over etc..) I quite enjoyed them, but I can see where they aren’t for everyone.
I’m glad I can dip in and out of the Tortall world without reading all the different series. π I’ve been enjoying the new Beka Cooper series as those books come out, as well as rereading the older stories from time to time.
Haha I know, I’m a little strange that way.
I just finished the last book in the Beka Cooper series and it was good! Had a twist at the end and I had a tear in my eye…
This was a great post π
Is that ‘Mastiff’—I haven’t read it yet so don’t tell me any more! I shall just have to go out and find myself a copy very soon! (After the proof and having whittled down the TBR pile just a little!)