When Worlds Become Characters
Part of the magic of SFF, aka speculative fiction, is world building, a part of the genre that I really love. And in some cases I believe the world itself can be so vividly realized that it becomes a “character” in its own right.
This is certainly true of both China Mieville’s overlapping cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma in The City & The City and Catherynne M Valente’s Palimpsest.
Recently, too, I talked about the SciFi world of Dune, which definitely infuses the story at every level, rather than simply being a backdrop to it.
Ursula Le Guin’s Winter (in The Left Hand of Darkness), and PC Hodgell’s thieves’ city of Tai-tastigon are all examples of worlds that aspire to the status of character in their own right.
I know there is a raft more out there — so how about you tell me your favourite. (Go on, I dare you!) 😉