This being a YA Fantasy blog, it’s no surprise that we’ve
discussed what elements make a great fantasy world and how to craft our own fantasy world. Today, we get to explore some of my
favorite speculative worlds—in no particular order.
3. Chiveis from Chiveis Triology by Bryan M. Litfin
“Four hundred years in the future a deadly virus and
colossal nuclear war have destroyed the modern world. Surviving societies have
returned to a chivalrous age of swords and horses.”
It’s a post-apocalyptic future combined with a medieval
fantasy. Throughout the book, we see signs of a past civilization—our
civilization. I love the culture and the geography. The author very creatively
invents a false religion, lead by a priestess. The story is about the
re-discovery of Christianity. In later books in the series, we get to see other
parts of the world that are just as exotic and refreshing as Chiveis.
2. The World from the
Out of Time series by Nadine Brandes
Welcome to earth in the future, where clocks given by the
government accurately count down the days you have left to live.
As Parvin, the main character, travels across the world, we
get to sample a variety of different cultures. We see Albino people with pale
skin, white hair, and purple eyes. They live strictly by the eye-for-an-eye and
tooth-for-a-tooth rule… when it comes to plants. If you snap a tree limb off,
the penalty is you get your limb snapped off.
Then there’s Ivanhoe, with its domed city, advanced
technology, and tightrope transportation. The author’s writing is vivid, so you
get to experience everything alongside the characters.
1. The Safe Lands from
the Safe Lands series by Jill Williamson
This is yet another future-earth, dystopian world. The Safe
Lands is a walled city made to protect people since the plague destroyed the
world’s population generations ago, though nearly everyone living there is
infected with the plague. They use special paints to hide their flaking skin,
and the majority of the people there live for pleasure to distract themselves
from the fact that they’re dying. The main story is about people from the Safe
Lands kidnapping outsiders, so they can have uninfected babies. The mothers of
these babies are idolized and given everything they could want, except for
their freedom.
While I definitely wouldn’t want to live in these worlds of false
religions, death clocks, and plagues, I found they were intriguing and really
enhanced the story experience.
What are some detailed story worlds you’ve read about? What
are your favorite speculative worlds?
Thank you for reading!
These sound like neat worlds! I can tell you like dystopian. ;) In addition to Middle Earth and Pyrrhia, which are in my "What Makes a Great Fantasy World?" post, I love the world of Pern from Anne McCafferey's Dragonflight and sequels, Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls series of games, the Koprulu Sector from Starcraft, and the land that hosts all of Gail Carson Levine's books.
ReplyDeleteI do love dystopian ;) I've never hear of those other books before. I'll make note of them, so I can read them if (Lol! That's a big if ;) I'd imagine you can relate) I have extra time.
DeleteGreat post, Liz! Dystopian is such an interesting genre because it's cool to see how authors come up with so many different possibilities for future societies. I really liked the world in Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern (I know, I bring up that series all the time but it's just so good!) and I'm with Hannah on Gail Carson Levine's books :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! And I think that definitely adds a layer of intrigue to dystopian worlds, since they all supposedly are based off of the same past. Wow, I'll have to check out Gail Carson Levine :) Thanks for the comment!
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