Vindekarr Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Some novelists are able to create a fictional environment so vivid that you almost feel like you're there. But some more are so beautifuly created, with everything fitting together so well, that it feels like it could be happening right now somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannywils Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 The first thing that popped into my head was Shang Ra La; but then I thought of The Shire, and then..... Finally I realized that I have lived in almost every fictional land I have read about while reading about it, and I just don't know if I can choose. I'll have to study on this and get back to you. Great topic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vagrant0 Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 (edited) Some novelists are able to create a fictional environment so vivid that you almost feel like you're there. But some more are so beautifuly created, with everything fitting together so well, that it feels like it could be happening right now somewhere.The problem is that vivid almost always lacks those important bits we take for granted... like hygene, indoor plumbing, medicine, and such. I'll stick with my sucky, boring, monotonous reality thanks. I mean, just think of how many worlds out there don't have toilet paper, let-alone toilets. Star-trek for example, the original series had NO facilities on that whole starship. None (now we understand why Kirk talked that way). TNG had solved this problem, but you apparently need one of the spiffy larger cabins in order to take a squat. The problem of course comes in having facilities which are appropriate for beings of differing physiology (and probably chemical composition)... a minor problem for Star Trek races, but a more severe one in the universe of Star Wars where a good portion of any multi-race starship would probably need to be devoted to latrines of various configurations. Edited September 18, 2010 by Vagrant0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannywils Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Oh, Vagrant0, you just went an burst my bubble.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisnpuppy Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Ignore him Granny. Old fuddy-duddy stick in the mud! *sticks tongue out at Vagrant* :tongue: Well with so many worlds to choose from its a big decision. I would love to be a sorceress, or a mighty Battle-Queen. But the world that captured my heart was from books I read when I was maybe in 5-6th grade the first time. Really they are "sci-fi" not fantasy...but I loved them. Still do in fact. At that age I was going to the hospital a great deal. I was out of school alot and didn't have many friends. These books and this world let me be away from it all...plus I could dream about flying on and talking to dragons. The World? Pern The books? The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey She paints such a beautiful picture of different worlds in ALL her books. I think I have read almost all of them. However the Dragonriders series was the one that always makes me smile. I have my original paperbacks still...I can't believe they don't fall apart with a swirling, gust of wind. The main premise is that certain individuals are able to form a bond...psychic, emotional bond with a dragon when it comes form its shell. They are used to fight "thread" that falls from the sky onto Pern, over huge parts of the world at one threatening to burrow into the ground, burning all it touches save metals. The Dragonriders are passionate, vibrant and natural leaders that Anne makes come alive with personalities that you love and hate. When a certain special character in the books dies..from old age no less..The Masterharper of Pern....I cried til my eyes were swollen...and still do every time I re-read the book.. The dragons have minds of their own also and often have deeply emotional conversations, debates and arguments with their riders. The bond between rider and dragon is so strong they know each others feelings and thoughts...and when one dies the other typically follows in minutes. The thought of flying a dragon through the skies, fighting for my people and always having someone that loves me unconditionally is a heady idea. The thought of never being alone...always having someone to understand you was the perfect place for a sick, young girl to escape. The one oddity? There is absolutely NO RELIGION on Pern. A highly unusual thing for any created world. So I would live in Pern (that does have some facilities and medications...despite being somewhat primitive in some senses) and happily so with my beautiful dragon...flying free through Pern's skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannywils Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Lisnpuppy, My mom loved those books. She read and reread them all over and over. She even read the book by the author's son describing his mom's works. I still have them, and now you have so beautifully described them I shall be delving right into them myself. They sound wonderful. In fact you made me think of a couple of dragon worlds that I also enjoyed. Eragorn was one series, and the Temeraire series by Naomie Novik was another. The whole idea of developing a close sympiotic relationship with such a beautiful and powerful animal is just awesome to me. I could definitely envision living in such a world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balagor Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 To @Vagrant0 Fantasy worlds can exists in realty too. Comming from DK, I live in The Shire. We are fairly ontouched of all evil surrounding us, including bad plumbing. :tongue: :whistling: As for my really fantasy world! :blink: I love the idea of an Elven society, deep in the forrest, with warm nice summers and cold snowy winters.The forrest can provides us with food, by hunting, and shelter by wood. Every body are equal, how ever tribes are ruled by queens. Yes, matriatic society to overrule mens foolish pride.The tribes will never take more from nature than necessary, in order to keep balance.Here is no religion. The balance is the only religion.This land will always provide enough, and seasons will never fail, thus war between tribes are not necessary. This could be taken from Tolkien`s "Lord of The Ring. If it was´nt for The Rings, which symolize power, it would be the same inviroment. But the rings are a power not to be controlled ever, that´s why I left out the Rings, or any symbolic power, that can have many servants, but never serve, in order to make it MY favorite enviroment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vindekarr Posted September 19, 2010 Author Share Posted September 19, 2010 Call me crazy but I have to say WarHammer 40k. It's probably the most horrificaly ghastly place in all science fiction but it's genuinely believable. I love the way the whole world feels plausible without either being boringly conservative or going too far voer the top and ruining itself. It's a very grim universe, set in the year 40,000 AD. It portrays humanity as an ancient, bitter, warlike race, fighting tooth and nail to hold onto it's position as the dominant sentient species, having been at constant total war for so long that it's virtualy forgotten it's past, and it's technology driven, free spirited, religion free empire has, due to 10,000 years of fighting, become a merciless religious autocracy. I've seen some scifi where an excellent world is created but is let down by poor sotrytelling, like Mass Effect. Or where an excellent story takes place in a barebones "only what we need" world, like StarGate. Well in 40K it's the whole universe in all it's violent horror, but also a fairly strong storyline. It's just so well balanced, rather than trying to do one thing perfectly, it's happy to do virtualy everything just well enough, and that philosophy really works. It's entirely a war story, but despite the scifi technology, the stylised artwork, and the savage aliens, it actualy feels a thousand times more believable than say, Star Wars. Characters are the reason why. A lot of the story is told from the perspective of the terran Space Marines. A Space Marine is the ultimate human warrior, an immortal, superhuman being, taken young from the most talented warriors of the galaxy and given the greatest possible technical, idealogical, and genetic augmentation possible to turn them into the ultimate warrior. Physicaly they're vast-2.8 metres(11 feet) tall, clad in two inch thick mechanised armour from head to foot. Strong enough to rip through tank armour with a single armoured hand, able to run at 55 MPH for a full day at a time, and literaly incapable of cowardice. They are however, very human charecters. They are reffered to as being fearless0this isnt true, they've all got their own faults, personal dislikes, and corruptions, and that really makes for a great story. The other main viewpoint is the Imperial Guard. Who are just ordinary human soldiery, thrown seemingly from a time not to far in the future from our own, into a galactic battlefront against virtualy every horror inamignable. It really makes for interesting storytelling, on the one hand invincible armoured titans, on the other, endless rank and file with no augmentation whatsoever. IF I had to pick a favorite fantasy world, it would be this. It's got so much lore that no one person could ever know it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishSpyral Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 D&D's Faerun. Seems pretty decent and heroic / high fantasy. 40k would be too grim, unless I could choose to be someone important probobably wouldn't want to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satanslilhelper Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Terry Pratchetts Discworld for me! I'd never be bored! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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