Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.
This week’s prompt is:
What fantasy world(s) would you want to live in? Why?
So here’s the thing with Fantasy worlds. Yes, there’s magic, there’s wonder, there may be talking animals–and creatures that we can only imagine. Heroes of renown, bards of a skill that we don’t often see in our performers today singing songs of mighty deeds, epic love, bands of adventurers saving the world from certain doom.
They do this in worlds with very little of our modern comforts. Homes with little room, stoves providing the heating as well as the cooking surfaces. No refrigeration, no Air Conditioning. A lot of manual labor to for everything–to put food on the table, to keep the stove going, to go anywhere.
Plus, there’s pretty much danger everywhere. Mad wizards, out-of-control monsters, plagues, droughts, rebellions, coups, invasions…
I think most honestly, I’d have to say none at all to this question. Why? I’m a soft citizen of the late 20th/early 21st Centuries. I need electricity, movable type, modern medicine (antibiotics, vaccines, painkillers that don’t involve amulets, and so on), and, most of all, indoor plumbing.
Maybe some Urban Fantasy worlds would work, as they’re essentially ours, just with a little extra flavor. The Iron Druid/Ink& Sigil series keeps the magical mayhem pretty well contained. Unlike just about every other one that I can think of.
I mean, even the coziest dreams of Durst, Baldree, or Diamanti involve danger, curses, and pre-Industrial Revolution living. I’m just not up for that.
It was fun to think about for a moment, but I’m just too wimpy to do anything but read about these worlds. I’m looking forward to reading what some more adventurous people have to say in response to this prompt.
Briana
Yes, I always feel I at least have to add the caveat I want to live probably NOT during the time period the book is taking place in, where there’s someone trying to take over the world and all that!
HCNewton
Good disclaimer, for sure.
cyberpunkgir1
Most Urban fantasy worlds should have modern technology.
HCNewton
But most of them also have major supernatural bad things happening on major scales–see Dresden Files, Mercy Thompson/Alpha and Omega, The Hollows, Kitty Norville, etc.
I guess mortals get off pretty well in the Toby Daye books, come to think of it. That would be okay (but kind of pointless to live in as I wouldn’t know…)
L A Young
I’ll repeat it here:
It’s strange when you read these stories the worlds appear very appealing…, then you keep reading and the “reality within the fiction” emerges and you have to think twice about whether or not you really, really want to live THERE.
HCNewton
Exactly!