Helen De Cruz
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Should authors of secondary-world fantasy still write worlds that are heavily inspired by Medieval Europe?
I am thinking of this as it's so over-done, and it is great to use more settings. But is it still OK as a secondary fantasy world in your view?
04:35 PM - Feb 14, 2023
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Eric de Roulet
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In response to Helen De Cruz.
I think it's OK but not attention-grabbing unless it meaningfully innovates on that setting. I'd be most interested in a well-researched piece reflecting the complexities of that time and place, e.g. not by an author who assumes it's ahistorical to feature Black characters/ones from MENA.
08:39 PM - Feb 14, 2023
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Salma Typhii
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In response to Helen De Cruz.
I feel like most of Medieval Europe hasn't actually been used as a setting. Western Europe, sure, but I can't think of many Ottoman, Byzantine, Venetian, Al-Andalus,etc settings
04:44 PM - Feb 14, 2023
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MrChemistry
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In response to Salma Typhii.
Not only varied by space, let’s not forget that the period was incredibly long, a world set in early middle ages would certainly not look the same as one set in the late period. There’s so many different possibilities to explore.
05:20 PM - Feb 14, 2023
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Eric de Roulet
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In response to Salma Typhii.
That's exactly it. Interestingly enough, the old game Age of Empires II did an excellent job of portraying how al-Andalus was so well established that Muslims and Christians lived side-by-side in relative harmony there for generations. Would like to read more fiction writing reflecting this.
08:44 PM - Feb 14, 2023
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