Most original fantasy setting you ever bumped into ?

[Thande]

When it was first written, Middle-Earth was pretty original. Now it just reads like some sort of trite, cliched WoW ripoff.

Yea, until you read the books and realize WoW is crap compared the alternate history of the Earth that Middle-Earth is. Most likely the most original thing ever conceived.

Arda is original by comparison to everything that came later of course...but we shouldn't ignore Tolkien's own influences such as Lord Dunsany and (obviously) mythology.

Really I think the idea of "original in fantasy" is a bit flawed considering fantasy is really about taking half-remembered old myths and legends and regurgitating them in a new and intriguing way. Unlike science fiction, fantasy is by its nature always bound up with humanity and its history, which naturally limits your phase space for ideas.

 

[Zyzzyva]

Unlike science fiction, fantasy is by its nature always bound up with humanity and its history, which naturally limits your phase space for ideas.

Science fiction tends to be about people too, and fantasy doesn't have to, unless you qualify nonhuman fantasy as sf by definition...

 

[Susano]

Really I think the idea of "original in fantasy" is a bit flawed considering fantasy is really about taking half-remembered old myths and legends and regurgitating them in a new and intriguing way. Unlike science fiction, fantasy is by its nature always bound up with humanity and its history, which naturally limits your phase space for ideas.

Err... what? No. I would argue the opposite: Sci-fi is (ideally) bound by realism. Science Fiction after all. You could take ANY sci-fi setting and convert it into a fantasy setting, but that doesnt work the other way around.

 

[Archangel Michael]

Science fiction tends to be about people too, and fantasy doesn't have to, unless you qualify nonhuman fantasy as sf by definition...

Science fiction (especially older science fiction) has a tendency not to focus on characters and instead focus on science and plot. Like Childhood's End. The ending fell rather flat for me since I had no major connection to any of humanity since Clarke couldn't characterize his way out of a paper bag.

 

[Susano]

Science fiction (especially older science fiction) has a tendency not to focus on characters and instead focus on science and plot. Like Childhood's End. The ending fell rather flat for me since I had no major connection to any of humanity since Clarke couldn't characterize his way out of a paper bag.

Especially older sci-fi? I dunno. It seems to me that especially in older sci-fi technology mostly runs on handwavium. Or is current tech plus some non-explained FTL, with no further changes.

 

[Zyzzyva]

Science fiction (especially older science fiction) has a tendency not to focus on characters and instead focus on science and plot. Like Childhood's End. The ending fell rather flat for me since I had no major connection to any of humanity since Clarke couldn't characterize his way out of a paper bag.

Well, sure, but that's John Campbell's fault, not a flaw inherent in the genre.

 

[Archangel Michael]

Especially older sci-fi? I dunno. It seems to me that especially in older sci-fi technology mostly runs on handwavium. Or is current tech plus some non-explained FTL, with no further changes.

Well, with Clarke it's science. Clarke loved science. With other authors from the era? They tended to gloss over characterization and focus more on the setting and the plot.

 

[xt828]

With sci-fi there's always the divide between 'hard' scifi and everything else, with the latter ranging from Terminator to Star Wars and Star Trek. I sometimes struggle to see the difference between a lot of scifi and fantasy, other than that one tends to owe a lot to Tolkein, and the other is In Space.

In terms of originality, I have to say that the first time I encountered the Warhammer 40K universe - around the time of the release of the Space Wolf codex for 2nd edition - I was struck by how different in tone it was to any other fantasy or space fantasy. The sheer overwhelming negativity of the setting is remarkable.

For classic fantasy, I recently read the Godless World trilogy, and the setting of barely civilised states was very interesting - the focal nations feel as though they're still in the process of coalescing, which I haven't come across before.

 

[Tarchon]

I've always enjoyed Burroughs' Hollow Earth books. You've got diesel-punk heroes vs. dino-riding cavemen vs. evil pterodactyl people.... what more could you want?

On an unrelated note, I'm currently reading the 'Alexander Romance.' Despite the cheesy name, this is actually an ancient 'fantasy' version of Alexander the Great's life and conquests. It was probably written somewhere between the 3rd century BCE and the 4th century CE, with extensive medieval and Islamic revisions. I just finished the part about Alexander exploring the Land of Perpetual Darkness (where his cook discovered the Waters of Immortality). He also went to the bottom of the ocean in a glass diving bell, and tried to reach the heavens in a chariot carried by giant vultures. Lots of multi-limbed animals and strange, hairy, humanoids as well... good stuff.

 

[Atom]

Well, a lot of older fantasy is much more original "at the time" then stuff that is written today. Not only Tolkien, but Lewis and Dunsany were working with much smaller pools that people could be expected to know about. Today, with the huge outpouring of Fantasy, I think it's much more difficult. Most things you can think of as a fantasy author have already been done in some form, by someone, simply because theres so much!

Beyond that there are a few things that really stand out in my mind. As I said above, Tolkien, Lewis, Dunsany were all fairly original at the time as were a number of other early fantasy authors like Howard. Today I would point to the work of China Mieville, particularly new Crobuzon and the sheer weirdness that spews from that city like an open gutter. The Dark Crystal, a fantasy movie from Jim Henson is also very original, very different from most other fantasy works,, especially due to its' complete lack of humans. There are others I've read/seen, but my memory isn't very good. If I can think of any, I'll tell you guys.

 

[Moglwi]

Mary Gentles Grunts is on of the most radical fantsy world I have ever read

 

[Zyzzyva]

Mary Gentles Grunts is on of the most radical fantsy world I have ever read

It struck me as a fairly generic one that got an (admittedly fairly imaginative) kick in the pants a third of the way in. The fact that the dragon was Assyrian was pretty nice, though. We need more fantasy that doesn't just take English names for its characters.

 

[area11]

Terry Pratchet's Discworld deserves a mention sure it's just the same old cliches but it's done in an amusing and original way.

 

[Paladin]

Rice Boy, by Evan Dahm.
​

http://www.rice-boy.com/

Started out as a short experiment in surrealist comicking and has evolved into a legendarium of massive proportions. Excellent job with world-building, and the art and shear weirdness lend a dream like sense to the whole thing.

 

[Wanderlust]

The works of Jeff Noon. Vurt, Automated Alice, et al. Though the man is chemically-imbalanced, and I'm on the verge of calling that cheating.

 

[Lord Hastur of Carcosa]

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, though it's not really fantasy but science fantasy. I can't list "The mists of Avalon" as it's not so original, but the idea to espand the arthurian mith to its roots is good.
Also the Mabinogion, but it has the same flaw as the Mists.

 

[Snotter's Dad]

What about Zelazney's Lord of Light? The Hindu / Buddhist context gave me the most fascinating headache.

Lewis Carol and Alice in Wonderland? What were the mushrooms he was eating?

Middle Earth is perhaps the most completely realized fantasy world.

 

[Minchandre]

Lewis Carol and Alice in Wonderland? What were the mushrooms he was eating?

Maybe I'm just jaded, but I thought Alice in Wonderland wasn't actually all that trippy, when I finally got around to reading it. A lot of the stuff makes a lot more sense if you're passing familiar with Victoriana.

 

[charl]

Oh that's easy. Planescape. No questions about it. Spelljammer deserves an honourable mention as well.

 

[Moglwi]

It struck me as a fairly generic one that got an (admittedly fairly imaginative) kick in the pants a third of the way in. The fact that the dragon was Assyrian was pretty nice, though. We need more fantasy that doesn't just take English names for its characters.

Thats what made it so good when you start reading it. You are reading a standard fantasy trope only from the evil side and then it takes a huge left turn and then off you go