A few years ago, over the holidays, I stayed at a hotel on a scenic bend in the Riverwalk in San Antonio. It had been build in little over 200 days. How? Concrete cast room units, already decorated, were stacked in place. The rooms were still very nice, just identical. The prefab structure even had little wrought iron demi-balconies that evidently only the pigeons could access as evidence by the multiple layers of white bird excrement.

Sometimes, science fiction/fantasy authors would like the same kind of pre-fab world–an intriguing, complex landscape already laid out for them. Simple plug in characters and start the action. On the other hand, if that has  occurred, the reader must somehow be familiar with this particular world. People picking up this fantasy must have encountered it before, and obviously not everyone has read the same canon of literature. Lack of common knowledge among readers is especially true of fantasy. Each society has developed it’s own mythological backdrop, which often becomes the basis of fantastical literature.

Part of this trend to have an established fantasy world is based on public demand for works such as. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. He wrote this second venture into Middle Earth at his publisher’s insistence because his prior novel The Hobbit became unexpectedly popular. He based much of his made-up world on mythology–Germanic, Norse and Finnish. But, that did not mean that he got away without completing the tedious process of world building. This meant constructing the physical characteristics, flaws, and temperament of the world and its societies.

For example, in The Hobbit he gave details about the mountain in which the dragon Smaug lived. This story came to life with minutia about the appearance, the habits, and even the smell of this fire-breathing beast. Tolkien was somewhat restrained by the general ideas about mythical gold-hoarding dragons held by his audience. This was actually a benefit, which allowed him to elaborated even further, giving the dragon a unique personality and explaining the motives for his reign of terror on the local people.

Tolkien took these personalities of places even further in The Lord of the Rings. Regions within Middle Earth have unique characteristics–the humble homey Shire, the angry Misty Mountains, the eerily unnerving Dead Marshes, and the delicately balanced Isengard trying to flourish on the border of a wasteland.

For me and a number of other readers these passages detailing the imaginary world piques our interest. They are not simply pages of unnecessary exposition. Basing a fantasy world loosely on some existing culture or mythology that has been transported to another time and space does not do away with the need to flesh out the culture. The author must include ironic details about the society and describe the uniqueness of the environment to provide a well-rounded world for all readers. A fictional world can be flat, round or well-developed, just like a character.

Listman