Top Ten Books in World-Building 101

Guys. GUYS. World-building is SO KEY. Books have been ruined because of crappy world-building, but they’ve also been MADE because of world-building that sweeps me up and transports me utterly to a new place. When I saw that world-building was one of the suggested topic ideas for this Top Ten Tuesday, I had to jump on it. I usually try not to steal those because I like stretching my mind a little bit, but if I had to teach a course in world-building, these are 10 of the books I’d mention. I LOVE THEM ALL.

One of the BEST examples of world-building that I’ve ever read is Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle. The story of Kvothe and his youthful adventures across Temerant, a world made up of different, vibrant cultures and touched by old magic. Kvothe is one of the greatest characters that I’ve ever read. I adore him. He’s clever, enormously intelligent, confident, and tenacious. But he’s not the only thing that makes these books. Patrick Rothfuss has created a complete world that centers around the University where Kvothe studies. Reading these books is immersive, and I find that, for me, those kinds of places exist because of the attention to detail. Tell me about languages and currencies and the different styles of clothes. Patrick Rothfuss does all that, and he does it really well.

It’s so hard to classify this series. It’s paranormal, it’s contemporary, it’s fantasy, it’s magic, it’s mystery, it’s…The Raven Boys. Henrietta, Virginia, is alive in these books. Cabeswater is mysterious and magical, Monmouth Manufacturing is real; I can picture these places so clearly because Maggie Stiefvater makes it seem like they could be in my town. Like the weirdness and the magic is in my backyard. But what I love the most about this series is the way the language creates this atmosphere of misty, mystical, confusing, old things. It’s on every page, and it’s odd and beautiful.
One of the key aspects of world-building for me is dialogue. If the characters speaking don’t engage me, then I don’t really care about what they’re doing or where they live or what they’re fighting. No such concerns about that in Scott Lynch’s series because this dialogue is KILLER. It’s hilarious and bawdy and memorable. It is the foundation of the ultimate bromance between Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen. Not to mention that this is another epically plotted and constructed world, with dangerous politics and seedy people and awesome details like made-up card games and measures of time, not to mention detailed city planning and the old mystery of the Eldren hiding around in random places. 

Eretz, the fantastic world of the angels and the chimera, is burned on my brain. The descriptions of it that Laini Taylor gave in this amazing series are beautiful and larger-than-life. When I envision the angel capital of Astrae, my mind is full of light, but also aware of the rottenness at its core. The Chimera city of Loramendi is dark but vibrant. The descriptions of the different chimera and their classes is fascinating to me. What makes this series really go, though, is the romance between Karou and Akiva. Their palpable attraction and hate-liking infuses this whole story with real emotional heft, and I think that sometimes when I think of world-building, I neglect the PEOPLE and think about maps and places and made-up stuff. But all of those things don’t really matter if you don’t care about the characters, so they’re important too. Karou and Akiva are two of my favorites.

One of my FAVORITE things to read about are alternate histories. They really appeal to both the history nerd in me and the fantasy lover. I’m rereading via audio the last book in this series right now, and it’s striking me anew how awesome Robin LaFevers is. The struggle between Brittany and France was a real thing. The Duchess was a real person. But Mortain? The Handmaidens of Death? Fabricated, and WONDERFUL. They add such a great twist to the world, with the conflict between the old gods and the new.

I’m a new convert to Juliet Marillier’s Celtic historical fantasy, but reading about the Sevenwaters clan through the generations is a very special experience. This is another example of a historical place and time being imbued with magical, fantastical elements that make the landscape darker and more dangerous. Medieval Ireland is maybe not a place I’d want to live, but Juliet Marillier makes me second-guess myself because she’s so adept at bringing together the ancient Celtic mythologies and the complex family dynamics.

GUYS, I love retellings. What I don’t usually love is science fiction. But combining the two? Apparently I LOVE IT. Because Marissa Meyer’s series is stellar (oooh outer space pun!). It’s so imaginative and original, even though it takes its foundations from well-known fairy tales. The world in this series is completely new, and is one of my favorite–and, personally, one of the best–retellings out there. The Earthen Kingdom, Luna, cyborgs, the way the world has changed and the universe expanded…it’s all so clever and absorbing. Some of the best world-building around. 

So. You may or may not know that I’m a big ASOIAF-er. I’ve read all the books, I read the forums, I watch the show, I theorize and nerd out with my friends. When I first read this series (well, the only time I’ve read this series), I literally didn’t read anything else for several months. Only the first four books, in succession, no other bookish distractions. I was IN IT like Joey in the map in London. This world is SO HUGE and SO DEVELOPED. It has a history that goes back thousands of years, religions, cultures so far off that they are unknown, languages, whole races of people who have lived and died. And also, lots of maps. This is how you do it, guys. For me, anyway. Give me appendices or give me death.

The only time I read this book, I listened to the audio. It was completely mesmerizing. All of the other books on this list are series, but THE NIGHT CIRCUS is so lush and dark and captivating that it totally deserves a spot on my world-building list, simply on the grounds of the Cirque du Reves alone. I want the circus to be real so that I can go. I want to visit it and see its weird wonders and visit all of its tents. I think it really takes something, and someone, special to be able to create such an amazing world in just one book, but Erin Morgenstern did it really well. 

I have to tell you guys, I was a teensy bit apprehensive when I first went into THE BONE SEASON. Couldn’t tell you why. But I’m glad that I got over it. Samantha Shannon has created this completely new future world that’s…well, I’m not sure what it is. It bears hallmarks of so many genres: paranormal, fantasy, dystopian. If we’re talking about world-building though (and we are), I really have to shout this one out. Because it’s a MASSIVE book in that regard. What we know of present-day London is utterly transformed, and the plot is intricate. It’s really impressive.