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The son of a librarian, Chris M. Arnone’s love of books was as inevitable as gravity. He holds an MFA in Inventive Writing from the College of Missouri – Kansas Metropolis. His cyberpunk sequence, The Jayu Metropolis Chronicles, is offered all over the place books are bought. His work may also be present in Adelaide Literary Journal and FEED Lit Magazine. You will discover him writing extra books, poetry, and appearing in Kansas Metropolis. You too can comply with him on social media (Fb, Goodreads, Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, web site).
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There’s usually a wish-fulfillment side to fantasy worlds. We’ve all learn the books and sequence that make us want we may stay in that world, that we may wield magic or experience dragons or simply stay a extra fantastical life. Some fantasy books, although, go the opposite approach. A few of these books function the worst fantasy worlds to stay in.
What makes for one of many worst fantasy worlds to stay in? Rampant oppression and poverty are actually on the record. Horrifying magical creatures like demons and dragons laying waste to humanity undoubtedly doesn’t sound enjoyable. Conflict, pure disasters, and countless violence don’t make for locations I’d wish to stay. They’ll make for completely fascinating and fascinating reads, however not someplace I wish to transfer to and lay down roots. Dragons actually mess with the property values, in spite of everything.
These eight guide sequence (sure, they’re all sequence) embody these terrifying points and extra. From manga to Western novels, classics to very new, these fantasy worlds are bloody, harmful, destitute, and a lot enjoyable to learn. In any case, heroes don’t normally want large swords or dragons to experience except issues are wanting fairly dire. Listed below are eight of the worst fantasy worlds to stay in.
The Damaged Earth by N.Ok. Jemisin
I imply, the rationale you don’t wish to stay on this fantasy world is just about proper there within the title, proper? The Earth is damaged. Earthquakes abound. They’re so unhealthy, the truth is, that the topography of the world has dramatically modified a number of instances. Oh, and in case you handle to have magic, you’re enslaved.
Berserk by Kentaro Miura
Take a typical medieval-Europe setting and make it even darker. There’s a motive that Guts carries a large sword and a large, darkish chip on his shoulder. Infinite wars, rampant poverty, and demonic entities make the world of Berserk one of many worst. There’s a motive these manga pages are principally black.
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The Darkish Star Trilogy by Marlon James
Marlon James’s in-progress trilogy is predicated on African mythology and folklore, taking part in up probably the most harmful elements to nice impact. Harmful creatures of the magical and mundane selection populate this world, and the persons are even worse. They’re bold, harmful, and no person is protected, even in case you have the very best abilities.
The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros
I imply, we’ve all learn the primary two (and even three) on this sequence at this level, proper? The Empyrean sequence is big proper now, nearly as enormous because the terrifying dragons and griffins ridden to battle. There’s a struggle raging, governments mendacity to their folks, and magic is a really harmful proposition, certainly. Even coaching to be a dragon rider is virtually a dying sentence.
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The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir
This good sequence just about redefined what grimdark may appear like. Set on 9 distant planets, necromancy is the best energy within the system. Yeah, magic over the undead. Good instances. Each certainly one of these planets appears like a gothic nightmare, and even these in energy are competing to manage the lifeless. When you don’t have energy, you’re simply the following future undead.
The Poppy Conflict by R.F. Kuang
The world of The Poppy Conflict is East Asian, roughly based mostly on the Second Sino-Japanese Conflict (identified within the West because the Asian Theatre of World Conflict II). In consequence, it’s an image of a nation beneath siege and being subjected to horrors at each flip. Sure, there’s magic right here, however probably the most brutal points are very human in nature and principally based mostly on precise historic brutalities. That is undoubtedly one of many worst fantasy worlds to stay in.
A Music of Ice and Hearth by George R.R. Martin
Martin’s iconic sequence is usually based mostly on real-world European medieval instances. Even when it had been historic fiction, that might make it fairly unhealthy for most individuals. Add in terrifying dragons, frozen zombies, and scary hearth deities, and also you get the image. I imply, a lot of the most important characters don’t even survive the sequence, not to mention the peasants.
The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Very similar to a whole lot of traditional epic fantasy novels, The Witcher is usually based mostly on medieval Europe. So once more, not a good time to be alive except you’re actually rich. Oh, however add in monsters. So. Many. Monsters. And curses. And The Wild Hunt. Simply changing into a witcher to combat monsters requires a course of that kills most individuals, so it’s undoubtedly not a pleasant world to stay in.
Properly, there are eight fantasy worlds you undoubtedly don’t wish to stay in. Any others? When you’re on the lookout for a gentler setting, listed here are one of the best fantasy worlds. We even have some great fantasy worlds from quick tales.