| Re: History in Fantasy
The Black Elf trilogy is a good example of excellent world-building. The reality of the setting makes it one of the best YA fantasy novel I have ever read. Every person to whom I lent the books (aged from 12 to 22) came back for more—and was disappointed by the following installments (but this is another story).
Salvatore delved into every area: the strange geography and eerie beauty of the caverns lit by phosphorescent fungi, the gigantic lizards, the different species living in the dark, the social system (a horrible and hyper-violent matriarchal society—well, it's a guy's fantasy…) and the cult of a vengeful spider-goddess. The whole is perfectly believable in its consistency.
No info-dump there, only details brought to life when needed, and allowing the readers to imagine themselves in the new world. Never too much, just brushstrokes.
This is the secret: leave the readers—just a tiny bit—hungry for more information.
And the world's history gives depth to the plot. Once, the black Elves… |