Which book’s world would be the absolute worst to live in?
There are a ton of books in which the world would be deeply unpleasant for a modern human. It doesn’t even need to be a dystopian setting. It just needs to be a world where the things for which people take for granted are a lot less certain. For quite a few people, many of these things could actually be necessities for staying alive or basic quality of life.
Multiple settings will fit this. Anything from before the modern era could fit this. Even something that takes place in the 20th century could fit this, depending on exactly when the setting takes place and who is getting sent into the setting. Anything that lacks modern trappings could fit this. Modern medicine and technology has helped a large number of people. Any setting for which it’s difficult to live outside of a very narrow norm could fit this.
A straightforward example is A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin. It’s a European medieval fantasy setting in which different locations are as well-developed in culture, technology, and medicine as their real world inspirations during the European medieval era. So basically Westeros, the main representation of Europe, is a bit of a backwater compared to quite a few of the nearby locations. Even those nearby locations have stagnated or grown decadent.
Depending on where you’ll be, life could be absolutely intolerable. If you can’t find some interesting some way to be useful, you won’t be able to build much of a protective network. If you absolutely rely on modern existence, there probably won’t be any alternatives to your needs anywhere in a world of Ice and Fire. Not even fantasy alternatives.
Tolerance for life outside of social norms can be quite strict. Death is casual and common. Everyone is stuck acknowledging that everyone else is a fragile human being in a deadly world that can end them at any moment or subvert their fortunes.
Greatest swordsman? Easy to put an end to that. Most beautiful in all the realm? Well not if you suffer from something horribly disfiguring, or just age out of your beauty.
A harsh and unforgiving setting.
Leave a Reply