Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon Series #1)

I find it difficult to imagine the person who could read through the Harry Potter novels and not immediately begin casting about for a spell to deposit them directly inside of Rowling’s magical world, so sure, Universal Studios, go ahead and turn Diagon Alley into a real-world theme park. There are just some books that […]

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The words “fantasy novel” bring a whole lot of tropes to mind: a quasi-European kingdom, some wizards, a dragon or three, and armies of armored knights fighting monstrous hordes. While these stock ingredients are still common, there are plenty of books whose world-building doesn’t rely on Tolkien as a general template. Here are six absolutely brilliant fantasy worlds unlike anyplace […]

Domed cities have been a thing in science fiction since the very beginning, a salient metaphor made almost inescapable by its obviousness: inside, outside; same, same, not the same. The domed city is such a striking image, an enclosure of humanity out there on the Martian plains, or on a ravaged, post-apocalyptic Earth, or glinting in space in […]