(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Plagues are one of the more terrifying disasters human society can face. Something like a hurricane or a volcanic eruption is more destructive on a physical level, but an epidemic … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) What a cheerful title for the first essay of the month! I’m starting with the simple topic of disease — not its causes; not its treatment; its existence — because … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Under normal conditions, human beings really only have two options for how to get someplace: go via land, or via water. But we’ve always stared at birds in the sky … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Because I love tall ships, when I thought about water travel, my thoughts immediately leapt to sailing. But that’s fairly advanced technology, in the grand scheme of things; our initial … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Ever since our pre-pre-pre-pre-prehistoric ancestors left the primordial sea to slither around on dry land, the vast majority of our transportation has been been earth-bound. Naturally, in talking about different … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) I’ll admit I’m prone to complaining about how unpleasant travel has gotten these days. The combination of security theater at the airports and the loss of amenities on the planes … Continue reading
The second collection from Marie Brennan’s ongoing New Worlds Patreon is now available in a print edition! These essays on the art of worldbuilding, originally hosted here at Book View Cafe, have been revised, expanded, and re-organized. Together with New … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) When we first hit the topic of worldbuilding exposition back in May, I discussed the exposition on the level of prose: how to work setting details into your sentences without … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Governments have taken a dizzying array of shapes over the millennia since we first invented them, all around the world. We have lots of terms for discussing those shapes, but … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Given the importance of religion in human culture, it’s not remotely surprising that it’s often served as the underpinning for a leader’s right to power. In European history we most … Continue reading
