Tag: worldbuilding

One of the great promises made by many religions is that evil is not unopposed. Sins can be atoned for; damnation and suffering can be

Why does evil exist? This is one of those basic questions people have been struggling with since time immemorial. (Spoiler: I’m not going to solve

It’s the end of the world as we know it . . . Armageddon. Ragnarok. The Kali Yuga. That which begins must eventually end —

Where does everything come from? Humans have been asking that question for a long time, and we’ve come up with many different answers. The Big

Millions of people throughout history, held as property so their labor could be exploited by other people. What were they used for? The quick answer

It may seem incongruous to talk about what rights a person could have when they were being held as chattel. But in keeping with the

Slavery may be an appalling institution widespread in both time and place, but as I mentioned last week, it isn’t the same everywhere and everywhen.

I often mention in these essays that thus-and-such a thing is more or less universal in human society, being found all over the world. I

In over five years of writing about worldbuilding, I’ve said very little about one of the core questions fantasy writers tend to ask themselves: How

If I had to guess, I’d estimate that the shop fronts in my local downtown area are approximately one-quarter to one-third restaurants. Whether I’m right

We’re social creatures, and one of the ways we express that is by eating together. But in addition to fostering interpersonal bonds, meals can be

Not far from where I sit — maybe forty feet or so, as the termite bores — I have a store of unimaginable wealth. It’s