Re: Worldbuilding: Solar Systems

In article <1cgjef149fi0f.1rd5p2uqgh4pl.dlg@xxxxxxxxxx>,
Elizabeth <elizabeth-writing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

What I thought was a throwaway sentence on my livejournal spurred a comment
that sent me researching solar system formation, which in turn brings me
here with a poll:

You are reading a novel marketed as fantasy. Due to the author's stunning
inability to convey setting, you are in chapter 2 and still not sure if the
book is set on Earth in the 20th or 21st century, possibly after an alien
invasion, or on an alternate Earth, or on some made-up planet elsewhere.

You come to a description of a character's T-shirt, which has a map of the
solar system, with "You are here" pointing to the second of seven planets.

Your reaction is:
a) "I guess it's not Earth."
b) "What happened to Mercury/Venus/the rest of the planets?"
c) "This world must orbit a colder star than our sun."/"I wonder when we'll
see the asteroid belt between here and the sun."
d) "This planet must be very different from Earth, so the author needs to
describe the setting better."
e) "*Sol*ar system?"
f) "This is totally unrealistic and I'm not going to read any more."
g) other

h) This is happening on a terraformed venus, after a collapse that has
led to the loss of knowledge. Astronomy is being relearned, and they've
only identified seven planets so far.

i)It is in the late 21st century (or later) and either mercury or venus
has somehow been destroyed or moved away, as has some other planet.

I think I would wait to make my mind until additional information
appeared. Part of the problem is that a T-shirt with a map of the solar
system sounds more like science fiction than fantasy to me, so I'm
already getting mixed signals.

--
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
Author of _Harald_, a fantasy without magic.
Published by Baen, in bookstores now
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Randome thoughts
    ... was made by Sumerians, showing the solar system with another planet, then ... A planet 6 times the size of Earth is passing through the outer reaches of ... NASA says Eris is at it's furthest point from us yet we can now ...
    (rec.gambling.poker)
  • Re: Worldbuilding: Solar Systems
    ... invasion, or on an alternate Earth, or on some made-up planet elsewhere. ... solar system, with "You are here" pointing to the second of seven planets. ... Explain what happened to one of the planets closer to the Sun than Earth. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Searching for Theia, the mother of the Moon
    ... Earth's iron core keeping it hot and spinning. ... Maybe the Earth itself is a living organism? ... living, but maybe it goes even further than that, and the whole planet ... densest planet in the solar system, but only slightly more so than ...
    (sci.astro)
  • Re: I think I made a great Discovery
    ... >internet for any information I could gather that indicates how the moon was created. ... >Many think that the moon was created by a large planet the size of Mars hitting Earth ... >with a large impact crater but I couldn't find the planet anywhere in our solar system. ...
    (sci.astro)
  • Re: Worldbuilding: Solar Systems
    ... invasion, or on an alternate Earth, or on some made-up planet elsewhere. ... solar system, with "You are here" pointing to the second of seven planets. ... That both are true, and that we *are* on fantasy Venus, is hovering in the background. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
Loading