Perspective, Plot and World: What Makes Great Speculative Fiction?

Discussing worldbuilding in books by Alastair Reynolds, Leigh Bardugo and others

(Not a Medium Member? Read free here)

Housekeeping:

• My post from last week featured a video and podcast for the first time, check it out if you missed it!
• I’ve added a link to a related interview I gave at the bottom of “Class Trip” from two weeks ago, find that post here.

The Right Amount of Context

What was the last book, TV show or movie that offered you too much exposition? How about too little? Where on that spectrum are you most comfortable?

I live for mystery and ambiguity in fiction, and relish moments when my imagination can expand to fill in the gaps. It’s a big part of my distaste for today’s YA and “New Adult” books, which feel the need to explain everything up front so that readers can focus on the same tired teenage romance stories again and again.

A.K. Larkwood’s The Serpent Gates presents a vast multiverse of possibility