Probably because Tolkien started it with his alt-history of earth.

Nowadays you’re as likely to find fantasy in any setting. Modern day per… Twilight Nagasaki Moon, or different past periods per… Temeriare, or even the future per… Shadowrun.

Medieval I think is sort of default just because there’s a lot of information floating around about that period (I mean, for almost any culture) so most people are familiar enough with it, yet it’s still mysterious and magical enough that magical dragons et al don’t strain disbelief. It’s kind of in a gold history period really.

Well, it isn’t medieval so much as Arthurian. You don’t see fantasy in Elizabethan England, you see it in the Camelot times. Since Camelot itself is a fantasy, it lends itself easily to more magic. In fact, the original tales of Camelot involve dragons and spells and such, so when fantasy first came out as a genre of fiction, it centered around where it had roots. Oddly enough, usually the dress is that of nobility from the time of Richard the Lionheart (Robin Hood era) in the 1100s, which is five hundred years after Camelot. Blame the Pre-Raphaelite artists if you wish.

I think just as good a setting for fantasy as the Middle Ages would be the era before then, the ancient era (the time of the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, etc.). Those cultures had just as many heroes and monsters as any in the medieval era, and they didn’t have Christianity’s anti-magic attitude.

No intentions of inciting anything, but the fact that people often burned ‘witches’ on the stake suggests an anti-magical attitude. :P

Eh, actually, the witch burning was mostly not medieval. It mainly happened around the 1600s, long after the medieval period was over. Dammit, Monty Python! And Christianity is not supposed to be anti-magic. James I, screw him, was afraid of witches. So, when in 1620 or so (?) he had the King James Bible done, he had them change the hebrew word for poisoner to witch. “Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live”. Dammit, James!

Proto-Europe is such an old hat. Now, Proto-Japan, that’s the wave of the future.

For the record, I think the Proto-European fantasy setting sees so much play because people often don’t want to put in serious worldbuilding effort, and honestly, just aren’t that creative. It’s way easier to just take Middle Earth, shift some things around, make some cosmetic additions and subtractions, and call it an original universe.

It’s been run into the ground, but IMO it can still be a good setting if one actually bothers putting the effort in. GRRM did it, after all.

Who here’s played Brutal Legend?

The METAL AGE is the future.

That doesn’t explain Asian dragons, though.

Yeah, but the PIE only extends to India, not China. Anyway, I heard a theroy about dragons being a combination of characteristics from animals that feed on mammals (birds-of-prey + lizard = scary animal). Still doesn’t explain Eastern dragons though…

I agree that Tolkien is to blame for a lot. I read some pre – Tolkien fantasy and, believe it or not, there is such a thing. One of my favorite books, “Ptah Hotep” by Charles Duits was written in 19th century and is most heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, from which it soon moves into the semi – prehistoric setting, basically like moving from 2000 BC Egypt to Europe in the same period. The style may be hard to swallow by some, but it is definitely worth and shows that fantasy does not always has to consist of faux knights and supposedly epic plots centered around saving the world.

Well, Tolkien wanted to create an English mythology, after all, so I guess it kind of makes more sense to have the knights running around, etc. etc. than having a series based on the Egyptians, for example.

Hmmm, I should check that out then, Taku. It’s been hard finding really good fantasy lately.

I agree that Tolkien is to blame for a lot. I read some pre – Tolkien fantasy and, believe it or not, there is such a thing. One of my favorite books, “Ptah Hotep” by Charles Duits was written in 19th century and is most heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, from which it soon moves into the semi – prehistoric setting, basically like moving from 2000 BC Egypt to Europe in the same period. The style may be hard to swallow by some, but it is definitely worth and shows that fantasy does not always has to consist of faux knights and supposedly epic plots centered around saving the world.

Incidentally, the current novel I’ve just started has an ancient Egyptian setting as well (though in my current plan there will be a big battle to save the kingdom from foreign invaders).

Question that is tangentially related to this topic, but I didn’t want to make a new thread:

Does sci-fi always have to take place in a futuristic world? Maybe it’s a stupid one, but I was curious. On a related note, could fantasy potentially take place in the ‘future’ as opposed to the ‘past’?

Star Wars might be closest but who really remembers the opening sentence?

Are you kidding? That sentence is iconic.

Going back to “past” sci-fi, I’ve come across a couple short stories in various anthologies that speculate how certain historical events (mostly battles) would have played out differently had there been modern leaders and/or technology involved. Fun stuff.

I also have a story, currently deep in hibernation, that was more sci-fi than anything set during the Italian Renaissance. (And now I’ve got the sudden urge to poke it into wakefulness; too many projects have I. D:) But anyway, I think the whole medieval stock setting is so prevalent because people are too lazy to spend time doing research. Which is a shame, really, because you find out a lot of nifty things through research.

I’ll stop rambling now. ._.

Hey, Yahtzee is visiting this board!

^^ That is a very good point.

But then there’s Clarke’s Third Law. Where does magic end and technology begin? Where do psychic powers fall? Don’t get me wrong, that does sound pretty cool.

That is a pretty awesome conclusion.

What do we do with all of this dicussion now?

You read my mind.

Thing is, it’s not exactly a writing advice thing, more like an interest thing…

That would be so neat! I believe I read something similar in a book about Egyptian magic and how it connected to religion, everyday life and medicine (these guys had some fascinating views on what causes illnesses)

and to be honest, although I try to avoid a faux – medieval setting, if a story is not executed properly, no matter how cool the background is, it will still fail on a larger scale. I personally try to avoid it – my storyline moves from ancient (mostly Egyptian) settings to the early days of gunpowder to steam era.

So yeah Brandon – Egyptian high fives! :D

I think steampunk is a pretty cool setting, even if I find steampunk enthusiasts rather unnerving.

No, I don’t think steampunk has to involve magic, just a vaguely Victorian culture with overdeveloped technology based upon steam power and other sorts of low tech. Think of the more traditional Final Fantasy games, World of Warcraft, or shudder Wild Wild West.

For a better example of steampunk, I like to look at Morowind’s Dwemer ruins. Lots of steam, brass-coloured pipes, glowing neon and mechanical mostrosities. Only think missing is the Victorian culture, really. But that’s the sort of stuff I think steampunk is about, technology-wise.

No, I don’t think steampunk has to involve magic, just a vaguely Victorian culture with overdeveloped technology based upon steam power and other sorts of low tech. Think of the more traditional Final Fantasy games, World of Warcraft, or shudder Wild Wild West.

Or – you know: Thief.

Like I said before, I think steam punk would be best described as sci-fi in a historical era.

I’m thinking that maybe in my world, the magic has been around, and now the machinery is kind of starting to supplant it…and I just had a GREAT IDEA!

Oh my god, I have to write this down for later.

No, that was me being deliberately contrary because I have no social skills. I’ve got to stop doing that.

Do you wanna create a new steampunk thread?

sweet.

going off-topic for a shot, falcon can you suggest me what in your opinion is the best of the myst series( games)? I’ve been wanting to play one (for like the past 5 years) but always hesitated…