I read [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/198urw2/getting_a_bit_tired_of_books_spelling_everything/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) about how books can be too obvious, and I think worldbuilding is one of the worst offenders of this.
Rare is the fantasy book that doesn’t have a meticulously crafted universe where every conceivable detail is accounted for or the author confirms wild fan theories. I understand that some readers/fans enjoy the scale and depth of a universe, but too often I find that it makes the world less interesting. Part of what makes a book fun for me is *not* knowing everything about the world, that some things are intentionally mysterious or unclear, and authors dropping little hints that allows the audience to debate the possibilities. Our own world is full of mysteries and will never be solved, so why should fiction be any different?
The most painful example of this is from one of my favorite series, *Cirque du Freak*. (If you’ve never read it, a young boy becomes a vampire and finds out there is an entire vampiric society and culture.) In the fourth book, one of the main characters explains that vampires believe they evolved from wolves, much as how humans evolved from apes. This was *so* cool to me as a teenager because it was a simple yet elegant blend of evolution and fantasy that just kind of worked.
Fast forward to the final 20 pages of the twelfth and final book where a different character says “You were actually created by an omnipresent being for their sick games. The evolution thing was just a story they created.” That twist did fit into the series’ larger theme of “how do you break out of a pre-destined future”, but it also torpedoed one of the most interesting fantasy worlds I’ve seen in a series and kind of ruined it for me.
TLDR: I think writers should have more respect for their readers’ intelligence and allow them to either figure things out on their own or leave more of their world ambiguous and up for debate.
by BroForRoe
3 Comments
I blame bad faith nitpicking by readers that went along the lines of, “Well, how can blue be such a common color for clothes without an in-depth explanation of the indigo trade? Plot hole.”
It sounds like what you’re experiencing is what I call “The Sugar Bowl Effect” in which the explanation is not what you yourself wanted.
But in terms of wroldbuilding that is out of control? I’d say it’s more “When the author doesn’t want to waste things and decides to show everything”.
I don’t read fantasy, I really hate page after page of expository writing to describe the surroundings when one or two paragraphs would do. But some people really love it. There are plenty of other genres to choose from.