I’m searching for that spark of Exploration I’ve found in a few books and anime. I’m not surprised that they’re difficult to find, because this feeling transcends genre.
You see, I crave being lost in magical worlds. ESPECIALLY if there’s a sort of lost civilization aspect to them. It’s a big part of why I like apocalypse and fantasy stories. The more specific the details are, the better. I want to feel like an old timey new world explorer (but without the racism and destructive tendencies).
Stories that hit the nail on the head:
Book – The Nameless City (Hp Lovecraft)
Book – Piranesi (Susan Clark) (My most favorite book of all time)
Anime – Girls Last Tour (My most favorite anime of all time)
Anime – Made in Abyss.
All of these stories give me exactly what I want: a deep, detailed, meaningful world with destroyed/ancient civilizations. The focus is more on the world than the characters. In fact, I find the actual story of Nameless city to be boring. But the world is rich. I don’t care about the story. I only care about the world.
Stories that got close:
Book – Wake of Vultures (Lila Bowen) (Great world building, but the main character is entering a world already known about by her society. LGBT+ characters are a plus though.)
Book – Watership Down (Richard Adams) (Exploration was good when it happened, but it wasn’t the focus)
Book – Fever Knights (Adam Ellis) (The fact that it’s a fake game strategy guide gives me so much world building without all the fluff. Honestly, the issue is that the world has already been explored)
Anime – School Live! (Not enough exploration)
Edit: Formatting
Edit 2: I should clarify that I am NOT interested in sci-fi unless the characters are exploring a destroyed sci-fi world.
by JewelSerket
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