See you next time

And we've reached the end of this lesson!

We've provided a snapshot of the world that tells readers how it looks, sounds, smells, and feels, as well as the emotional impact it has on the protagonist. It's very futuristic and science-fictiony, but also completely ordinary. By playing around with word choices, you can make your science-fantasy world sound either wonderful and amazing, or terrible and frightening.

Try describing our world—or even just where you live—as though you were explaining it to someone who had never seen it before. Does your description paint a positive picture, or a negative one? Can you reverse it?

Think about what words you could substitute to turn it into a description of a science-fantasy world. What changes? What stays the same?

Next time you read a science-fantasy book (or thinking of one you've read in the past), notice whether each world has an underlying main theme that sets it apart from the others. How does the author build a visual image of the setting, and make it memorable?

Phoenix is a novel by S .F. Said, with amazing illustrations by Dave McKean.

Lucky thinks he’s an ordinary Human boy… until he starts dreaming that the stars are singing to him, and he wakes up to find an uncontrollable power rising inside him. Lucky is forced to leave his home planet—Phoenix— on the run and in search of his father, who he hopes can give him answers.

The galaxy’s at war, there are deadly enemies among both Aliens and Humans, Lucky befriends an Alien starship crew and an Alien warrior girl who’s got neon needles in her hair… Oh, and he needs to find a way to save the galaxy. No big deal!

Where did the inspiration images come from?

This is another illustration by Seattle-based illustrator Bruce Brenneise, whose work we also saw in Lesson 1.

This image is by James Broderick, a technical artist and indie game developer from Bristol, England.

You may have recognised this image by Nick Greenwood from Lesson 1. It was just too good not to use again!

See you next time :-)

Science fantasy worldbuilding in Phoenix 3: A whole new world