World-Building

Science Fiction Writing Series

by Stephen L. Gillett, Ben Bova

This book is designed to give science fiction writers the solid grounding they need in real science to make their fictions read like fact. World Building is a blueprint in words, calculations, tables and diagrams to help writers transport readers from one world to another.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Science, How To, Research, Astronomy

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Stephen L. Gillett, Ph.D. is a science fiction author and science essayist, whose work is mostly featured in Analog Magazine. He published his science fiction work under the pseudonym Lee Goodloe.

Reviews

[H]

CURRENTLY READING:

Okay, only page 7 and I've already found a big error. The author says that the diameter of the earth is less than one millionth its distance from the sun. In km that's 12,756/149,598,000=0.00008, or less than one TEN-THOUSANDTH.

He then says even the diameter of the sun is less than one ten-thousandth the distance between Earth and Sun. But 1,391,000/149,598,000=0.009, i.e., less than ONE-HUNDREDTH.

WTF errors.

------

ONE DAY AND ONE PAGE LATER:

I don't fucking believe this. I finally decided to give the book another shot despite the errors I found, picked it up, and on the VERY NEXT PAGE there's another grievous error. The author gives all the measurements right there on the page, but then in his calculations completely fucks it up. The answer is close to 6600, not 1600. I'm hoping that it's a typo...

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book on how to create a planet for storytelling, and it seems to be very thorough explanations of the science of geology and astrophysics. It's not "worldbuilding" in the typical literary sense of defining geography, cultures, history, etc. Very interesting for science fiction considerations. Although I simply scanned through most of the serious scientific equations and definitions, I did gain some insights I can use on current and future projects.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written by a sci-fi author with a PhD in geology, is explicitly targeted at science fiction writers and covers world-building: literally. It is comprehensive in its description of the physics of star and planet formation and will tell you everything you need to know (and possibly more than you want to know) about astronomy, planetology, astrophysics, and chemistry. Short of taking a few college-level courses, you probably can't get a better education that's sufficient to write "hard SF" alien worlds.

Of course, if you don't really care how plausible sulfuric acid oceans or gas giants orbiting a brown dwarf or ice worlds are, this book will be of much less interest; you might take a few details from it and figure that the average Star Wars fan no more cares about the plausibility of your planet's elemental composition than he cares about the fact that explosions don't make a sound in a vacuum. It's still worth reading so that you know more about how Earth's own climate and topography have been shaped over the eons, and why there is no life on Mars or Venus, and all the things that early sci-fi writers got wrong. There are numerous references to classic science fiction novels and short stories: Gillett points out some of the more creative inventions in the literature, as well as some of the more unscientific ones.

This is a very crunchy book: if you want to seriously use the information here to design your own worlds right down to their sidereal rotation periods, you'll need a few spreadsheets. Gillett provides formulas, tables, and an extensive bibliography. It will also help to remember your high school physics and chemistry.

This is all science for writers, and contains no information at all about writing science fiction itself. There is some discussion of how life forms, and how you might plausibly introduce very alien biochemistries (as well as why many types of worlds are unlikely to evolve anything more complex than bacteria, and why others might evolve intelligent life that probably wouldn't be able to develop much in the way of technology), but beyond that, you'll have to look to other books in this series for designing alien life and civilizations.

[Catherine Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, complete guide for worldbuilding in science fiction and fantasy.
It's easier to read by topic you need, as an encyclopedia, than as a novel, as it is a very technical, scientific read that can get heavy if read all at once. Give your brain time to absorb all that knowledge.
It's a good idea to double-check some planetary facts, as astrophysics and knowledge advance with every new discovery, as it should.
This book includes some equations to make the calculations you may need for your new planet/star system, in case you're good with numbers and require specific facts in your hard science fiction work.
The knowledge you get is not only for science fiction writers, though. Fantasists can likewise take advantage for understanding and describing the different aspects of a world, taking the reader on a detailed tour of an imaginary land, and the people who populate it. It's good for rendering societal, economic, and even religious aspects depending on the environment of your world.
This book should be part of every science fiction/fantasy writer's library.

[Pablo Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slender volume is a must for serious world-builders. It's more than two decades old now, but of course, for the most part, physics and chemistry and most of astronomy have not changed that much, so the book has aged nicely, with the sole exception of exoplanets (Gillett can only hypothesize they exist, while now we know a couple of thousands and may confidently assume they're common throughout the universe).

Most of the material found in the book can now be found on the internet, but for the novice worldbuilder and for the seasoned sf author it's a very convenient thing having all of these pointers and references at the tip of their fingers, ready for quick perusal.

[Steven Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This another book from our writing reference and source book library. Although not as frequently used as some of the other books in the library, it is worth flipping through during periods of writer's block or brainstorming.

This book is aimed more at the prospective SciFi writer creating whole new planets and possibly star systems. I do like the suggestions for creating complex life-supporting planets, but I do wish that there were some more suggestions for creating planets with a hostile environment, but has a human colony on it.

As with most books of this kind, YMMV.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too complicated for someone who just wants to write about new planets and stuff. Is it really necessary to need to know as much as an astrophysicist to write believable science fiction?

Also I should add that as long as you know something of basic geology and ecology, shouldn't that be enough? My husband is a geologist and engineer and I am pretty sure with what he has taught me, my worlds will be just fine without all the mathematical babble!

[Axa Lydia Vallotto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anche se ha ormai vent'anni, è un libro utilissimo come infarinatura generale per chi costruisce mondi fantascientifici - e, volendo, anche fantasy. Dà moltissimi spunti e ispirazioni e fa confronti con varie opere sci-fi.
Avrei solo preferito che approfondisse di più alcuni argomenti, ma l'ho trovato comunque un'ottima base di partenza.

[Jess Mahler · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance, this book looks like it will mainly be of interest to hard-science fiction writers.

That's... half true.

Honestly, the science gets very heavy at times, and the math... oy, the math. Let's say I didn't retain much of the details.

What I did come away with was a much greater understanding of the options for creating realistic or plausible planets and solar systems that are far outside of the usual Earth-analogs. And a better grasp of what the different labels for stars mean.

Highly recommended for sci-fi writers looking for inspiration, folks who want to know more about the wild variety of worlds, stars, and other space objects, and science buffs who are looking for a short but intense read on what (might be) out there.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer

This is an excellent primer on worldbuilding in SF. I'll be returning to this book very often. Includes useful equations. Be careful though, because it's written in 1996. Some info might be outdated.

[Daniel Farrelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a run down of Earth's history and our solar system with small references to fictional works

[David Leemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to write science fiction that takes place on other planets, then you should read this book.

[Robert Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very technical, but what I was looking for.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I was expecting this book to be a bit more accessible. There were some useful tidbits here and there but most of it went over my head. I think I'll stick to the social sciences.

[Mizumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this is a case of getting exactly what I was going for. I just read it in one go for now, to see what aspects of world-building it touches upon, and my copy is already filled with quickly torn-off pieces of paper stuck in there as reminders to myself: 'please consider this'.
Anyway, it's a book that's quite scientific at points, but makes up for it by providing ready examples of situations on Earth, or just simple comparisons to make sense of it all. There's quite some humor in there as well, which I didn't expect, but appreciate nonetheless.
The author also provides examples of settings already used before in SF (and he seems to have a preference to Poul Anderson - or maybe he's just written an awful lot). This is nice, because he also tells you when a setting hasn't been used all that much before, plus, you can check out how others worked out similar settings before you.

The only downside: this book is over fifteen years old, and science marches on (and so do writers, so I'm sure a lot of new books on new worlds have been published in the mean while). We've discovered a lot more about exoplanets and our own solar system (oh, and we downgraded Pluto in the process; it's still a planet in this book), so it's not always a guarantee that the science in this book hasn't been proven otherwise in science at this point. Of course, you can always just go online and look things up...

Anyway, I think this is a very useful guide if you're trying to build your own planet and need some help with what you have to consider. It basically gives you an overview to start with, with a lot of formulas as well if you want to be scientific in your story. That's not the direction I'm taking myself, but I do believe you have to know what you could include, even if you're discarding it.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book in the Science Fiction Writing Series, put out by Writers Digest. Geologist and astronomer Dr. Stephen Gillett approaches the science of creating planets in other solar systems in a fairly simple, easy-to-understand method for the layman. Chapters in this helpful volume include Why World-Build?, The Astronomical Setting, Making a Planet, The Earth, The Ancient Earth, The Other Planets, Stars and Suns, and Not As We Know It. Although a little understanding of geology, astrophysics and general physics helps to start with, this writers' guide really breaks down the science needed to accurately portray the development of alien species on life-supporting planets that differ dramatically from Earth. I particularly appreciated the final chapter, dealing with non-traditional life-supporting worlds -- water worlds, worlds heavy in nitrogen atmosphere, and what Gillett refers to as "Brimstone worlds". Also helpful, especially for those of us not well-versed in scientific minutiae, is an extensive glossary of scientific terminology, a bibliography of sources for additional research, and an index to science fiction stories that Gillett cites as examples of the various scientific principles he's explaining. Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts...

[Michelle Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen others post about math errors in this book, and that's disappointing because that's why I bought this book -- for its promise of formulas and astrophysics in simple language for those of us who are not astrophysicists. (Yes, that would be me.) The section of the book that comes closest to fulfilling my need is in Chapter 7: Stars and Suns. Called "Putting It Together: The Planet of a Small Red Star", this section works step-by-step through an example in which, using formulas described earlier, the author "designs" a planet orbiting an extant red dwarf star, using only the star's magnitude and distance as starting points. From this, the author figures the luminosity and mass of the star, the revolution period, tidal forces, and solar day of the planet, and average temperature on the planet given the star's size in the sky. This is an excellent exercise, and I only wish it had been worked in reverse. I had already created my planet's solar day and revolution period, and needed to figure the according distance from its star, what type of star, etc. -- and didn't have the math skills to turn this exercise backwards. The rest was fun to read, but then I do love nonfiction science books. If you don't, this book is not for you.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for figuring out all the science stuff I never learned or didn't pay attention to in school.

I am an English major who likes to read and write science fiction. But, before reading this book, I really did not know how to go about creating other worlds or making things feel more authentic.

I don't go as far as the author (and other hard science fiction fans) about the absolute need for such attention to details because I feel that my audience is broader and won't care (or know) about whether a planet is too big or too small. But, the information is useful and helped me come up with some more ideas for planets and solar systems for my characters to explore.

The writing is concise, yet detailed and simple enough for me to understand. The author gives lots of formulas and tips and the information is organized well. Now that I've read it straight through, I will be able to use it as a reference source fairly easily.

The only thing I want is a CD or website where I can download the spreadsheets that the author talks about using.

[Stephanie Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed this title as I was preparing to write my sci-fi novel but it really just kind of repeated the obvious and I didn't get much out of it. However, as a writer whose already put out one title and has another written, I think I have a lot of experience fleshing out a story than most people who are just starting out.

I do think this would be a great title for new writer who has a sci-fi idea but doesn't know what to do or where to go with that idea. This book does have great info for someone in that situation and I can tell you there's not many books out there that are how-tos to write sci-fi so this could be very useful.

The only thing that sucks is that it's kind of old so it doesn't take into account recent techno revolutions like social media or the net. The other would probably do well to put out a new edition.

[Sean Mumford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book overall that gives you a high-level overview of designing worlds from scratch, all the way from star formation to alternative forms of biochemistry (and the all of the caveats along the way). The only thing I wished this book had was a kind of "workshop" at there end where the author takes us through the process of designing a world from scratch by creating a few "sample" planets with varying environments.

[Doug Farren · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of information in this book. My recommendation is to read it and then use it later on as a reference when building planetary systems. Some of the explanations seemed to gloss over the information leaving me wishing for more details and a better reason as to 'why' things were the way they were. But, overall, this is a good book for anyone wishing to build an alien planet. Now if I could only find the material...

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

World-Building is a great tool for writers' looking to accurately flesh out fantasy or science fiction worlds. I think it's also an interesting, sideways approach to learning about the universe and planetary construction. It's not recent enough to include information on some of the distant super-earths discovered or Planet 9, but it gives an easy to understand overview of the basics of planetary possibilities.

[Sumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meant for the aspiring SF author this books provides the important foundational knowledge of astrophysics to help the author build up an environment of stars, galaxies and planets based on correct scientific facts. A must read for authors attempting hard SF.

[Mark]

Very interesting book about basic astrophysics and planetary geology

[Ben Aaronovitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting stuff but let down by a lack of clarity.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a science-fiction writer I found this a valuable resource. It explained concepts in a easy to understand manner while laying out the foundational science behind them.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helpful but difficult to understand, and very hard to duplicate in terms of world building. Overly technical. How can you create that which does not let you develop an understanding?

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who's into science this is a geeky way of world building for writers, but if you're not too into science then it could be dry and arduous.

[DT Krippene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most amazing book for anyone building worlds in science fiction. Toned for the non-science oriented writer, but plenty of meaty calcs for those daring to test their knowledge.

[Jo T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I needed personally, but I'd say it's a staple in any sci-fi writers arsenal.