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Jun 2012: Geography! (potential Spoilers)
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Saoirse
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Jun 02, 2012 04:38PM
So I had a bit of a derpy moment when it came to the geography of Kushiels Dart (Only on chapter 5 or so). When they mentioned Eire (Ireland in Gaelic) I realized that the places in the book are in fact real and this is either an alternate history or an alternate universe based on our own. In my mind Terre D'Ange is France, which makes sense with the French linguistics peppered into normal conversation.
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Mhm. And Alba is obviously Britain. I believe Skaldia is the Germanic tribes, Aragonia is Spain, and I think Caerdicca Unitas is Italy, or the remnants of Rome, or rather Tiberium.
The paperback copy has a map in the front. It is not at the typical angle at which one would normally see that area of Europe, but it is pretty clear.
So, then the question I wonder is whether that is good for a fantasy novel or bad? Did you find that the geography helped you jump into the world more, or did pesky real-world parallels distract you from imagining Terre D'Ange as a fully developed society?
Well France of years gone by was a time of decadence and sexuality. Marie Antoinette and the Courtesans fit in very well with this version of France. What distracted me most was trying to place new countries as they were named. Skaldi which on the map appears to be German is coming off as more Scandinavian to me. The fact that Tiberium held and empire, as did Rome in our time. The parallels are similar to our world culturally. The big difference is a second religion and the names.
Renee wrote: "Did you find that the geography helped you jump into the world more, or did pesky real-world parallels distract ..."No real problem with geography here - the historical period is what's throwing me because the mentions of Tiberium/Rome, Skaldi/Saxons, Alba and particularly the latter two as quite tribal, would place this before 1000CE. But the clothing, carriages, etc, would make it nearer to the Renaissance. Maybe I'm reading it wrong.
I actually found that it helped. I can visualise where things are much easier than if it were an entirely new world. I think the time period is certainly an amalgam, which is one of the benefits of an alternative history. We have Greek plays, talk of the Roman empire, carriages, tribal Britain etc. I think it's a vague, fantasy time period rather than one in particular.
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I think it depends on the writer. There are many books out there that re-imagine the world we know, but not all of them can do it seamlessly.
I think Carey does a good job of creating a world that has common threads with many of the strong European cultures we are familiar with - but she does it in a way that really makes it her own world. To that end, I found that there was enough commonality to be able to sit back after reading and make the connections, but I didn't feel like it was in my face to the point where every mention of Terra D'Ange pulls me out of the story to think "France."
