[Miriamele]

I was musing over this this morning so I thought I might as well post it.

How many of the fantasy readers around here live in a big city, how many live in the country, and how many somewhere in between?

Now, obviously the majority of people everywhere live in cities. And cities are getting bigger and more congested. Is it possible that some of us who enjoy fantasy books are looking for a setting where the world was less populated and less developed, more green and wild? There has to be a reason that fantasy with a medieval theme is so popular besides the attraction of swords and shields.

Think of Lord of the Rings--Middle Earth is mostly an empty wilderness to explore. I love this about it, and I'm sure other people do too. It's just so different and refreshing to picture untold miles of unspoiled and uninhabited land.

I'm interested in this idea because I do live in a medium-sized city which is heavily industrialized and polluted, and I didn't start reading fantasy until I moved here. I love books where the setting is very green and wild, I love descriptions of forests and trees, because really this is sometimes the only nature I can get.

My husband and I are planning on moving to the country eventually. We are not city people in the least. We crave peace and quiet...and we both love fantasy.

So does anyone else think there is a connection between a dislike for city life and fantasy reading, or am I totally off my rocker here?

[James Carmack]

I'm sure you're not alone, Miri, but I'd say I'm an exception to your hypothesis. I've lived, worked and played in a wide variety of environments, but I spent my formative years as a simple farm boy and I appreciated fantasy well before I got a taste of city living. My experiences have desensitized me a bit, though. Where I am doesn't quite matter so much anymore. I'm fairly content just to be, so I don't have any underlying feeling that drives my interest in fantasy.

If someone's going to psychoanalyze me, though, they might assert that I'm rather dissatisfied with reality as all my hobbies involve escapism in one form or another. Of course, I consider psychoanalysis to be a science roughly on the same level as phrenology. That's a whole different can of worms, however, and I won't go there.

[Phellim]

I live on the outskirts of Dublin, which is quite a big city, especially for Ireland, it's the biggest in the country. I frequently go to the city, every week, but the town I live in is surrounded by wonderful views of mountains, behind my house there is a huge line of trees, some as high a 85 feet, I guess. And I live on the coast, so there's a huge beach too.

At all times I'm 5 minutes drive from a completely urban environment, but also, could take a walk up mountains, or to a nearby forest almost as quickly. I have the best of both worlds, but I still love fantasy books.

Maybe you should include a poll if you want an exact number.

[Miriamele]

Nah, I don't need an exact number, I was just hoping for a discussion.

I think maybe you hit it on the head James with your mention of escapism. For me, I want to escape from the urban environment when I read. This is probably why I didn't enjoy Perdido Street Station. I want to escape in my books to a place with fresh air and nice scenery, generally speaking.

Other people might read fantasy for different forms of escapism.

LOL, when you described your young self as "a simple farm boy" I pictured the little dude from the Harvest Moon video game, which my daughter is playing right now. :D

[James Carmack]

If you imagine the kid from Harvest Moon sitting inside and playing video games instead of doing actual farm work, the picture would be complete. ^_^;

[Severn]

Hm...I live in a city now...but I grew up in the country, with rivers and waves and wind as the music that put me to sleep each night...(well, aside from the nights Dad was playing heavy metal :rolleyes: )

So, no, born and bred country girl. I would also love to live in the country again, though, I miss that river.

[manephelien]

I live in a suburban environment, the best of both worlds really. There are some over 50 year old trees I can see right out my window obscuring the view to the houses opposite, but I also get all the services I need within walking distance.

I like both sci-fi and fantasy. :p

[kron]

I've grown up in a small mountain town so nature is not an incentive to me. In fact when I read fantasy most of the time I skip the parts depicting the surroundings with more than 2 sentences.

It has always been the story there for me.

[saintjon]

If you imagine the kid from Harvest Moon sitting inside and playing video games instead of doing actual farm work, the picture would be complete. ^_^;

Yeah that about goes for me too. I did do a LOT of farmwork after I hit a certain age though, but it was mostly operating big machinery. Nothing like driving a machine the size of a house before you've hit high school ;)

The appeal for me was more what happened than the setting it happened in. Or should I say, the appeal of the setting back then was the obvious lines of good and evil that were drawn, and the adventurous and violent nature of the stories was very exciting.

It seems to me that a lot of the more popular newer works happen to a large extent in some desert somewhere in a collection of dingy horrible cities. There's no rural appeal to settings like Stover's Ankhana (or his vision of Earth in the future for that matter) Bakker's Three-Seas region, Erikson's 7 Cities Continent (with Malaz City down in Quon tali being an even bigger cess-pit of human squalor).

So why all this scuzz then? It certainly is NOT like I'd want to leave my admittedly small and startlingly hedonistic North Ontario crap-town with the sort of rugged beauty that dominates up here to go live in some filthy crime-ridden, run-down sprawl out in the desert somewhere.

I guess I should say I don't mind living in the city all that much either. Well, I liked Ottawa well enough anyways. I hate toronto and most of the many cities I've been to in the states.

[kged]

Excellent question Miriamele, it's a fascinating thought. I live in the city, but I get to the country whenever I can - and I appear to be unable to enter a wood or walk across a field without my head filling with fantasy scenarios. I wonder where Elves would live in this forest, or how I'd defend that crag against a greenskin horde. Please say that's not just me?:confused: