A Fantasy Series for Tiki Lovers?
Last week, a friend visited Tucson during the Book Festival. We got to spend a lot of time talking about fantasy--he's an avid reader, whereas I have remained at the gateway with the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones. My friend's visit came after a long conversation with a colleague who pointed out that fantasies tend to basically retell the story of Europe from a medieval perspective. Ancient civilization (read Rome), island kingdom (read Britain), etc.
As a kid, I was fortunate enough to visit Hawaii many times with my family. I was struck by the richness of Hawaiian legends, the dramatic variation of ecology on the islands, and by the unique perspectives native Hawaiians have of their place in the world. After my friend left, I got to thinking: what about a fantasy set in a second world--more specifically, a second Hawaii?
I completely nerded out and drew a map in Illustrator. The names reflect a thousand year history (rather than several thousand years), so they are meant to be informative. Readers should check out the names of Pitcairn Island for my inspiration. Also: the islands would have a bunch of extinct creatures that once co-existed with people. Haast's eagles, anyone? Below is a draft.
Ooo, I like "Broken Ribs" and "The Whale Path." Those seem to connote that mystic history your referred to... along with "Fireteeth"
ReplyDeleteSecondly, check out Judith Schalansky's "Atlas of Remote Islands" (http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Remote-Islands-Judith-Schalansky/dp/014311820X). I think the same kind of approach is used, especially the nod to mysticism or a shrouded history or even etymology of island names based on their use/purpose. For every island, she has a map on one page, and a corresponding, narrative-based description on other other.