Post by Carradee on Jun 23, 2011 13:57:41 GMT -5
www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/06/mind-meld-what-cultures-are-neglected-in-science-fiction-and-fantasy/
Working on my own Northern European-based books it made me wince just a touch. But then how obligated are we to write about other cultures in the first place? Writing "what you know" certainly lends to staying within your own cultural backyard.
I'd rather see more exposure given to native writers of other cultures and then having their influences organically filter in.
That's one of the fun things about the Kate Daniels series—the author is a husband-and-wife team, and the wife's Russian. She incorporates all sorts of folklore in her urban fantasy.
Personally, I've built my urban fantasy world so there's room for everything. The narrator is mainly familiar with the European creatures at this time, since that's what she is, but I have space in there for a ton more lore to come into play.
It's particularly fun because the narrator is still young and naive enough to be wrong even about what she thinks she knows. ;D