Top Ten Books With Intriguing Settings
(This is a "from the archives" post) first posted on my old blog in 2016. At the time, it was part of a meme by a blog called The Broke and the Bookish. I've edited it slightly to include a lot of what I read these days. :) Enjoy this blast from the past!)
Top Ten Books With X Setting (top ten books set in Victorian England or Regency England, fantasy worlds, etc) that I'd like to visit
As a writer of sweet Victorian romance and fantasy, my favorite settings are.... well, mainly Victorian era London. Of course, we can visit London, but not necessarily the Victorian era. Outside of that one era, here's my favorite book settings (both real and fantasy).
1. Camelot. Come on, think about it. King Arthur, knights. Avalon? Enchanted Wells? King Arthur? Why wouldn't I want to visit (and probably stay!) in Camelot?
2. The world of Michael Moorcock's Elric series. This is set in the beautiful and corrupt world of Melniboné, and is rife with dragons and sorcerers. who needs more? :) I didn't know it when I first read the books, But now that I look back on it the Dreaming City of Immyrr feels very baroque, to me.
3. Gostley Castle, that is to say, the world In Tessa Dare's Regency romance novel, Romancing the Duke.
4, The London in Elizabeth Hoyt's Greycourt series. Though they're set in the Regency, I love the feel of the Greycourt series. I can picture a young Victoria going to the women for advice or help, can't you? And maybe one of her contemporaries rode past Gostley castle on an outing or two.
5. The Duke's East, Three Firs and their surrounding counties, from Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion. This series is set in a gritty countryside kingdom. Its landscapes remind me of the rolling farmlands of North Carolina in certain ways.
6. The space station from The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey. This space station seems much more sophisticated than, say, the International space station. It somewhat reminds me of Deep Space Nine, if the pods felt a little narrower.
7. Rivendell, from Lord of the Rings. The pastoral, peaceful beauty of it, the very artistic houses, wouldn't it be a lovely place to spend a week in. It's relaxing just thinking about it!
8. Tortall. The Medieval-esque world of Tamora Pierce's Alanna series. I'd love to see the castles and schools, also a visit to Port Cayann might be fun. :)
9. These days, well... (this is edited circa 2026) and I think I'd like to visit Macondo. The world in 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. So many odd and wonderful things happen there, It would just make for an interesting stop, especially for a writer, don't you think?
And finally, (if I may mention settings of my own devising) I wouldn't mind visiting Wallflower, my little town in my Camden Girls series, or the Ireland of my novels Druid Warrior Prince, Druid Warrior's Heart, and Druid Defiance. :)
So, that's my list. What book's settings would you like to visit?
