Home of The Sphereworld Chronicles
Sphereworld
A fantasy world built for readers who love discovery, institutions, adventure, and ideas.
What is Sphereworld?
A realistic fantasy world
Sphereworld is a large, realistic fantasy world — complex, because its goal is to mirror the complexity of the real world, to make it believable and tangible. This is not a world built to tell one story, but a world in which thousands of stories occur every day. Not every story is worth talking about, but all of them happen.
At its heart is the complex interplay of a variety of races, kingdoms, gods and factions, punctuated by the legendary individuals that roam (or have roamed) the Sphereworlds. Slotting succinctly into the field of classic fantasy worlds - think humans, dwarfs, elves, monsters & magic - Sphereworld stands out by trying to make the world both liveable (i.e. a place the reader wants to spend time in) and realistic (i.e. making sense internally) without getting bogged down by minutiae.
But of course each world only matter insofar as it gets written about. My approach in writing comes from a genuine love of words; love of the classics, from Dickens to Proust, with a smattering of Pratchett thrown in. I don't want the words to recede into the background to make way for the world and characters; I want words, world and characters to be the triumvirate that together achieves my goal of delighting and enchanting readers.
Why I'm writing it
The fantasy I most wanted to read
I wanted to write the kind of fantasy I most wanted to read: worlds that feel real, lived-in, and worth living in. The kind of world I would like to live and adventure in.
Modern fantasy often trends dark and cynical — every institution corrupt, every bright thing doomed. Sphereworld reaches the other way, toward an optimism that is earned rather than naïve: a belief that progress is real, that people can become good at things, and that civilization, for all its flaws, is one of the most remarkable things any species has ever made. It's supposed to be a world that actually works and (sort of) thrives over time.
Current status
In active development
Sphereworld is being written. There is no release date yet, and it's certain to take a while.
- Currently writing. The first book of The Sphereworld Chronicles is underway, alongside the deeper architecture of the world.
- Occasional journal posts. Notes on worldbuilding, craft, and the questions the project keeps raising.
- A small mailing list. For readers who'd like to follow along, quietly and without fuss.