Reinventing fantasy cliches

[Mallus]

Mallus, I love every bit of your in-character CITY posts.

Thanks. They're a lot of fun to write, and I get plenty of encouragement/inspiration from the great group of people I run CITY for. Except, of course, when I overdo the puns. Then I get harsh looks and veiled threats of physical violence.

The setting reminds me of Mieville's Bas-Lag, Pratchett's Ankh-Morpork, and the Jewel Cities of the Black Company novels in a good way.

There's definitely some New Crobuzon in CITY, but not so much Discworld or Black Company (believe me, if I could figure out how to steal from books I haven't read, I would!). I think a lot CITY come from me living in and around large cities for most of my life. That left with the strong impression that all cities should be vibrant, full of dangers we blithely ignore, and basically absurd.