From Middle-earth to Hyrule, here are the 14 most imaginative fantasy worlds
By John Fallon
9. Hyboria, from Conan
If J.R.R. Tolkien is the father of modern fantasy, then Robert E. Howard is the grandfather.
He wrote the tales of Conan the Barbarian, who lived in the world of Hyboria. As opposed to a “high fantasy” story like The Lord of the Rings, Conan is often regarded as “low fantasy,” fitting nearly in the sword and sorcery subgenre. The world of Hyboria is supposedly our world, but set in the distant past, long before the rise of mankind’s first civilizations.
There’s something primal about the world of Hyboria. There are no civilized dangers as one might find in the courts of King’s Landing, nor even great clashing armies that show up so frequently in fantasy. There is no founding age of myth, no dark lord threatening the fabric of the universe, no reluctant hero on a quest to save the world. All Conan wants are women, ale and gold.
His is a world full of lost treasures, fearsome monsters and sorcerers wielding powers they can barely comprehend or control. There are powerful wizards, generals, king, and horrors like in high fantasy, but Conan stories tend to be smaller in scope. Characters act out of their own personal interests. In one tale, Conan conquers a kingdom with his might and savage wit, but not to free its people or for any particularly noble cause. He does it because he can.
Like The Last Airbender, the world-building of in Conan is minimal. But it’s still a very imaginative place, and important to the development of the fantasy genre.