I previously mentioned how I was partly inspired to write because I wanted there to be books my teenage cousin would enjoy so I could get him to start reading. That was one reason, but there are more.

One of the problems I have with fantasy today is the standard fantasy setting. The problem is, I can say ‘standard fantasy setting,’ and you already know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Some vaguely medieval European setting with no guns (so nothing later than the 1380s), usually having elves, dwarves, orcs, and the occasional halfling. Newer stories will fill the vaguely European setting with non-Europeans, despite how anachronistic it is, and not a single author will ever try writing a story set in a time period where this ethnic diversity would actually make sense, like Classical Rome (in case someone was looking for an idea of a new fantasy setting).

The thing I’ve noticed from writing groups is that, while fantasy as a genre is appealing to many aspiring writers, a lot of them aren’t too keen on the ‘fantasizing’ part. It’s like Tolkien built an oil well of creativity back in the day, and now everyone who wants to be a fantasy author is scrambling on top of it, smashing their keyboards against each other so as to squeeze what little creativity is left to be had. And the worst part is, many of them have no idea how to operate Tolkien’s rig, and are too lazy to read the manual, i.e., the myths and legends Tolkien drew inspiration from.

I decided that it was better to try and build my own oil rig somewhere else. Sure, I could have used my Classical Rome setting, but why stay in Europe? Admittedly, Persia isn’t that far away from Rome, but why not try working with a pantheon of gods hardly anyone in the U.S. knows about? And while I’m at it, why stick to the medieval period? And it’s not like there isn’t a market for stories that break the mold. I hear people across the Internet say all the time that they’d like Hollywood to make a movie or a show about Zahhak the Serpent King, or Journey to the West, or even some mythologies other than Greek and Norse, but the best Hollywood can ever come up with is a reboot of an existing European fairytale or legend and slap a brown coat of paint on some of the characters. This, by the way, is the biggest insult of Hollywood racebending. It’s not just the historical inaccuracy that invokes the uncanny valley, or the hand-me-down nature of formerly white characters, but the subtle implication that only European stories matter.

Of course, the real reason more people don’t make modern versions of these stories, either in a book that’s easier for teenagers to read, or a film, or a show, or anything of the sort, is because it would require more writers to crack open a book.