Journey from fantasy mountains to super-cities, through piratical seas and up into space without missing any must-see sights – or putting a foot wrong with the locals! Whether you’re Lord of the shoestring-budget or Luxe Skywalker – Notes from Small Planets is your pastiche passport through the best worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Your ultimate travel guide to all the must-see locations in the worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

The perfect gift for self-professed geeks and fans of all things genre – from classic genre listeners to new young disciples of nerdery. From misty mountains to wizarding schools, from the homes of superheroes to lairs of infamous villains – visit your favourite worlds and discover new ones – all without ever missing a single landmark or traditional dish. What’s orc for ‘bon voyage’?

Review!

Notes from small planets spans 8 fictional worlds from the Fantasy land of Middlevelde filled with Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, Humans and slightly smaller humans to Wasteland a post-apocalyptic world filled with advanced AI, zombies & apes. Any SFF fan will notice nods to worlds we all know and love from the likes of Tolkien, Martin, Star Wars & Star Trek as well as ‘dead pirates’ from Pirates of the Caribbean and even the ‘superhero’ style world of the Avengers. Each different world is created from a well know trope, which is then promptly ripped to shreds in a witty and satirical way, whilst also dealing with a multitude of social issues: When exactly is an ‘Animal’ classed as highly intelligent, who really are the ‘good guys’ when it comes to super heroes, are Goblins really just baby Orcs?

“Of course, many of Mittlevelde’s animal species are said to possess high intelligence, the ability to use tool, and advanced languages, leading to a growing movement to classify them as people – but this seems a little far-fetched.”

“At least it does to the people who enjoy betting on fights in the Bison Kings Super Monster Arena, right Floyd? ES”

Floyd Watt, the author of the travel guide is a slightly bigoted, extremely sarcastic, and somewhat dense person who has a penchant for getting himself into trouble. He gives us the best of a ‘lonely planet’ guide filled with maps:

history, insights into the culture:

Local cuisine, Currency and even suggested itineraries:

Except instead of the usual historical site tours & Italian restaurants we get ‘Duel a Dragon’, ‘Stumble upon an ancient half-buried monument’ and ‘Mad Tazmins Hell for Fish’ – rickety shed in the Stormwracks, where creatures you’ve never heard of are dunked in rum by a woman with hands like bin lids, then hurled alive onto white hot coals for your delectation.

“Please, though, forget the cheap Fysterosi ‘slayer ranches’: a chance to fight a dragon for the price of a mid-range meal may sound enticing, but when you’re handed a length of chain by a jaded knight smoking a roll-up and given two minutes to go mental on a heavily sedated alligator, you will feel nothing but shame. Believe me. “

One thing that really makes this ‘travel guide’ unique… apart from the whole fantasy world thing… is the footnotes. Both from Watt himself and his editor Eliza. Notes From Small Planets was published unfinished, due to the authors and editors untimely disappearances so the publishers decided to release it all… footnotes included. From Watt we get little additions he didn’t think Eliza would like him putting into the final edit, as well as some out there opinions on things and general sarcasm. Eliza on the other hand constantly calls Watt out on his shit, and his bigoted opinions:

“Floyd, isn’t this both a) alarmingly colonial, and also b) entirely against the ground rules we agreed for your travels? Those flags are meant for sports games not fucking conquest. And don’t you dare tell me it ‘doesn’t count because they’re only plastic.’ ES”

The reader is also left with the mystery of what exactly happened to Floyd and Eliza? Where did they disappear too? The author leaves this pretty open ended, but as the reader we know one thing for certain… it was probably Floyds fault!

“Unfortunately I seem to be in a spot of bother here. And I promise you, I really do, that its not my fault this time.”

Notes From Small Planets is a highly satirical look at the worlds of fiction, highlighting overused tropes and taking us readers to worlds easily recognisable yet impossible to truly visit. Perfect for any SFF lover who is up for a bit of a laugh, doesn’t take things too seriously & wont be annoyed when they find out we unfortunately can’t visit these wonderful worlds.