Still have the plague...

[smeddley]

...and that, and other musings, have put me in the mind of diseases. But not the boring, mundane ones we have here. We're talking about fantasy worlds, or imaginary (zombie!*) kinds of diseases.

I used to read a lot more sci-fi/fantasy than I do now, but from my fuzzy recollection J don't seem to recall much in the way of STDs - and I do have a little bit of a problem believing in a world without them. Even in Star Trek, where they have uber-technology to cure everything (nanobots!), it still sometimes goes horribly pear-shaped (rogue nanobots!).

So in a magical fantasy world, if there were STDs, would they be cured magically? Or, more importantly, would you have MTDs (magically transmitted diseases)?



* Ultimate Warrior had Vampires vs Zombies for their season finale, and it sucked so very very much. Not that the show is usually much good, but, man, this episode was so bad.

Comments

[clare_dragonfly]

I tend to assume that if a world has magical healing, they can deal with STDs too. Though, I really like the idea of MTDs.

[smeddley]

I think that's one of the reasons I don't like a lot of the magical stuff anymore - a lot of times it makes things too easy. Magic should have consequences (one of the things I like about the Hollows series)and repercussions. No 'get out of jail free' cards, as it were.

MTDs could work one of two ways - they could make you physically sick (just like any disease) or they could corrupt your magical ability. I think I like the latter more...

[clare_dragonfly]

Yeah, I think magic having consequences is pretty much one of the criteria of a fantasy novel being good. What's the Hollows series?

This is an intriguing idea...

[smeddley]

A Vampire, a Witch, and a Pixie form a detective agency... yes, it sounds like a joke, but really, that's the heart of it (and there's a demon involved later on... and some other characters that I wouldn't want to spoil, should you read it). I do like the books (well, audiobooks), though there are some things about them that drive me mad. But the basic idea of the Turn (a genetically altered tomato species wipes out a lot of humanity and lets the... others out into mainstream life) and the characters are enjoyable. It has one of those quirky, slightly annoying but a bit endearing protagonists. And some great sayings, my favorite of which is 'crap on toast'.

This is a link to her website and the series.

I think it has merit, but it would take some world-building and figuring out...

[clare_dragonfly]

Oh, I actually have one of those! The Outlaw Demon Wails. I picked it up at a used book sale because the title made me grin. Is this a series that should be started at the beginning?

[smeddley]

Yes, very much so! There's a lot of story that runs through the series, and I think you'd miss out on a lot of it if you start in the middle!

[clare_dragonfly]

Good to know! I shall look for the first book at the library!