XX's Reviews > World-Building for Writers: The Complete Handbook: From Constructed Languages to Mythical Realms

A beginner-intermediate worldbuilding book for writers who want to put characters, plot and theme first, and how to give them a livable, breathable sense of place.

Reads a lot like a very literary, solo Reddit thread at times; this is an observation, not a detractor, although some readers may wish to skip the short autobiography inserted at the start (I see people do this on Reddit a lot, hence my comment) and get to the advice.

As far as worldbuilding books go, this is neither the best nor the worst, but it has things to impart (especially to beginner writers) of great value. If you are more interested in worldbuilding first, characters second, this book may not benefit you so much, but if you're doing it that way it's less likely you're doing it with successful publication in mind.

There was a lot of advice in this that I read very quickly because I've internalized it from other books on the subject, although of course I wanted to hear as many voices giving different takes on the same core themes of worldbuild and storytelling.

Likewise, the author cites resource websites they use and recommend, like TVTropes and Inkarnate -- again, getting those Reddit vibes -- but the thing is those are actually quite invaluable resources to people interested in this topic and not everyone's aware they exist (even if I do).

Overall the author is confident and has a conversational tone, and makes it clear that they are aiming this book at story-writers who want to enhance their stories through the act of worldbuilding, and what and what not to do. And that, in my opinion, is perfectly fine.

If you are a hardcore worldbuilder hobbyist then this may not be the book for you as anything other than a refresher (although it does have a rather condensed but interesting chapter on conlangs and fantasy linguistics which might spark something). But for novelists and story writers looking to enhance their skills by learning how to worldbuild and moreover do so in a way that doesn't detract from their themes and stories, but elevates them instead, I would definitely recommend this as a fairly solid place to start if you're looking for some primers.