What Inspired The Setting Of 'City Of Thorns'?

2025-06-30 11:43:55 374

3 Answers

Colin
Colin
2025-07-01 19:25:33
Digging into the lore, 'City of Thorns' blends three major influences into something fresh. The architectural horror comes straight from Victorian industrial cities—chimneys pumping magic residue instead of smoke, streets paved with broken enchanted weapons. The author's background in anthropology shines through the nomadic tribes; they're not generic 'desert people' but cultures with trade sign languages and bloodline-based magic contracts, inspired by Mongol horse lords and Saharan salt traders.

The political system is where it gets really clever. The ruling council's 'thorned crowns' are literal—magic vines that burrow into their skulls, a metaphor for power's corruption. This came from researching medieval torture devices combined with parasitic fungi. The guild wars borrow from Renaissance Italy's banking families but with alchemical loans—fail to repay, and your body gets transmuted into collateral. The setting doesn't just feel lived-in; it feels like it's rotting beautifully, with every detail serving both the story and its themes of unsustainable excess.
Lucas
Lucas
2025-07-01 23:52:51
'City of Thorns' hooked me because its setting rejects fantasy clichés. The 'thorns' aren't decorative—they're invasive magical plants choking a once-great city, based on real parasitic vines that strangle trees. The author took inspiration from Mumbai's Dharavi slums for the protagonist's district, where people live in hollowed-out giant bones of dead monsters. The magic system's pollution angle reflects environmental disasters like Minamata disease, with spellcasters getting addicted to their own power like meth cooks.

What's unexpected is the humor woven into the grimness. Street vendors sell 'misfortune cookies' (actual curses as snacks), and the brothels have truth-serum rooms for clients who want honesty with their pleasure. The setting's heartbeat is its contradictions—a place where beauty grows from filth, much like the protagonist's resilience. For deeper cuts, check out 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' for similar vibes of criminal elegance in decay.
Grace
Grace
2025-07-03 08:14:57
The setting of 'City of Thorns' feels like a brutal love letter to dystopian fantasies and real-world urban decay. I get strong 'Blade Runner' vibes from its neon-lit slums, but with a medieval twist—think rusted castles towering over shantytowns. The author mentioned studying Kowloon Walled City for the claustrophobic maze of alleys where sunlight never reaches. The political factions mirror historical mercenary companies mixed with mafia hierarchies, while the constant resource wars echo modern oil conflicts. What's genius is how magic isn't glamorous here; it's a toxic commodity that mutates the poor, turning the city into a living hellscape. The protagonist's journey from gutter to guild assassin mirrors this—power isn't liberation, just a sharper set of chains.
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