It’s Sunday again, and time for 8 sentence snippets from a number of your favorite authors. Click on the logo above for Weekend Writing Warriors and on the logo below for Snippet Sunday.
Last time I posted about Riya it was from Marna’s point of view, and she was getting re-acquainted with her own home planet. This time the point of view is Lai’s. Marna has told him how to find the trail and assured him it is safe, but he is finding that while he is familiar with R’il’nian and Terran ecology, Riyan plants and animals are quite different.
The fact that R’il’nian included a word for feather argued that there had been feathered creatures on R’il’n, but none seemed to be native to Riya.
On the other hand, what was the plant off to his right? Instead of branching upward from the roots, it gave the impression of branching downward into the ground. Another plant looked like the skeleton of a geodesic dome, with a huge, brightly colored structure in clashing shades of pink and orange–flower? fruit?–growing inside the dome and protected by it. He moved closer, and found that the colored filaments were being visited by small, winged creatures covered with rainbow scales. A cautious mental probe of one confirmed that the creature had a backbone and six limbs, the middle two modified for flight.
Plant defenses tended to run more to physical protection such as thorns and sticky trunks than poisons. Lai picked his way around an unfamiliar but very hostile-looking bush that was trying to take over the trail, and was glad he’d elected to wear the tough coverall.
No adventure today, just a little more Riyan ecology. Something has to pollinate the flowers.
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Those plants and animals are different. I like how you describe everything he notices. Nice 8!
Luckily I had Lai, to whom this is a strange planet.
Lovely imagery as always, lots of colour and exciting descriptions!
I love building worlds.
Good worldbuilding here. Details like this make this place come alive. If you can make your readers see things clearly that don’t exist, you’ve done it right. This excerpt does that I think. 🙂
One of the fun aspects of science fiction.
Fantastic world-building eight! You bring the surroundings to life brilliantly.
I like those little flying lizards myself.
Fantastic descriptions! I could see your world clearly!
This is just a bit of what would catch the eye of an outsider. Marna would never notice this; it’s what she’s grown up with.
Pretty and fascinating in an alien way. I love the way the planet’s ecology fits together, and enhances the story. Thanks for this charming glimpse! Excellent excerpt!
Riya’s Marna’s home planet, but otherwise doesn’t come into my fiction of the Jarnian Confederation much. This book is published and available, though.
I like how the plant protects its fruit/flowers that grow on its inner portion. Neat! And your pollinators sound delightful too! Lovely eight!
I like the pollinators myself.
Excellent description and world building in this snippet – so very well done I could see it and felt like I was there. Maybe consider inserting some smells or ??? Just a thought. Great #8.
This one’s published, so I can’t do much on smells now. I do have some tastes when he catches up with Marna and they breakfast together.
Fascinating descriptions, as always. I can picture those colourful plants. 🙂
I’ve tried to describe what would catch the attention of an outsider.
A fantasy world in magnificent colors. Wonderful descriptions.
The most beautiful places in the world are also inhabited by hostile forces, and what I sense in this world is that they’ve learned to adapt to the hostility without becoming violent… in other words, what I really like about this world is that they have not become like the hostile forces in their attempt to adapt. I might be reading too much into it, but I do love your beautiful descriptions and the ecology of this place! Thanks for a great 8! 🙂
Very nice world building. Everything seems very different.
Riya’s a mixture of imported R’ln’ian and native Riyan ecologies. Central (Lai’s hom planet) is also a mixture, but of R’il’nian and Earth ecologies. So the R’il’nian plants and animals are familiar to Lai, but not the Riyan natives..
Fantastic as always, Sue Ann!
Well, I do have imagination.
Wonderful, Sue Ann. Your writing is fascinating with the infused biology and botany. 🙂
Geophysics includes it all.
I love the descriptions! The little flying reptile things are intriguing. I want one!
They’d make lovely hair ornaments.