: Re: Would you advise against having a fictional continent as the setting for a Science Fiction story? Let me elaborate. In things such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings (so, high fantasy),

@Bryan361

The examples cited by you of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings are both set in what are usually called Secondary Worlds. These are worlds essentially similar to our own, but with different yet still similar histories and geographies. So they can have lands and continents that do not exist in our own world. In secondary worlds inventing your own continents is simply par for the course.

Historically we have imaginary lands such as Atlantis, Lemuria and Hyborea. These fantasy lands were created at times when peoples understanding of geography and geological history was impoverished compared to the present era.

Fiction set in worlds which are ostensibly versions of ours can contain smaller imaginary bodies of land such as Treasure Island and Skull Island (as in King Kong). There is also the Soviet Union era novel set on the imaginary island of Crimea. Alas, I don't remember the author's name or the title of the novel.

Closest equivalent to what you ask is the British literary novel Continent by Jim Crace. This is set on a purely fictional continent. So what you want to do is not without precedent.

In principle there is nothing to stop an author from writing about a fictional continent. It's about time we had the new genre of alternative geography top match the well-established one of alternative history. Have fun with writing it.

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