Fantasy writers should read more history

My blog: https://magpiepinette.substack.com/ My Ko-Fi (including Discord tier): https://ko-fi.com/readingisaskill I'm on Twitter now: https://x.com/MagpiePinette My consulting page: https://magpiepinette.com/ My animal arts & crafts channel (on hiatus):    / @edgubi   Companion channel for short readings aloud:    / @magpierecites   Read the original "Shadow Empires paper" here: https://www.academia.edu/57926206/The... Non-ficion books mentioned (with applicable affiliate links): Shadow Empires: An Alternative Imperial History by Thomas J. Barfield – https://amzn.to/4uXJbHA The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence and the Pillage of an Empire by William Dalrymple – https://amzn.to/4eCYUpd The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester – https://amzn.to/4cpxNy2 The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 1 by Joseph Needham, abridged by Colin Ronan – https://amzn.to/4uR4Zo4 The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia by James C Scott – https://amzn.to/4sgfn7z Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. Scott – https://amzn.to/44fohsj Fantasy books mentioned (with applicable affiliate links): Six of Crows (Grishaverse) by Leigh Bardugo – https://amzn.to/4uPyEOn Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn Saga #1) by Brandon Sanderson – https://amzn.to/4uU3zJs The Grace of Kings (Dandelion Dynasty #1) by Ken Liu – https://amzn.to/4oMYBwM The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang – https://amzn.to/3Smmsr6 Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution (not read) by R. F. Kuang – https://amzn.to/3ShxyxB Chapters 0:00 – Shadow Empires 6:35 – Fantasy Worldbuilding 8:25 - Liu & Kuang critique 9:46 - IRL Indiana Jones 12:24 - The Anarchy 15:27 - Steal these stories 17:08 - Fixing GRRM with Shadow Empires 19:04 - Conclusion