20th century fantasy world

[Lucas]

Do you happen to know of any fantasy world which displays technological evolution between books in a series, and portrays a fantasy world emerging into 20th century technology?

 

[Queshire]

I haven't read many of them myself, but I hear that the Discworld series develops into a more modern standard of living over the course of the series, though it is a magic based society, not a technological one.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

The old "Keeper of the Flame" series (about a bunch of RPG players who get sucked permanently into the fantasy world they're playing) had them start out participating in the fantasy realm, but then they started introducing the modern technologies (gunpowder, electricity, etc.) into the fantasy world, which ended up being hugely disruptive and starting wars.

It's not all that common, much to my chagrin; I actually prefer when a fantasy world has evolved to some degree. Despite everything I love about A Song of Ice and Fire, it bothers me that there's apparently been zero technological progress in the thousands of years of history the world has undertaken.

 

[Lucas]

Not only a lack of technological development. A lack of political development. Fantasy societies tend to be incredibly stable. I know that the Belgariad is narmy, but I use it as a bad example here. Most human societies there have had un-changing borders for millennia, longer time than the actual human civilization in our world has existed. They seem to overestimate the time needed for a society to be stable. The most realistic author in that regard has actually been Robert E. Howard, who basically outlined the development of iron age societies.

 

[Darkblade]

China Miéville's Bas-Lag cycle does this. He has massive developments in the setting's sciences both steampunk technology and thaumaturgy between the first two books (which take place a few months apart) and the third (which takes place decades later). The main setting of the novels New Crobuzon is a very corrupt but still democratic city-state that in the third novel suffers from an attempted political coup.

 

[wordwalker]

The old "Keeper of the Flame" series (about a bunch of RPG players who get sucked permanently into the fantasy world they're playing) had them start out participating in the fantasy realm, but then they started introducing the modern technologies (gunpowder, electricity, etc.) into the fantasy world, which ended up being hugely disruptive and starting wars.

Definitely good; it's Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg. Also (although it's time-travel without fantasy, but much more tech) the Cross-Time Engineer series by Leo Frankowski.

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

It's not a fantasy series, but I believe C.J. Cherry's the Foreigner series (a science fiction) involves technological developments over time. I haven't read the whole series, but would at least like to try to read the first book.

 

[Queshire]

mmmm..... I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but Mark Twain's classic book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court features a man sent back in time to King Arthur's court who uses his knowledge of the future to rapidly advance the society over the course of the book.

 

[Darkblade]

Also of note although not fantasy (time travel/alt-history) is Eric Flint's 1632/Ring of Fire series. A small American town circa 2000 is spontaneously transported to the middle of Germany in 1632, at the height of the Thirty Year War. Bringing more advanced technology, knowledge of history, better knowledge of geography and more modern ideals they set about bringing the American revolution to Europe a few hundred years early. Looks at the events from the perspectives of all parties, including that of world leaders of the time as they look to adapt the uptimer sciences to their own ends and the former Union president as he deals with leading the new nation in the midst of one of the worst wars in human history.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Definitely good; it's Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg. Also (although it's time-travel without fantasy, but much more tech) the Cross-Time Engineer series by Leo Frankowski.

Thank you! No wonder I couldn't find it when I was googling around, but I was sure I had the name right.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I'm working on a setting that's probably rather similar to this. It's rooted in the idea of wanting to see what would happen if a fantasy world didn't get stuck in the "middle ages" but continued to evolve until it is at the same level as the real world today.
A summary of it can be found at Summary and Introduction - Odd Lands Wiki