Reddit mentions of Sailing to Sarantium (Sarantine Mosaic)

This is an interesting idea, especially for those worldbuilders like myself who have worlds heavily grounded in realism.

I think it’s safe to say that the more “realistic” you make an aspect of your world (“realistic” here meaning closely reflecting how the concept existed in the real world), the more believable it will appear to your readers. However, the more in-depth you create it, the more it will come to resemble your influences, to the point where the two concepts are virtual copies of the other. It’s simpler to copy intricate details than recreate them. This is good in a world based in realism. Details will be ordered and logical, allowing you to accurately model real world conditions. If you accurately want your Roman-inspired army to remain supplied in the field, it’s best to copy Roman military logistics.

Of course, if you want to have every detail of your setting exactly as it appears(ed) in reality (which is technically impossible), you wouldn’t be setting it in a constructed setting. It is then equally important to determine why you are creating a fictional setting in the first place. What makes you want to create a fictional locale? Do you like not being bound by history, and the freedom to create events as you wish? Do you like creating new sciences, technologies, or ideas? Use why you wish to create a fictional world to make your setting unique, not, in your words, a “rip-off.” In other words, copy intricate details from reality (such as the process and reasons for inflation in a bullion-based currency system), but allow yourself to be influenced by multiple influences or periods when creating macro-level concepts (like religions). It is important though to construct these ideas in a manner that the society at large could logically exist. The whole must be greater than the sum of its parts.

This is only one perspective. It is perfectly fine to realistically model all major elements of a society off it’s historical or contemporary counterpart. Guy Gavriel Kay has written a number of successful novels set in historically inspired fantasy settings, like Byzantium in [The Sarantine Mosaic] (http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Sarantium-Book-Sarantine-Mosaic/dp/045146351X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405480068&sr=8-1&keywords=sarantine+mosaic) or Muslim Spain in [The Lions of al-Rassan] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Lions-al-Rassan-Guy-Gavriel/dp/0060733497/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1405480129&sr=8-5&keywords=guy+gavriel+kay). The settings of both very closely mirror their historical counterpart, yet enough aesthetic aspects are changed to create a feeling of difference, of uniqueness. If a certain period or society truly inspires you, there is nothing inherently wrong with your setting being strongly influenced by it. After all, what constitutes a “unique rendition” of a topic from a “rip-off” is ultimately a matter of personal taste.

Springing off your preference for Roman history, you should take a look at the first 4 books of The Videssos series starting with The Misplaced Legion, by Harry Turtledove. A pre-Empire Roman legion is transported magically to an alternate world, and find themselves in a world very similar to what we would later call the Byzantine Empire.

Similarly, the Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay, starting with Sailing to Sarantium takes place in a world similar to the Byzantine Empire.

You won't be disappointed.

Also, if you're looking for something a little different, and you're interested in Byzantium, Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic series is set in a fictionalized version of 6th Century Byzantium, and it is flat-out great.