The Year of the Snake

Today is the Lunar New Year. You can read about the zodiac system here. My wife and I were in China for the start of the Year of the Snake some 24 years ago today. It’s a highly festive occasion, the Lunar New Year. 

Fritz Leiber adopted “the Year of the [Animal]” for his fantasy world Nehwon, but he didn’t spell it all the way out.  Unlike Tolkien who would write volumes of backstory and create whole languages, Leiber preferred the illusion of depth. Each approach has its advantages, but Leiber’s was decidedly easier. Fantastic stories all the same.