Possible Novel Ideas

For a long time I've considered writing a novel. Most of my writing has been poetic, but I've also wanted to write a proper story. Not that I've grown tired of writing poems, but I want to dip my toes into storytelling. In particular, I've thought about two different story ideas that I'll detail below:

1. Romance of the Seven Planets. A science-fantasy adventure tale inspired by the manga/anime Seiho Bukyo Outlaw Star and set in a universe where the cultures of Imperial China and Victorian Britain lasted into the Space Age. The protagonist (name to be determined) is a young man, first son of a prominent tea merchant fallen on hard time, has his eyes set on the cosmos. When his father's business is shut down by the Heavenly Emperor's army, the young man steals his father's tea trade secrets and stows away aboard a renegade British space pirate vessel, the Prometheus. This vessel, once the flagship of the Royal Space Navy, is headed by a mysterious cyborg captain who almost never shows his face to his crew. Our youthful protagonist finds out that his new home is bound for a semi-legendary pirate hangout on Charon, the outermost planetary settlement that mankind has settled prior to entering interstellar space.

This is just a rough story idea. Pirate-themed stories along the lines of Treasure Island fascinated me as a kid. I'll draw up a more complete draft of this story, whose title may also change (it was originally a reference to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as the story was originally more akin to a wuxia or Chinese-themed novel).

2. In the Hall of the Sapphire King. A medieval-fantasy adventure featuring anthropomorphic animals. Inspired by various anthro-themed media--Redwall, The Secret of NIMH, and The Great Mouse Detective, to name a few--and originally starring a mouse character created by an internet friend of mine as well as my own character/fursona, Tybalt, Sixth Baron Boulderpaw. However, I am considering making Tybalt the main character, and creating friends and fellow-travelers who can go with him on a journey. The main idea is a typical quest story, this time in search of the mysterious Sapphire King. The Sapphire King is a mysterious blue wizard, a sorcerer who lives in a land of permanent ice and snow far to the North, a place from which no man has returned alive. He is rumored to possess supreme alchemical knowledge as well as riches beyond any mortal's wildest dreams. It is said his palace is made of pure sapphire and his body is tinged with blue as well. Tybalt, the young and adventurous Sixth Baron of Boulderpaw, is totally determined to acquire the alchemical knowledge which this mysterious entity is rumored to possess. His grandfather, the Fourth Baron, passed a secret on to Tybalt as he lay dying: his secret journals, full of legends and notes on spells, contain a putative map to the Sapphire King's icy lair.

This story is one I've given more thought to, especially after I finished the first Redwall novel and began reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I'll go through and give this idea a more complete draft as well. In fact, I've already handwritten a couple opening chapters. If I revise those, I'll be sure to post them here and ask for criticism and suggestions. I'm always open to comments and the like. Let me know in the comments on this post what you think of these two ideas. :-)