A meme ! Haven’t seen this one before either.
At least, not before seeing it on Cyberkitten’s blog on today’s catch up. Here’s a link to his post and his list. I’ve had a quick peek but I’ll have a good look after I hit publish for this one. Don’t want to be led too much by it :-).
Ok. The meme is 11 fictional places that you’d like to visit. You’ll probably quickly guess what a few of these will be …
First up, as suggested by the thumbnail is the Federation of Star Trek. And the other assorted worlds and empires that make up the Star Trek universe. They created such a rich and varied universe in Star Trek and around the various war areas, it seems a great place to live in. A utopia. But it’s that richness that attracts one to Star Trek, there’s something new to see in every light year and the ability to travel to see it.
In more fantasy territory, there are the Dragonriders of Pern. These are from the books of Anne McCaffrey and it was a fantastic series until it kinda ran out of steam when it finished its main arcs. However ! It has dragons. It also has fire lizards, or miniature dragons. The books I liked the most were the Menolly books, where she escaped from her early life and found wonder in music.
Third one will be the Culture universe of Iain M. Banks. You’ll probably notice a theme where I’m looking out for the variety in the universe and the Culture is no exception. Humanity are overseen by Machine Minds, who take care of their whims. Humanity joins in with the ultimate variety via self modification. It’s most definitely a utopian society, however there are always things nibbling at the sides, threatening the integrity of that utopia. And then there are the Minds and the often irascible drones that are a vital part of this system.
Fourth up is the Belgariad world from David and Leigh Eddings. These books were amazing for their character interplay, which brought a huge amount of fun to the books. However, the books also form a journey through the diverse countries and cultures that make up this world. Always something new to see and fanatic cultists to avoid in case they turn their beady eyes to your chest and the heart within.
Let’s see. Babylon 5 has to be number 5. This was a very special series from the 90s and I was utterly glued to it throughout. This series was utter brilliance from start to finish. Threads were set up early that took seasons to develop. You had spectacular interplay between characters such as Londo and G’Kar. Susan Ivanova was an especially inspiring character. There was high drama, there was fun to break it up. It brought spectacular battles through innovative cgi. Hopeless battles and last ditch fights. Inner struggles and galactic wide conflict. This series was amazing, brilliant and I think I’ll be watching it again after I’m done with Stargate.
These next two will probably go together. I’m a firm fan of The Expanse, although I’m not too sure about where it’s going … It’s another rich world to lose yourself in although it’s perhaps a little too polarised between the various communities. A dream given form with ports where diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs and wanderers gather. All alone in the night A dangerous place but our last best hope for peace.
Oh wait … that quote is from Babylon 5. It’s the season 1 intro and it’s quite brilliant. Here it is voiced by Michael O’Hare who is sadly no longer with us. He had to leave the show due to severe mental illness, although his character Cdr Jeffrey Sinclair had a chance to return and complete his story. So many things about Babylon 5 were incredible and I would thoroughly recommend giving the series a watching.
Number 7 is the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. These called out to me right from the start as a triumph for engineering, especially Nadia’s story as she’s setting up the first Martian city.
Hmm, what shall 8 be ? Larry Niven’s Known Space series is also an excellent example of diversity and wonder. But watch out for those Kzin because they’ll eat you. The Rimworld books are books I would heavily recommend.
Number 9 is back to fantasy and it’s a really dangerous place. It’s the Warhammer Fantasy universe with a planet inhabited by your classic fantasy cultures, with man split up into several nations, there are the dwarves and elves, dark elves across the ocean and a few other cultures and races dotted around too. Always something happening, usually weird, usually with influence from the portals at the poles of the world from which chaos boils forth, corrupting the land around. Another dangerous place but full of adventure.
I think Number 10 has to be the near future, as a mix of the various cyberpunk worlds of games like Shadowrun and Deus Ex. Everything is possible, everything is feasible … at a cost. These worlds dive into extreme modification and high technology with our minds breaching into the cyber world or being melded to cybernetic technology in the real world.
If the first is Star Trek, the last definitely has to be Star Wars. This is another galaxy of endless wonder and variety. There’s always something new to see, a new scam to run, a scheme to evade and something of wonder to find. I think I’d choose the prequel era to avoid the Empire or the Old Republic era of the games, which was set around 4000 years before the films.
That’s it for my 11, although honourable mentions must go to worlds like : Anne McCaffrey’s Brainships, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon’s Sassinak series, the Honorverse from David Weber, Elizabeth Moon’s universe that started up in Hunting Party, the Forgotten Realms of Faerun, the grim dark future of Warhammer 40k, the multiverses of Heinlein and …..
How could I miss this one out :
I’ll make it 12 places and add the Discworld as the last one.