The hard part of this post on favorite SF/F worlds and cultures is picking just a few. I decided to go with books that were childhood favorites, usually indicated by the fact that they’ve been read so much the spines of the paperbacks are barely holding together, plus a couple of media worlds. I’ve left out The Lord of the Rings and all of Andre Norton’s books, because I’ve talked about them before.
These are all worlds that permanently impressed themselves into my brain, and greatly influenced my own writing.
The Middle Kingdoms from Diane Duane’s Tale of the Five. First published in 1979, for me at the time it was a different take on a fantasy culture, where bisexuality is the norm, the genders are more equal and female heroes aren’t unusual. The epic magic mixed with science fiction elements (in the portals to other worlds) reminded me of Andre Norton’s SF/F, and I read the first two books over and over.
Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander. This is a perfect starter series for hooking kids on epic fantasy, and I don’t remember when I first read it. It was one of the books I found in the children’s section of the Fort Worth Public Library, in a set of large hardbacks with attractive covers. The five book series has all the elements of epic fantasy, with young protagonists, a fascinating world that gets bigger the further you go, and a story that gets more complicated and darker as it goes on. My only problem was that someone had made off with the first volume, The Book of Three, so I had no idea how the characters met until years later, when I found it in a reissued paperback in a bookstore. To this day, I think it’s given me a fondness for stories and series that start in medias res.
Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin. Earthsea I found in a bookstore, attracted by the gorgeous cover of the first paperback and the beautiful map. What primarily impressed me in Earthsea is the feel of the world. It’s never grittily realistic like some of my other favorite fantasy worlds, but the magic and the mystic quality of Ged’s journey still feels absolutely real.
Dune by Frank Herbert. I first read this book way too early to understand it, but the fully-realized setting and the cultures and the great sweep of history it evokes grabbed my imagination and wouldn’t let it go. For me, none of the other books in the series ever came close to this one.
Polymath by John Brunner. This was another book I first read too early, but it’s a classic story of ordinary people shipwrecked on a strange planet, forced to build a new life none of them have ever prepared for. I still love this kind of “stranded on a desert island in space” story, and the story of a large group of dissimilar people who have to learn to pull together as a community to survive.
Star Wars the original movies caught my imagination with the sense of limitless worlds and no boundaries. I’d read SF for years before Star Wars came out in 1977, but these movies gave SF color and life in a way that hooked me completely.
And weirdly, Land of the Giants. This was my absolutely favorite show as a kid. This was back before cable, when if you were lucky you got four channels you could see and one staticy one you could hear. There was an independent station that showed old movies, old TV series, serials, cartoons, and Land of the Giants. They also showed Lost in Space, but it didn’t grab me like LotG. The plots were batshit crazy adventures that required character ingenuity to survive, the cast was an ensemble of pretty people (particularly co-pilot Dan and pilot Steve on the top right) and the characters actually seemed to like each other. And, as opposed to Dr. Smith in Lost in Space who tried to kill everybody at first on purpose and later by sheer stupidity and negligence, the load character (played by Kurt Kasznar) was actually a nice guy who used his con man skills to help everybody survive.
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Speaking of excellent fantasy worlds and cultures, Courtney Schafer is giving away two signed copies of her debut adventure fantasy The Whitefire Crossing.
I got to read the book before it was out, and I liked it so much I gave it a cover quote: “The Whitefire Crossing is a tense adventure fantasy, with magic, intrigue, and engaging characters in a desperate race to cross a deadly mountain range. The realistic detail of the mountain trek and the ever-present danger from the mages make this an exciting original read.” You can read a first chapter excerpt on Courtney’s website here.
Entering is easy: just comment on any of our posts this week (starting with this one) with the name of a favorite SF/F world or culture. Want to up your chances of winning? Comment on multiple posts (one entry per post).
Paul (@princejvstin) on August 7, 2011
As I have mentioned in this space and others, world building and the playground of the imagination were, for a long time, the first and in many cases only thing I looked for in a genre novel. I read many many novels and stories where plot, character and language were lacking, but the fourth aspect, setting, sealed the deal for me.
That said, I glommed onto Dune early on, mainly because Muad’Dib and I share the same first name. The fact that Dune has virtues far beyond a wonderfully described world and culture was gravy. At that time, I was fascinated by the planet.
arkessian on August 7, 2011
Oh, the atevi in C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner universe do it for me, every time.
Sasha on August 7, 2011
Terry Pratchett’s discworld has been one of my favorite hangouts for decades.
Melita on August 7, 2011
+1 on The Middle Kingdoms. Also, the People stories by Zenna Henderson. Both are very positive, humanistic cultures.
Greg Lincoln on August 7, 2011
To start the week off I’ll toss in my longest time favourite setting dating back go my earliest fantasy reading memories… As a pre teen, a teen ager and as an adult the world of Melnibone and the young kingdoms from Michael Moorcock has held my imagination.. any time he hast returned to that setting or any iteration of those characters I am on board…. I dread the time a movie is made because it will not live up to my memories of the chaos magic ridden lands only the demise of Melnibone… I’ve got more so expect to see more of me this week but I hade to start with my most long lived fantasy vacation land…
moonchylde on August 7, 2011
I love Callahan’s Crosstime Salloon, and a few other series of both written and drawn universes that have guest appearances from possibly alternate realities.
I am incredibly fond of Prachett and other authors, but my love of cartoons means that the world of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and other animated mashups are among my favorites.
The “City of Bones” world is fantastic. I just re-read that recently and I wish I could explore all of the levels of the city.
I love She-Hulk for breaking the fourth wall. Not many traditional comics do that anymore, but she technically still has that as one of her powers.
Jessica Reisman on August 7, 2011
I loved Land of the Giants when I was a kid, too.
Patricia McKillip’s Riddlemaster world, and the world of the Cygnet books staked out a firm place in my inner landscape. SF-wise, Cherryh’s Alliance-Union universe has always been very compelling for me.
Chris Boone on August 7, 2011
I love Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.
Kat on August 8, 2011
Earthsea, definitely, and also Roger Zelazny’s Amber, which encompasses our world, but includes so much more. It was one of my first RPG’s as well, so really allowed for that sort of exploration.
Kyle Gillette on August 8, 2011
For me, it was always Barsoom. I was 12 when I found a copy of “A Princess of Mars” at the local library — with a Frank Frazetta painting on the cover. I think every SF/F fan knows the one I’m referring to: John Carter holding a bloody sword aloft, his other arm embracing the gorgeous and nearly nude Dejah Thoris, and one foot atop a crumpled green Martian. How could a 12 year old kid NOT read a book with a cover like that? Inside the book was a treasure of the fantastic that still compels and amazes to this day. Crumbling ruins of great cities, massive and desolate canals, hordes of green Martians atop thoats thundering over a sward of red grass and ochre moss, anti-gravity fliers, radium pistols and the scarlet and yellow twin towers of Helium — few fantasy books to this day can match the imagery Burroughs conjured up.
Estara on August 8, 2011
Oh god, it’s so heart to just pick one fascinating world…
Okay, my most recent discovery (because I think I discovered the Atevi Universe before then) is Sherwood Smith’s Sartorias-deles in all its varied glory – some of the books are for middle graders, some are young adult (like her most popular book in that world so far – Crown Duel) and I most adored and got worked up most about her DAW series Inda.
The worldbuilding is so widesweeping and has such a huge saga behind it, in my mind it comes close to Tolkien’s intricacy about Middle Earth.
By the way, have you seen that Diane Duane has released her Tale of the Middle Kingdoms/Tale of the Five books again as ebooks, as well as some short stories set there – AND is promising to finish The Door into Starlight IF enough people are interested and say so?!!
Estara on August 8, 2011
heart = hard…
Ah well, I can live with that kind of Freudian slip ^^
NicoleL on August 8, 2011
Oh yes, Patricia McKillip’s Riddle Master of Hed, with its riddles and blind wizards and shapeshifting and music. From childhood on.
More recently, Carol Berg’s To the Lighthouse Duology, with the Danae guardians of nature and the main character’s rebellion against magic and books of maps.
Spaz on August 8, 2011
Not that I would ever want to live there, but I really love the worlds on the Dark Tower series as well as Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings.
PhoenixFalls on August 9, 2011
Just got done rhapsodizing about desert worlds, then scrolled down to this post and realized I forgot how much I love ocean worlds like Earthsea. . .
I didn’t much like the novel, but the world in Amy Thomson’s Storyteller always sounded like somewhere I’d want to be, and my life just won’t be complete if I never get to swim on a Pattern Juggler planet like in Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space universe. . . Sad that the chances of that happening are so slim!
Stace on August 9, 2011
I always have to choose Narnia…
Jean Tatro on August 11, 2011
I’ve noticed that the world and the culture of a fantasy book makes it stuck with me for far longer then just the story. (Most recently was The Cloud Roads.
) Tolkien’s Middle Earth and the world of N. K. Jemison’s Inheritance trilogy are another two worlds that come to mind as stand outs.
Bastard on August 12, 2011
I don’t read much sci-fi, but certainly Star Wars comes to mind. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do a little bit of Jedi Mindtricks and give a high-five to Chewbaca.