My Top 5 Science Fiction Places

This list is posted in conjunction with OWS CyCon, a massive cyber book convention happening in just a few weeks. In addition to this post, I’m participating in a Sci-Fi Punk Blog Hop, Cover Wars, and I’m taking over the Fantasy and Sci-Fi Readers Lounge on Facebook, on Saturday 5/18 from 4-5pm.

Here’s a link to my booth on the OWS CyCon site and there’s more information on CyCon at the end of this post: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/alison-lyke-author-booth/

I decided to write my Top 5 post about my favorite places in science fiction so that I could honor the worlds I love and span multiple genres. 

5. Tatooine from Star Wars 

​ A "wretched hive of scum and villainy." – Obi-Wan Kenobi

​As the first planet in the 1977 debut of the saga, Tatooine introduced Star Wars. I have an affinity toward the desert, perhaps because I was born there or maybe because I live in a cold place and I covet all that warmth. I love Tatooine’s city, Mos Eisley, because it’s an intergalactic melting pot with an unseemly underbelly. 

4. Mars from Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles 

“Perfect, faultless, in ruins, yes, but perfect, nevertheless.” ― Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles

​To clarify, I mean Mars before the human colonization. Although the “There Will Come Soft Rains” Mars does have a kind of horrifying beauty. The Martians with their surreal homes and alien minds are the best part of the book, even though they don’t claim much of the narrative.
 

3. The Republic of Gilead from Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale 

“This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.” ― Margaret Atwood, A Handmaid’s Tale 

​Gilead is a place that once was for all of us and still is for some of us. More importantly, it’s an emotional reality for every woman who has been underestimated, demeaned, and abused. The first time I read this, I cried through the whole novel because I felt it and because I was relieved. I was relieved to find out that someone was speculating on the consequences of modern misogyny. 

2. USS Voyager from Star Trek 

​“Who wanted to muck around in the dirt when you could be studying quantum mechanics?” - Captain Janeway

​I’m a fan of all of the ships in Star Trek, especially the new Discovery, but the USS Voyager is the most interesting. With the ship hopelessly lost in space, Captain Janeway pulls together two warring crews and navigates the starship through the unknown using a mix of resolve and compassion. Voyager is untethered from the Federation, so they are free to explore original places and dilemmas. 

1. The Republic of San Lorenzo from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle 

“Life is a garden, not a road. We enter and exit through the same gate. Wandering, where we go matters less than what we notice.”  ― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle  
 

​San Lorenzo is a fictional banana republic in the Caribbean and the setting of my favorite book by my favorite author. It’s a gorgeous, lush, warm paradise with its own strange religion, banned by the government to make it more popular among the citizens. The foolishness and despotism of the leaders of San Lorenzo have far-reaching and globally devastating consequences. An important reminder in these times. 

​That's it for my Top 5 Sci-Fi Places - what are yours? 

OWS CyCon Information

OWS CyCon officially runs May 17-19 with the CyCon website and Facebook events acting as the hub for all of our events. Sign up for our newsletter or RSVP to the event to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the bookish goodness we have to offer. Plus, you can read more about our participating Sci-Fi authors and their Top 5 favorites in Sci-Fi before CyCon starts. Visit the blog hop page any time leading up to CyCon for the latest posts and your chance to enter our MEGA giveaway (open May 10)