Tuesday 22 January 2013

Top Ten Tuesday


I've decided to start joining in with a fun meme called Top Ten Tuesday, hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten topic is set, with each blogger giving their own answers.

This week's topic is:

Settings I'd Like to See More Of (Or At All)


1) The far far future. I've read a lot of near future, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, even fairly distant future space operas and sci-fi. But really far far futures seem to be quite rare to me. Like Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, or space civilisations so far in the future that anything is possible.

2) Epic fantasy settings that aren't heavily based on our world. I love things like A Song of Ice and Fire, but fantasy is a big genre, and there's room for all kinds of stories. And it's fantasy. Anything goes! You don't have to show a patriarchal, sexist, racist, homophobic society with real historical weapons and clothes and castles if you don't want to. So much epic fantasy is The Past + Magic, and that's great! But I'd also like to see something really different.

3) Cities in the UK that aren't London. I might just be reading the wrong genres for this, but it seems to me that so many stories set in the UK are inevitably in London.

4) Countries that aren't the UK or USA. I know this is really my own fault as a reader. I should seek out more diverse settings and cultures. It would be nice to see these making it into the mainstream even more though, particularly in fantasy and science fiction.

5) Ancient Greece. Okay, there are a fair few of these, but I still want to read more of them! And it does feel like Rome gets a lot of the attention.

6) Autumn. My favourite season, and I'd love to read some stories where autumn is heavily part of the setting - the leaves, the colours, the holidays...

7) Mythical/fairytale settings. I love them. These are becoming more popular now. More please!

8) The Seychelles/Mauritius. I've never even seen a book in a bookshop that's set in this part of the world. I have family-in-law from the Seychelles, so I really should try to find some stories from there/set there.

9) Settings that combine science fiction and fantasy. Steampunk does this a little, but I'm talking typical sci-fi elements and typical fantasy elements. Aliens and magic? Laser-guns and dragons? Wizards in space? Magic as a sustainable fuel? Or something completely different and surprising.

10) Virtual worlds. I think I've read one. Possibly two. These seem to exist more as films than as books... or perhaps I just haven't found them. I mean things like Tron, or The Matrix, or The Thirteenth Floor. Or stories set in video games? I'd love recommendations if anyone knows of any. I've read Gamerunner and that's all I can think of right now.

That was fun! And quite illuminating... I'm sure most of these are actually out there; I just need to push my boundaries a little more while choosing books.

What about you - any settings you love/hate/are completely sick of? Ones you'd love to see more of? Link me your top ten in the comments :-)



24 comments:

  1. I like the futuristic settings! Autumn would be nice too!

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  2. I'm a big fan of fairytale settings as well. And I love your Autumn one. Awesome! :D
    My TTT.

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  3. I agree about non US or UK countries! It's getting old, lets go somewhere else.

    Manda C.
    My TTT: http://isolemnlyswearx.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-ten-tuesday-top-settings-id-like-to.html

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  4. Autumn is my favorite season as well \o/ :)
    I love London but some places outside of it would not hurt, I loved reading about Northumberland ^^ Ireland is awesome as well, just like Oxford/Cambridge :)

    Great list!

    Thanks for stopping by :)

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  5. Such creative ideas! I hope we do see more of these settings as well. Autumn is an under-represented season isn't it? We mostly see winter or summer books.
    I like the idea of the virtual world setting too. Does Ready Player One count? I think you might like that one.

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    1. Yeah, it's weird. Autumn is so beautiful, you'd think it would be used more in books. Ooh, thanks for the suggestion of Ready Player One! I'll check it out :-)

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  6. Nice list...I agree with SO many of them!

    For virtual worlds (which almost made it to my list), I've heard good things about Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (it's on my TBR to read SOON) and the upcoming Rush by Eve Silver looks promising.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Bree :)
    Coffee Bean Bookshelf

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    1. Thanks Bree! I'll definitely have a look at those suggestions. :-D

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  7. We have a lot of the same things!!! UK, fairy/Mythical place and Epic landscapes!!! Thanks for stopping by!!!

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  8. Yes! Seychelles!!!! The paradise that nobody knows about it :) Such a good idea! And I love how you point out "its fantasy - anything goes!" - doesn't have to be past + magic. I'd love to see a really original fantasy too.

    Autumn and fairytale retellings, ah yes. There are plenty of summer/beach books, but autumn, where art thou?

    Here's my list

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  9. Interesting! I suppose for Ancient Greece there's one of the Rick Riordan series, but I haven't come across much else.

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    1. I LOVE the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan! :-) There's also books by Mary Renault, who is a fabulous writer, and more recently The Song of Achilles. They're all really good. I'd definitely like more though! ;-)

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  10. Ooo, I love the idea of virtual worlds. I feel like that's a type of portal fantasy that hasn't been done yet in novels, and yet, has soooo much untapped potential. Especially with this day and age.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm glad you'd read a novel about futuristic Korea :)

    I followed back!

    Books are Bread

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  11. Autumn is my favorite season as well, and I'd love to see more books set during the season! :) Thanks for stopping by my TTT list!

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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  12. Great list...love all of your ideas, especially Ancient Greece. I don't think I've read any books lately with that setting.

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  13. I'll love to read books set in video games too! I've heard about a book that is set in a video game - I forgot the title at the moment - but the problem is, I also heard that that book isn't really good. ):

    My TTT & check out my Most Anticipated 2013 Book Giveaway if you have time! (:

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  14. I completely agree about fantasy going beyond the bounds of past + magic, let me know if you find any!! Thanks for stopping by my blog, new follower :D

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  15. Cool list! Ancient Greece is definitely a good idea... and I love seasonal books. Autumn would definitely be a good setting for a book :)

    Thanks for stopping by My TTT

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  16. I think you're right about autumn. It seems that everything is either summer or winter.

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  17. I agree with the Fairytale setting. They are becoming more popular and I love them as well. Great list! Thanks for stopping by my page.

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  18. Great list! I love your take on fairytale settings - you can do anything you want, so you should!

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  19. I'd love to read books set in Ancient Greece! I was obsessed with that time period while in college. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  20. WIZARDS IN SPACE. I'm dying from potential.

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  21. YES to mythical/fantasy settings! Love! Wizards in space would be amaaaazing.

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