[manephelien]

Babylon 5 definitely.

Pern maybe, but only as a relatively high-ranked person, preferably after the rediscovery of AIVAS.

[homosap]

think this needs to be re-named worlds and/or artifacts, personally I really love some of the artifacts(BDO's):-

Ringworld
The Smoke Ring
Quite a few other Niven worlds like Jinx and the 'food' world in Bordered in Black

Orbitals, Habitats and GSV's from Ian M Banks Culture universe

Rama

I also enjoy new world conquest types so Coyotte by Alan Steele is up there. As are Dosadai, Camelot with the Grendells and the new worlds in Peter F Hamilton books.

Frederick Pohl' Gateway

Neal Ashers work, Spatterjay, the Polity and the big AI's, plus of course Dragon.


I was/am a huge B5 fan and missed it all first time round so bought the boxed sets and therefore got to watch the whole thing in short order. There were some fairly pointless, filler type, episodes but there was always some addition to the underlying story. This cohesion, and intricacy, over such scale was what made it stand out for me. Crusade began well before going rapidly downhill and fading away. Then we have Andromeda, I bought the entire thing on computer disk to watch, had to download some SW to view. Thought for a while this was going to be able to rival B5, an intriguing concept with hints towards a great sublying plot. Boy did it fail to deliver, I watched to the end out of sheer stubborness but it was no good.

If anyone wants the entire 5 series of Andromeda on DVD disks, you need to download codex to run on computer or have a DVD player capable of viewing them, then you're welcome. I'm in the UK and will pass them on free of charge. I don't even mind covering a reasonable value of postage, though the honest amongst you would reimburse my postage once you received the disks(and checked you could play them). Just drop me a PM, first come first served.....Al

[Ropie]

Rama
Yes, Rama is a fantastic world because Arthur C Clarke does such a great job of describing the alien scenery in objective terms (in the first book anyway, I've not read the others).

[RimWorlder]

I'll agree with Microbe's pick of Mesklin and homosap's pick of Gateway (I presume the reference is to the gateway asteroid - what a creepy/cool place).

I'll add Cordwainer Smith's Norstrilia and the Earth depicted in that tale, second the motion on Zarathustra and Arrakis.

and, of course, Chandler's Rim Worlds - Lorn, Faraway, Thule and Ultimo:

"...they are not planets that one would ever recommend for a vacation. There's the dreariness, that ever-present sense that one is hanging by one's eyebrows over the very edge of the ultimate cold and dark." (Chandler)

[FremenWarrior]

Babylon 5 definitely.

Pern maybe, but only as a relatively high-ranked person, preferably after the rediscovery of AIVAS.

Totally agree about babylon 5 being great but I would like to suggest...

1.Planet Arrakis (Dune/Frank Herbert)

2. The World of Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?(Phillip K Dick)

3. The world of the Eloi and Moorlocks (H.G.Wells/ The Time Machine)

All of these are described and presented vividly and with a lot of their own personality and traits that other authors lack.