Mega cities and Science fiction

[Hobbit]

Ooh, yes, Phil: I'd forgotten that one, and the books are about a meter away from where I'm sat!

And yes, there was a long publishing gap towards the end of the series, and an ending that just wasn't great...

But the first few are good.

I'm sure I was told recently that the Chung Kuo series was about due a republishing.

Mark

[squirrelz]

Stargate's Atlantis is definitely one of my favorite megacities. As for here on earth, BosWash will most likely be one of the coolest megalopolises in the next 100 years.

Anyone know some good space colony mega-cities (fiction of course)?

[Martin Ekdahl]

One of my all-time favorite mega-cities is Chung Kuo by David Wingrove. If you haven't read the series, the characters are probably the strongest part, but the world=building is very good as well. Wingrove has a 100+ level city spanning countries that supports a strict caste system, with higher castes living on higher floors.

The slums beneath the city are the absolute dregs of humanity, while the only people to make it to the top and see the sky are emperors.

He really spins a great story although it does fall apart in the last book or two.

Is it similar to William Gibson's the Sprawl?

[Martin Ekdahl]

Stargate's Atlantis is definitely one of my favorite megacities. As for here on earth, BosWash will most likely be one of the coolest megalopolises in the next 100 years.

Anyone know some good space colony mega-cities (fiction of course)?

The only one I can come up with is The Torus Station. It's not for millions of inhabitants and it's not science fiction so it probably doesn't count. But you've gotta love this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_torus

[phil_geo]

Is it similar to William Gibson's the Sprawl?

I would say the pervasive Chinese influence on the city makes it unique. The religions, culture, social mores, caste system and decor are all 100% Chinese. All of the levels of the city are so completely Chinese, each in its own way, that they don't resemble The Sprawl except in concept. There's also a lot less reference to computers and there is no cyber world in the stories. Wingrove of course mentions computers, but the story does not involve them.

[Martin Ekdahl]

I would say the pervasive Chinese influence on the city makes it unique. The religions, culture, social mores, caste system and decor are all 100% Chinese. All of the levels of the city are so completely Chinese, each in its own way, that they don't resemble The Sprawl except in concept. There's also a lot less reference to computers and there is no cyber world in the stories. Wingrove of course mentions computers, but the story does not involve them.

What I've red here it seems like a quite unique Sci-Fi mega city. Sad that you think that the series loses a bit in the end. But I will anyway give it a try.

[creemore]

I suggest the manga/visual novels of Tsutomu Nihei.

His most well known and popular goes by the name BLAME! It revolves around a character called Killy and his journeys through a massive structural labyrinth devoid of nearly any organic life. The story is set in the far future, where the human world has been destroyed. Robotic 'Constructors' began to build an endless, purposeless structure that expanded from Earth without any control or limits. Killy sets out in attempts to bring understanding to the world around him, and deal with the 'Silicon' lifeforms out to destroy any form of human life for their genetic material.

BLAME! is followed by a series of other publications. BLAME!² is a short 16 page manga, NOiSE is the prequel, and NSE: Net Sphere Engineer, a sequel to BLAME!

Nihei has also released a few other works, most notably Abara, which is very similar in setting to BLAME! It involves some police like characters and some creatures that can fashion armor around themselves by transforming. Biomega is another manga series by the author, focusing on some guy and a motorcycle, while still sharing the empty, bleak concrete urban settings seen in BLAME!

Overall he's a very abstract artist. His manga isn't really manga, as they span hundreds of pages with hardly any dialogue. Even if you're not a fan of manga these are definitely worth picking up as the setting and art alone creates a wicked atmosphere for the reader.

Another recommendation is the film Angel's Egg from 1985 by Mamoru Oshii. While sci-fi, it's highly surrealistic and abstract, set in a massive, ancient city, possibly while the sun is nearing the end of its life. A little girl spends her days collecting bottles and water, wandering around her surroundings. A man arrives outside the city in a ship. The two meet and little dialogue is exchanged. Much of the scenery is of the introverted wanderings of the two. In fact, the film is highly abstruse and is hard to describe without revealing the 'plot', but it's definitely an awesome visual experience.

[Martin Ekdahl]

I suggest the manga/visual novels of Tsutomu Nihei.

His most well known and popular goes by the name BLAME! It revolves around a character called Killy and his journeys through a massive structural labyrinth devoid of nearly any organic life. The story is set in the far future, where the human world has been destroyed. Robotic 'Constructors' began to build an endless, purposeless structure that expanded from Earth without any control or limits. Killy sets out in attempts to bring understanding to the world around him, and deal with the 'Silicon' lifeforms out to destroy any form of human life for their genetic material.

BLAME! is followed by a series of other publications. BLAME!² is a short 16 page manga, NOiSE is the prequel, and NSE: Net Sphere Engineer, a sequel to BLAME!

Nihei has also released a few other works, most notably Abara, which is very similar in setting to BLAME! It involves some police like characters and some creatures that can fashion armor around themselves by transforming. Biomega is another manga series by the author, focusing on some guy and a motorcycle, while still sharing the empty, bleak concrete urban settings seen in BLAME!

Overall he's a very abstract artist. His manga isn't really manga, as they span hundreds of pages with hardly any dialogue. Even if you're not a fan of manga these are definitely worth picking up as the setting and art alone creates a wicked atmosphere for the reader.

Another recommendation is the film Angel's Egg from 1985 by Mamoru Oshii. While sci-fi, it's highly surrealistic and abstract, set in a massive, ancient city, possibly while the sun is nearing the end of its life. A little girl spends her days collecting bottles and water, wandering around her surroundings. A man arrives outside the city in a ship. The two meet and little dialogue is exchanged. Much of the scenery is of the introverted wanderings of the two. In fact, the film is highly abstruse and is hard to describe without revealing the 'plot', but it's definitely an awesome visual experience.

Thanks for some great suggestions. I like what you write about purposeless engineering. Makes me think of the first Cube-movie: "The cube's a headless blunder operating under the illusion of a master plan. Can you grasp that, Holloway? Big Brother is not watching you."