The Five Greatest Science Fiction Universes
Okay, so I’ve been playing Space Wolf. The game has me
thinking. I’ve played a lot of 40K themed games in my life. As a matter of fact, I've watched, read, and
played a lot of science fiction film, books, and games in general. But not all
science fiction is created equal. Overused trope aside, I decided to give y’all
my list of the top science fiction universes ever created. Just a list, from
worst to best, maybe a comment here or there. Would love to hear what you guys and gals think.
So here it is, starting with my least favorite that still
qualifies as a favorite.
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| The GITS Crew. |
5. Star Trek. Of course the Jean-Luc Piccard version. He is
the only man who commanded the Enterprise as if he knew what it is to command.
William Shatner is much better as the Priceline spokesperson.
4. Empire of the Fading Suns. Okay, maybe not a universe,
but rather a game. It was, however, based on the Fading Suns universe. As a
Catholic, I loved the all-powerful church.
3. FASA’s BattleTech. The idea of giant bi-pied weapons
platforms has always resonated with me. Jordon Wiseman didn’t invent the genre,
but his BattleTech franchise made it crazy popular in the States.
2. Ghost in the Shell. William Gibson birthed cyberpunk, but
Masamune Shirow gave it a shot in the arm with Ghost in the Shell, a story of a
top-secret counter-terrorist organization section, Section 9. Major Motoko
Kusanagi is a complex character, as is her semi-lover, Batou, and some of the
combat scenes are the best ever animated.
1. Warhammer 40K. The most complex of the complex. 40K’s
deep, rich universe has something for almost every science fiction fan—books,
movies, games, wars, subterfuge, and even occasional romance
.
Okay, that’s my brief list. How about yours?
Back soon.
Mark H. Walker served 23 years in the United States Navy, most of them as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal diver. He is the owner of Flying Pig Games, the designer of the aliens-invade-Earth game Night of Man, the author of Desert Moon, an exciting mecha, military science fiction novel with a twist, with plenty of damn science fiction in it despite what any reviewer says, as well as World at War: Revelation, a creepy, military action, with a love story, alternate history, World War Three novel thing, Everyone Dies in the End, and numerous short stories. All the books and stories are available from Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing right here. Give them a try. I mean, what the hell? The games? Well that's Flying Pig Games.
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Mark H. Walker served 23 years in the United States Navy, most of them as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal diver. He is the owner of Flying Pig Games, the designer of the aliens-invade-Earth game Night of Man, the author of Desert Moon, an exciting mecha, military science fiction novel with a twist, with plenty of damn science fiction in it despite what any reviewer says, as well as World at War: Revelation, a creepy, military action, with a love story, alternate history, World War Three novel thing, Everyone Dies in the End, and numerous short stories. All the books and stories are available from Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing right here. Give them a try. I mean, what the hell? The games? Well that's Flying Pig Games.
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Comments
Heinlein's "Past Through Tomorrow" future histories are incredibly internally consistent and he developed them over 30+ years of writing stories in it. I devoured those books my first 2 years of college.
It's unfortunate that the Slammerverse was never more well-developed.
End QUOTE
100% Agree with the above.
That said: The only real negative to the Past Through Tomorrow books is that for awhile there Heinlein got just so very preachy that the continual proseletyzing became so easy/hard to wade thru that it almost wasn't worth it to even try.