For this Top Ten Tuesday, we were supposed to talk about bookish locations that we wanted to visit. This one made us happy! When it comes to places I want to visit, my mind instantly goes to science fiction. I know Gracie’s half of this list (at the bottom) will be very different. These locations are all ones that shine in my mind. When I do get a chance to daydream, these drift through my head. Science fiction gives you such a full range of choices. It was hard to narrow it down to just five, but these are an awesome five!
As usual this Top Ten Tuesday topic is brought to you by Broke & Bookish.
*Titles will link you to our reviews of the books.
2312 – Kim Stanley Robinson
Terminator, Mercury from Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2312. He describes it so beautifully that I want to be there. I want to walk on Mercury, with the sunlight chasing me. Even though it’s dangerous, and stark, it’s gorgeous. And I need to be there.
Aaru – David Meredith
Aaru from David Meredith’s Aaru. Even though I wasn’t a big fan of the book, the idea of Aaru has stayed with me. I don’t know that I would want to spend my ‘afterlife’ there, but the idea of having it as a vacation spot sounds absolutely lovely.
The Stark Divide – J. Scott Coatsworth
Forever from J. Scott Coatsworth’s The Stark Divide. O’Neill cylinders fascinate me. Forever is a new take on the O’Neill cylinder concept that seems absolutely fascinating. I want to be there by that tree. To watch the dawning with the golden sap coursing through everything. I need to strap on a pack and sail the air currents to the poles.
The Last Machine in the Solar System – Matthew Isaac Sobin
The sun from Matthew Isaac Sobin’s The Last Machine in the Solar System. Specifically, I want to be there at the end, walking on the surface of the sun with The Last Machine. There was something so impactful about reading that last scene that I think I could sit, look out, and I could cry. Just cry for everyone, and everything, and then, I think, I could lay down and die peacefully.
The Chronicles of St. Mary’s Series – Jodi Taylor
St Mary’s from Jodi Taylor’s The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. Oh sweet baby Cthulhu, how could I have not remembered this until the last line on my list? St. Mary’s is a place I don’t just want to visit, I need to visit it. At pretty much any time from any book. The insanity that goes on there would be an instant lift to my spirits. I wouldn’t even necessarily want to time travel. I just want to be there. With that group of nutballs.
There’s a reason everyone tells me that I’d most likely be the first to die in a horror movie. Or be the ijit who gets everyone cursed and/or trapped in the haunted mansion. And not the Disneyland one. I’d watch the cursed videocassette/YouTube Channel, visit the website just to see if it’s really an urban legend or not…and go to these places where my imminent (and most likely gruesome) death awaits.
Stone Cold Bastards – Jake Bible
Yeah, it’s a little unlikely that the Gates of Hell get opened (maybe) but if that were to ever happen there’s nowhere I’d want to be other than inside the Cathedral with the Grotesques. Like Lilyn said above, I just want to hang out with them, especially Scythia and Roan.
Hell House – Richard Matheson
If I really want to see a ghost (or anything else on the long list of Hell House’s psychical shenanigans) how could I refuse an invitation to the Belasco Mansion? It would be a good idea to pack lightly. You probably won’t be staying long…I would love to live in the quintessential English mansion. I know, it’s in America but, c’mon, there’s a reason they decided to make it an English movie.
Silent Hill: The Novel – Sadamu Yamashita
Ok, I am cheating a teensy bit with this one, but it is a book! I would love to go to Silent Hill. You get three trips in one! If you’re a reasonably well-balanced person it’s a great tourist town. There’s a lake, a nice hotel, an amusement park, and, oh yeah, a *ahem* gentleman’s club. If you get tired of that there’s always foggy Silent Hill which is peaceful and quiet. There are a few odd people about (who have a nasty spitting habit) but they’re easy to avoid. And if you’re feeling adventurous, guilty or just in the wrong place at the really wrong time, there’s always The Otherworld. I’d never be bored!
(By the way, if anyone knows where I could find an English-translated version of this book I will be so grateful that I’ll…I’ll, well, I’ll just say thank you but I’ll really, really mean it!)
The Red Tree – Caitlin R. Kiernan
I love Caitlin R. Kiernan’s writing. It’s lush, lavish and also spare, in a way. Unfortunately her stories have a tendency to get lost in the words and it’s like being led down a gorgeous path only to be ditched in the middle of it. The scenes in this book whether dream or real are described so wonderfully that I want to see them. The quarry where she would find fossils, the underground caves with the oddly beautiful fungi (and I don’t normally find fungus ‘beautiful’) and The Red Tree itself. I would love to sit underneath it and enjoy it’s luxurious, unsettling, shade.
House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski
Although spending much time with Johnny might be a tad uncomfortable I’d love to wander the Navidson house. To watch as the Five-Minute Hallway lengthen and perhaps discover what’s lurking in the dark…
Thanks for coming with us on a visit to some of our favorite places. Please, tell us what magical (or otherwise) land, house or country that you would love to live in…whether it’s just a short visit or you’re moving in! Let us know down below!
Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Coolthulhu Crew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
Though no longer involved with Ladies of Horror Fiction due to other responsibilities and a too-full plate, she was one of the original 4 co-founders.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.
Some other places to visit:
A. The Green Man – haunted pub found in “The Green Man” (1969) by Kingsley Amis. If you go hunting on YouTube, you can find the video program (split into three parts) that’s a fairly faithful adaptation of this.
B. Hill House – Yeah, Hell House is quite a place. But if you want to be quietly destroyed, Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” (1959) is the place to go.
C. Paris – city of unusual sights and fantastic happenings, where many of the marvels in “The King in Yellow” (1895) by Robert W. Chambers take place.
D. Monte Verita – a true mountain of truth, which isn’t quite what one might expect, from “Monte Verita” (1952) by Daphne du Maurier.
E. Averoigne – Clark Ashton Smith’s fictional region of medieval France, loaded with magic and mystery, as, for example, in “The End of the Story” (1930)
F. Arkham – What’s not to like? As Lovecraft portrays it, it’s just a college town . . . with a copy of the Necronomicon in the university library. Oh, but don’t drink the water!
Ooh, good ones! I gotta admit Arkham would be on my list now.
Are you sure your title shouldn’t say Don’t want to visit! LOL I can’t comment on some of these as I haven’t read those. Silent Hill? At least you get a warning things are going to go weird when the horn blares. I’d definitely visit Hell House. Probably scare myself silly before anything even gets started. I’d be sure to leave before I wouldn’t be allowed to.
Hey, my half was perfectly innocent!
If the author had pushed it just a TEENY BIT, House of Leaves would have scared the shit out of me. It’s so close, but not there. I remember the thing (whatever it is) breathing behind people, specifically the guy riding the bicycle as fast as he can, but…there needs to be just a bit more.
Have you read Bird Box by Joshua Malerman? That one, which also has a creature you can’t see, was much scarier for me. The act of opening your eyes is so simple, but it means death in that story.
I LOVED Bird Box!
I definitely now feel like maybe I asked you about this one before, lol. My husband recommends Robopocalypse–he says it’s a combo between Bird Box and World War Z, but with robots.
I haven’t read that!
I’m with you on Silent Hill!
How are you with her on Silent Hill? When did you even watch Silent Hill?!