What are your 1–3 favorite fictional or real life civilizations you've read about?

[GBaxter]

What are your 1 – 3 personal favorite civilizations you've read about – be it any real life ones (from any period in earth history), or any fictional past or future civilizations (created in any admired fiction books) and please say why, for each favorite civilization named named.

[EAP]

Beleriand - Tolkien.
The Culture - Iain M. Banks.
Westeros - George R. R. Martin.

[Karp]

Middle Earth - the clearly defined struggle between good and the forces of evil.

Camelot - knights, kings, queens, sorcerers, etc. - What's not to like?

Sherwoood Forest - Steal from the rich and give to the poor..............

[Adudaewen]

Middle Earth, specifically Lorien and Hobbiton - so simple, romantic, battles, high adventure, mystery. Its perfect!

The world at Jane Austen's time - again simple and romantic with genuine struggle (1700-1800).

[PennKen2009]

1. Middle Earth(Lorien, Rivindell, Gondor, and Mirkwood Elves)
2. Narnia (main Narnia)
3. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

[ben lurie]

Artemis Fowl version of earth
The dream Peter from family guy had about "A guys universe"
The future with all the atheists from South Park, dam otters
The concept of the town from the movie :Silent Hill: creeeeeppy

[dramasnot6]

The world of Harry Potter is pretty exciting, even if millions of others share my excitement with countless fanfic pieces
Setting of Mists of Avalon is historically and philosophically fascinating
Brave New World would be an interesting experience

those might not be my top 3, i love the setting of many books, but they are certainly up there.

[RobinHood3000]

Ancient China
The Old Jedi Order
The DC Comics Universe

[Idril]

Like many of you, my first choice is Middle-earth, more specifically Beleriand and Numenor, two different Ages and geography but still the same place...generally speaking.

And then there's Discworld. I'm not sure I'd want to actually live there, I think I'd just want to visit. Although if I could hang out with the Wizards, life would always be entertaining and as long as I had Captain Carrot to look over me, I'd be ok. ;)

Finally, the 'alternate' London Underground as described by Neil Gaimen in Neverwhere

[PeterL]

I most prefer the present day Earth with all of its variations, from the wizards thatt Harry Potter hangs around with, to the paranoid lunatics who run governments, to the silent mystics. Fictional civilizations are much too limited in scope for me to actually want to live in them, although the pre-historic world depicted in "The Tritonian Ring" might be interesting; it had a lot of diversity of culture.

[Annamariah]

-Narnia
-Harry Potter's world
-Watership Down, where Hazel is the Chief Rabbit :D

[Leon]

Middle earth is so well fleshed out down to the tiniest detail, it seems criminal not to mention them. So yep middle earth, especially the Dunedain, and certainly Rivendell. Narnia, and in a more contemporary way, the Wheel of Time series, are also great fantasy settings. If i ever lived in one of these high fantasy worlds, i'll of course spend most of my time smoking pipe, and contemplating the passing of life.

Discworld on the other hand... I'll definately be an aspiring hotdog seller.

I think the most appealing futuristic civilisation would be some sort of post-apocalypitic one. There really isn't a definate culture, but this sort of world has been explored in the the likes of mad max, or even the fallout series of computer games. I suppose i'm cheating since this is a literary forum, but no post apocalyptic book comes to mind right now.

Star wars of course deserves a nod too.

Historically speaking, i think fedual Japan would be an interesting place to live. As would renaissance europe. I'm rather fascinated with the idea of a rigid social classes and there a plenty of romanticism involved in these preiods.

[Matilda]

The Wizarding world in Harry Potter, simply magic!
Middle Earth (Hobbiton or Lórien)
Narnia, during the golden age.

[brainstrain]

Oooh goodness...choices choices...

The post-armagedon world of the Books of Ember is fascinating, but not a place I would want to live in.

The world of Fairies, Trolls, Sprites, Demons, and everythign inbetween from the Artemis Fowl series will always amaze and inspire me.

And, of course, a place of my own Creation: KomKarli (Kom is a suffix, its not just a random capitol hehe. It means Sacred City, Karli means sky.) Unfortunetly, in my book, I end up sending it crashing to the barren plains below, but its still pretty. A flying city filled with palaces, musuems, and populated by a race as old as time, the Vaul.

[andave_ya]

Lothlorien and Gondor of Lord of the Rings fame

[Delirium]

Arthurian settings: the chivalry, the intrigue, the scandal . . .
Middle Earth: Tolkien's ability to make it a believable history is amazing.
Hogwarts and its characters: Rowling has a grasp of mythology and history that creates layers upon layers of deeper meaning if readers only look for them.

[bo bara]

my favourite would be iain m banks' Culture. The endless possibilities of self-modification, easy lives... then, Sherwood Forest. Well the idyllic rebel fantasy of medieval life rather than the reality...

Someone said there are no post apocalyptic books? What about Akira? It started them all! And if anyone says its a comic and not really literature, I might get sick. Also Children of Men by PD James is post-apocalyptic. But honestly I'm not sure why these worlds would appeal in the slightest.

[Bii]

Stepping outside the fantasy genre how about

1. Cochadebajo de los Gatos in Louis de Berniere's novels, The War of Don Emmanuels Nether Parts, Snr Vivo & the Coca Lord and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman.
2. Post apocolyptic society of Heroes and Villains - Angela Carter
3. The alternative reality to modern day Japan in Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of Tomorrow - Haruki Murakami

[F.Emerald]

Narnia. Because it was so magical and breathtaking for me, especially as a child.

[marcolfo]

1 middle earth
2 macondo
3 anciente greece

[Katy North]

1. Narnia. Definitely. It's so important to myself as a person that I can't really put it into words.
2. Oz... in one book Princess Ozma said that there were many corners of Oz that were still undiscovered... the simple way she said this always made me imagine that Baum intended for Oz to be a place that is as limitless as the imagination.
3. The world of Haruki Murakami. I love surrealism in paintings, and reading his books to me feels like walking into one, touching it for a while, and experiencing a completely new reality.

[JBI]

I guess our own civilization, or its ancient roots somehow are less interesting than Tolkien's prose - if this isn't decadence...

Seriously, one could have put Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Medieval Europe, China (both ancient and modern) or any other number of places, yet one person put Ancient China, for instance, grouped together with Tolkien and whatever else.

Seriously sad.

[Katy North]

I guess our own civilization, or its ancient roots somehow are less interesting than Tolkien's prose - if this isn't decadence...

Seriously, one could have put Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Medieval Europe, China (both ancient and modern) or any other number of places, yet one person put Ancient China, for instance, grouped together with Tolkien and whatever else.

Seriously sad.

Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Medieval Europe have always fascinated me. However, I think there's a difference between a civilization fascinating me and a civilization being a favorite, that I'd like to live in or visit. I read books on Egyption Mummys, Greek Gods and Goddesses, and Elizabethan England as a child and was always entranced and vaguley horrified by them. Today I feel the same, I love to read about them, love the art and religious history, and want to learn more about them... however, they aren't warm, comfortable worlds that I'd physically want to visit.

I think that one of the great draws of the settings of The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Harry Potter is the comforting sense of good and evil present in those novels, which was very ambiguous in ancient civilizations.

I wouldn't say it is sad, I would in fact say that it is quite a human desire to be surrounded by a world with familier values.

[JBI]

This wasn't about visiting, besides, I think people who prefer to read about a Tolkien Diegesis just simply haven't been absorbed into, lets say, an Ancient Chinese one, or even a Spenserian one. The good triumphing over evil is present in Spenser, as it is in the bulk of Medieval literature, and, quite frankly, the prevalence of Narnia over something like the dream world of The Romance of the Rose just speaks of an inability for people to appreciate well removed allegorical imagination.

Now, I understand where you are getting at, but the whole good triumphing over evil isn't even that apparent in Tolkien, or Narnia - something like A Midsummer Night's Dream is a far more realized imaginary world - the Riverside wedding of Spenser's Epithalamion, or the beautiful court world of Murasaki Shikibu's Heian Japan.

[Modest Proposal]

This wasn't about visiting, besides, I think people who prefer to read about a Tolkien Diegesis just simply haven't been absorbed into, lets say, an Ancient Chinese one, or even a Spenserian one. The good triumphing over evil is present in Spenser, as it is in the bulk of Medieval literature, and, quite frankly, the prevalence of Narnia over something like the dram civilization of The Romance of the Rose just speaks of an inability for people to appreciate well removed allegorical imagination.

Now, I understand where you are getting at, but the whole good triumphing over evil isn't even that apparent in Tolkien, or Narnia - something like A Midsummer Night's Dream is a far more realized imaginary world - the Riverside wedding of Spenser's Epithalamion, or the beautiful court world of Murasaki Shikibu's Heian Japan.

I knew when people mentioned Tolkien we would see you storm the thread sooner or later. But though I understand your distaste for Tolkien's clunky prose, I have always disagreed with your dismissal of his world. Yes, its derivative, it was meant to be, the book is more of a scholarly exercise for him than a story. But medieval scholars the world over, some of the most respected like Dr. John Ganim, have lavished praise on his astute and interesting construction of civilizations. But all of that aside...

Did you not see the threads title? "your 1-3 favorite fictional or real life civilizations..." That is "your" meaning anyone reading or answering the thread, not a "your" directed only at JBI. That is, a subjective opinion of what posters like.

I don't understand responses like yours. People are saying what their favorite fictional or real civilization is in books. Lord of the Rings has long been one of the most popular fantastical world stories. Why wouldn't people list it as their favorite? Why would you be surprised? I understand that you like other fantasies and I respect your erudition but sometimes it seems that for all your scholarship, you miss the point of certain questions. If someone asks what people like, most are PROBABLY going to choose something popular. Something is popular because MOST people like it.

[stlukesguild]

JBI... let us hear of your 3 favorites. Ancient (Tang...? Sung...? ) China I would presume to be one. Myself... I would probably go with Middle Earth... Narnia... and Paris from the Anne Rice vampire novels.:yikes:

:biggrinjester::smilielol5:

Seriously, I'd probably go with medieval Andalusian Spain, Japan of the Heian period, and Renaissance Italy (although Renaissance Britain might be equally interesting to say nothing of Paris in the late 19th century).

[OrphanPip]

My favourite civilization is the current Western/Capitalist one, I'm quite fond of modern medical technology and having easy access to food.

[JuniperWoolf]

Interesting topic.

1. The rabbit's civilization on Watership Down is pretty wicked, as long as Bigwig's there to take care of us.
2. North American aboriginals, pre-European settlement. They'd suit me just fine.
3. The Cicely, Alaska civilization of Northern Exposure is ideal.

[JBI]

JBI... let us hear of you 3 favorites. Ancient (Tang...? Sung...? ) China I would presume to be one. Myself... I would probably go with Middle Earth... Narnia... and Paris from the Anne Rice vampire novels.:yikes:

:biggrinjester::smilielol5:

Seriously, I'd probably go with medieval Andalusian Spain, Japan of the Heian period, and Renaissance Italy (although Renaissance Britain might be equally interesting to say nothing of Paris in the late 19th century).

What role would you play in Heian Japan, that of virile prince or neglected Woman?

Seriously, I could easily even put something simple, like the beautiful world of Le Guin's Earth Sea, or something removed and chaotic like the decadent world of Emperor Yang of Sui's woman filled labyrinth (something which is very removed, as, as far as I know the text that created it isn't even common amongst Chinese readers) - but with literature, if we stick to the fictional, as almost all accounts are at least in part fictitious or constructed, we could go to very interesting places.

Kubla Khan's Xanadu for instance, that comes out of Coleridge, or aboard ship in Stevenson's Treasure Island. There is no real elitism in selection, it just seems depressing that Tolkien is the favorite, and Narnia and Potter a close second, and, to boot.

If I were to choose?

That's a hard one, since there is so much possibility - that's in part why I got a little carried away - Spenser's imagination is for sure one, Song China (around the courts of course) probably another, and the world created in Wagner's Meistersinger didn't seem all to bad - but I could think of another 50 that could easily be swapped for any of these.

[Virgil]

I've never seen this thread before, and it actually was started back in 2004. Interesting and fun.

As to my three, I can't claim any fictional ones. My three are the following:

1. Modern/western - I'm with O-P on this. No life is as comfortable and good and as free as the current.
2. Classical Rome - I'm a ancient Roman history buff.
3. Renaissance Italy - Ah the culture, the art, the music!

[Jozanny]

I was actually going to list something else at first, but I still remain fascinated by feudal Japan as it was presented to me in Shogun. Clavell did his homework with this novel, or was a great liar, either way, and now I have to see if I can get it for my ereader, as I'd like to read it again.

Then I'd say Mitchell's failed corporacy society in Cloud Atlas, as it consoles my cynicism, and for a third, the nonsense society of Alice In Wonderland.

[papayahed]

You guys can probably guess my picks:

1) The Star Trek Universe
2) The Star Wars universe
3) The world of The Tick, I would love to hang out at the Sidekick bar.

[The Comedian]

1. Middle Earth -- Tolkien

2. The Ol' West: A.B. Guthire Jr., Zane Grey, Larry McMurtry, Jack Schaefer . . .

3. Just outside of Concord, Massachusetts circa 1850

[IceM]

I'll subdivide this. I honestly can't choose just 3. So I'll go 1, 1a etc.

1) Ancient Greece/Rome. Philosophical and historical treasure trove.
1a) Ancient China. Fascinated by Asian (especially Chinese) culture.
2) The world of Henry David Thoreau's era. Seeing Emerson and Thoreau in person would be stunning.
2a) Ancient Japan. Asian culture fascinates me.
3) Germany prior to unification. I thought I read once that there were 300 city-states or so. That'd be breathtaking, seeing various cultures, lifestyles, and traditions.
3a) Stephen Crane's world in Red Badge of Courage. I want to see the world of Henry Fleming.

:cool:

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

"People of Chaco - A Canyon and Its Culture" - Kendrick Frazier

"Zuni" - Selected writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing

The Island of Guernsey - Victor Hugo -"Toilers of the Sea"

[addae]

Gotta go with

1. Middle Earth (Tolkien)
2. Utopia (Thomas More)
3. The expository chapters describing Mexico in All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

[Dark Muse]

1. I have to say The Celts
2. The Italian Renaissance
3. and for something completely different Wonderland, from Alice in Wonderland of course.

[mortalterror]

1. Modern/western - I'm with O-P on this. No life is as comfortable and good and as free as the current.
2. Classical Rome - I'm a ancient Roman history buff.
3. Renaissance Italy - Ah the culture, the art, the music!
Virgil, I approve. No time like the present. As much as I like to play the time travel game, I always end up living twenty or thirty years less, being a slave, or dying of some horrible disease. Right now, I live like a king. We fly through the air, and talk to people inhabiting other continents. Every play, song, or book in history is at my fingertips. Say I went back to Augustan Rome. Now, I don't get to ever read Shakespeare or listen to Mozart again. If you've got to live somewhere else, I say go into the future, unless of course, Obama ruins it for everyone.

[ladderandbucket]

Not places I would like to visit but ones which have caught my imagination..

1. Seventeenth Century Britain as written about by Christopher Hill in The World Turned Upside Down. Such a wild picture of a society run amok with ideas.
2. The seafaring world from the first East Indiamen to the time of Conrad and Melville. The sea trade was a true international working class, pre-dating the industrial revolution and with surprisingly libertarian values.
3. The pirate republic of Salé as described in Pirate Utopias by Peter Lamborn Wilson.

[Vautrin]

Fictional Civilization:

El Dorado from Candide

[blp]

If you've got to live somewhere else, I say go into the future, unless of course, Obama ruins it for everyone.

Beck dupe alert. :crazy:

[blp]

I guess our own civilization, or its ancient roots somehow are less interesting than Tolkien's prose - if this isn't decadence...


Must concur.

[Jeremydav]

The modern wasteland of rotting old ideals in Faulkner and Kafka, Middle Earth and the romantic and imperial landscape of Tolstoy's novels.

[Taliesin]

Being the lowbrow that I am I'll just pick mine out of the spec-fic genre and not real history:
The Culture of Banks - An interesting and widespread anarchistic utopia in the distant future.
The Noon universe of the Strugatsky brothers - also an utopia-being-deconstructed-around-the-edges yet it has a totally different feel than the Culture of Banks.
The world as described in the "Dictionary of the Khazars" by Milorad Pavić.

Also maybe the setting of "Neuromancer", Renaissance Italy, the modern world, modern Finland, India around Siddharta Gautama, anarchistic Catalonia, the Golden Sixties(optimism, yeah...), the world of the Eddas, end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century France(liberté, egalité, fraternité!), the Paris Commune, Ireland before Cromwell and the Hellenistic era. But I think I'll settle for the first three. Maybe.

[Pryderi Agni]

1. The Greek Commonwealth (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Vol. II)
2. The Marvel Universe (do I really need to tell?)
3. The DC Galaxy (okay, now you're bugging me out!)

[waterfallin]

Hmm, I don't know if I can just choose three...

1)Celtic culture
2)Roman culture
3)ancient Chinese/Japanese culture
4)Imperial Russia

aaaand, for good measure: Middle Earth, Star Wars

[PrinceBolkonsky]

1. The Akkad Empire and other independent city states of northern Syria like Elba and their general mythos combined with that of the already ancient Sumerians and Elamites. And with Indo-European Lullubi, Androvno, Hittites, Guti and Proto Greeks streaming past the Akkadians out of the Zagros and across the steppe lands, and through the Caucasus into Anatolia to unseat Hattians and the surviving ancient hunting confederations around Gobeki Tepi and also into the basin of the Black Sea. Proto-Minoans in Crete and coastal Greece and Egypt is just entering the foundation of the 1st dynasties of the Old Kingdom. About 2600 BC. At least, I like to imagine it this way.

2. Mythic Greece, enough said.

3. North America before the filthy Europeans came and raped it. Or even the west before they raped that. Or, even Alaska before they raped that. Oh well, if they hadn't done it I guess someone else would have sooner or later. I guess we'll never know as they are covering their tracks now busy burning up the planet and consuming all the resources before anyone else can get a shot at the brass ring.

[Dogbrick]

Discworld
Middle Earth
and
The Commonwealth Universe (from Peter F Hamilton's Void Trilogy)

[dfloyd]

as described in Camille and Nana.

[Mariner]

Gondolin and Rohan of Middle-earth (if you haven't heard of Gondolin, read the Silmarillion, it's amazing).

The Byzantine Empire

Tie between Redwall Abbey and Hogwarts.

[janesmith]

1. Thomas Hardy's Wessex
2. Thomas Hardy's Wessex
3. Thomas Hardy's Wessex