List of socially unusual fictional planets

List of socially unusual fictional planets

This is a list of socially unusual fictional planets, invented planets in which differences from Earth life are mostly social (like Barrayar in the science fiction of Lois McMaster Bujold).

Unusual social environment

Typical examples are prison planets, primitive cultures, political or religious extremes and pseudo-medieval societies.:"See": Utopia, Dystopia.
*Aka — Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Telling" (hyper scientific advancement)
*AnarresUrsula K. Le Guin's "Dispossessed" (anarchist)
*ArmaghastDan Simmons's "Hyperion Cantos" (prison planet)
*Athos — Lois McMaster Bujold's Ethan of Athos (male-only society)
*BarrayarLois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series (feudal military culture)
*Beowulf—David Weber's Honorverse. "Very" liberal sexual mores.
*Brontitall — The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; planet of bird people who live in the ear of a statue after shoe shop disaster.
*Butcher Bay - "The Chronicles of Riddick" (prison planet)
*Cadia - "Warhammer 40,000". An entirely militarised planet, where the birth and recruitment rates are synonymous, and military training begins at 5.
*Cetaganda — Bujold's Vorkosigan series (genetically engineered culture)
*ChthonPiers Anthony's "Chthon" (prison planet)
*Coruscant — The "Star Wars" films (planet-wide city, seat of Galactic Republic and Empire)
*Crete — Freelancer
*Discworld -- Terry Pratchett's Discworld series (influenced by magic)
*DorsaiGordon R. Dickson's Dorsai series (soldier culture)
*Gauda Prime — Appears in the last episode of Blake's 7, being where one of the characters originates, and where the series' eponymous character is residing. A planet overrun with bounty hunters and the scum of the galaxy - but some of whose inhabitants wish to return it to normality (and the Federation).
*Gethen/WinterUrsula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" (hermaphrodites)
*GorJohn Norman's Gor series (men are warriors; women are often sex-slaves; all are generally happy in their appointed roles)
*Hades — David Weber's Honorverse. Prison planet where none of the native wildlife can be metabolized by humans.
*Hain — Central planet in Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish series.
*HebronDan Simmons's "Hyperion Cantos" (Jewish ethnic)
*Houston — Freelancer
*Irk (Invader Zim)
*Leeds — Freelancer, a heavily polluted planet.
*Magrathea — The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (planet of wealthy customised planet builders)
*Mejerr — "Vandread" (female-only society)
*Miranda — "Serenity" (site where Alliance accidentally spawned the Reavers)
*Omega — Robert Sheckley's The Status Civilization (a prison planet)
*OrtheMary Gentle's "Golden Witchbreed" (post-holocaust/medieval aliens)
*PacemDan Simmons's "Hyperion Cantos" (base of Catholic church)
*ParvatiDan Simmons's "Hyperion Cantos" (reformed Hindus)
*PernAnne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series (people ride genetically-engineered dragons)
*Qom-RiyadhDan Simmons's "Hyperion Cantos" (Moslem)
*Rimmerworld — Arnold Rimmer of Red Dwarf spends 600 years alone on this planet, creating clones of himself in a failed attempt to create a girlfriend. The planet is eventually populated by millions of clones who imprison the original Rimmer.
*RiverworldPhilip José Farmer's Riverworld series (all humans in history reincarnated along a spiral river)
*RubanisValérian and Laureline series (ultra-capitalist)
*SangreNorman Spinrad's "Men in the Jungle" (cannibalism)
*Salusa Secundus — from the Dune Chronicles. Nuked-out "hell world" used as a training environment for super-soldiers.
*Shaggai - From Ramsey Campbell's "Insects from Shaggai". Now-destroyed planet of fanatical sadists.
*ShikastaDoris Lessing's "Shikasta" (cosmic consciousness)
*ShoraJoan Slonczewski's "A Door into Ocean" (waterbound culture)
*SolariaIsaac Asimov's Robot series. People grow up isolated, and eventually lead totally solitary lives, interacting only via telepresence.
*Talark — "Vandread" (male-only society)
*Tallon IV — Nintendo's "Metroid Prime" (Gameplay)
*TerminusFoundation; Isaac Asimov
*Tiamat — Joan D. Vinge’s "The Snow Queen" (matriarchy/monarchy)
*TlönJorge Luis Borges' planet, found in his short story "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius"
*Yugopotamia — (The Fairly Oddparents)
*Xindus — "" (six distinct sentient species)

ee also

*Planets in science fiction


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