# Literature set in space colonies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718 "2001-09-04T18:30:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/1 "2001-09-04T18:30:14Z")
How many stories set in space colonies can we think of? Note that I mean space colonies, like Babylon 5, Deep Space Nine or an O’Neill colony, not planetside structures like a lunar or Martian colony. The only one that comes to mind offhand is Joe Haldemans three “Worlds” books, Worlds, Worlds Apart and Worlds Enough And Time. Any others? Good or bad? ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/2 "2001-09-05T12:35:01Z")
Anyone? **Fenris**? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/3 "2001-09-05T12:51:12Z")
Jst so you don’t feel everyone is ignoring you . . I have a book at home which is mostly set on Space Arks. Giant sapce craft designed for relocating the human race. I know it’s not quite the same as what you’re looking for but When I get home I’ll see if I can find it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/4 "2001-09-05T12:55:17Z")
[sub]I must spell check my posts, I must spell check my posts[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/5 "2001-09-05T12:58:49Z")
Gene Wolfe’s _Book of the Long Sun_ series is an interesting take on the genre. _Solaris_, by Stanislaw Lem. _Neuromancer_ has some interesting scenes from colonies orbiting the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Drew\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/958977/32.png) [@Drew\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drew_Blade)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/6 "2001-09-05T13:00:00Z")
I don’t know if it is any good, but “Colony” by Ben Bova takes place at least in part in an orbiting city. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/7 "2001-09-05T13:02:26Z")
Ringworld. The Cat who Walks through Walls. Neuromancer. 2001. Orphans in the Sky (if they’ve been travelling long enough to forget they’re on a ship, they’re a space colony). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/8 "2001-09-05T13:11:57Z")
Brian Aldiss’ _Non-Stop_ Arthur Clarke’s _Islands in the Sky_ Bruce Sterling’s _Schismatrix_ Christopher Hinz’s _Paratwa_ trilogy (falls into the “bad” category, I think…) Chris Beebee’s _The Hub_ (plummets into the “bad” category with a happy shout of “Whee! Look at me! I’m complete and utter garbage!” I’m almost ashamed to admit I’ve read this book.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/9 "2001-09-05T13:28:47Z")
Thanks, y’all. This is just what I was looking for. **Ethilrist** , surely you don’t count Ringworld as a space colony! It’s more like a…well, I don’t know what it’s like, but I wouldn’t call it a space colony. No more so than Rama. **Steve Wright** , do you mean The Hub is schlocky good fun? Does it have redeeming value? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/10 "2001-09-05T13:53:13Z")
What? It’s not on a planet or moon. It’s topographically similar to an O’Neil colony. The only difference is scale. How about Cities in Flight? ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/11 "2001-09-05T14:20:56Z")
Good call on Gene Wolfe. Marvelous reading. Though not _exactly_ what the OP may be looking for, try _This Alien Shore_ by CS Friedman. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/12 "2001-09-05T14:48:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\* > **Steve Wright** , do you mean The Hub is schlocky good fun? Does it have redeeming value? \*\* Redeeming value? Umm… you could wedge it under a short table leg, I guess… No, it’s just a bad book. Forget I mentioned it. (I’m pretty sure it’s out of print anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/13 "2001-09-05T15:07:10Z")
Robert A. Heinlein’s “Orphans of the Sky,” an expansion of his novella Universe Harlan Ellison’s script Phoenix Without Ashes ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/14 "2001-09-05T15:28:18Z")
Nobody mentionned Mack Reynolds ? With books like _The LaGrangists, Chaos in LaGrangia, LaGrange Five_ and _Trojan Orbit_, I think that he would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/15 "2001-09-05T17:23:23Z")
_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ is almost readable Heinlein about revolt in the Lunar colony. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/16 "2001-09-05T17:34:57Z")
Any of Ian Banks’ “culture” novels such as “Player of Games” “The Use of Weapons” etc. They live on “Orbitals” – manmade planets – and city-sized, sentient ships. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/17 "2001-09-05T19:09:43Z")
One of the supporting characters in Peter F. Hamilton’s _Reality Dysfunction_ is a sentient, biological space colony. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/18 "2001-09-05T19:15:53Z")
Towards the end of Nancy Kress’s _Beggars_ series, much is set in an orbital habitat, including a struggle for independence. But that’s kind of tangential to the series as a whole. Brin and Bear’s _Heart of the Comet_ is about an expedition to, and eventual colonization of, a comet. I found it very interesting, but it’s also not quite what the OP was after. ---
**Author:** ![dwtno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@dwtno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwtno)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/19 "2001-09-06T01:06:24Z")
Check out Allen Steele. Particularly his 1990 book _Clarke County, Space_. Many of his books and short stories share a near future setting where earth orbit and the lunar surface have been colonized for comercial purposes and most space travelers are orbital construction crews. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718/20 "2001-09-06T02:04:58Z")
Everyone beat me to it! Lemme see if I can think of any that haven’t been named already. I seem to recall that there were a ton in the late-70s during the heyday of the L5 Society. I associate these with Baen and Bova. Didn’t Michael Flynn write a series of books (Firestar, etc) about the building of one of these colonies? And the Allen Steele recommendation is strongly seconded. Fenris [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-set-in-space-colonies/79718.md?page=2)