# What fictional settings would you like to see reused? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108 "2021-08-18T17:49:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/1 "2021-08-18T17:49:07Z")
A one-off story that took place in a fictional universe that you think was an interesting enough setting to have potential for more stories, not necessarily sequels. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/2 "2021-08-18T17:51:09Z")
So I guess _Middle Earth_ doesn’t count? I will go with the world of _Pushing Daisies_ or _Edward Scissorhands_. I like these worlds that are fairly anachronistic. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/3 "2021-08-18T18:08:15Z")
Philip José Farmer has been gone for a while now. He wrote a series of novels/novellas/stories about a fictional Riverworld where everyone eventually is resurrected. I wouldn’t mind someone continuing the tale. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/4 "2021-08-18T18:34:47Z")
Firefly 🕶 **[Zoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Washburne)** : I know something ain’t right. **Wash** : Sweetie, we’re crooks. If everything were right, we’d be in jail. **Zoe** : Sir, we don’t want to deal with Patience again. **Mal** : Why not? **Zoe** : She shot you. **Mal** : Well, yeah, she did a bit. **Book** : I’ve been out of the abbey two days, I’ve beaten a lawman senseless, I’ve fallen in with criminals. I watched the captain shoot the man I swore to protect. And I’m not even sure if I think he was wrong. I believe… I just… I think I’m on the wrong ship. **Inara** : Maybe. Or maybe you’re exactly where you ought to be. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/5 "2021-08-18T18:45:42Z")
The OP did specify ‘one-off’ stories. So that rules out (for instance) Discworld and The Culture. But it doesn’t rule out Good Omens, or The _Algebraist_. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/6 "2021-08-18T23:27:33Z")
The Fifth Element universe. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/7 "2021-08-18T23:30:46Z")
I’d like to see a return to Kumandra, the land of _Raya and the Last Dragon_; or Zootopia. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/8 "2021-08-18T23:32:40Z")
I’ve wished that we could get reactions from other parts of the world to the events of “The Nine Billion Names of God.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/9 "2021-08-19T00:27:05Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I will go with the world of _Pushing Daisies_ or _Edward Scissorhands_ . I like these worlds that are fairly anachronistic. _Pushing Daisies_ is one of my all-time favorite shows, and I agree, part of its charm is its oversaturated, slightly retro world. My other choice would be Chromatacia, the quirky, dystopian future England in Jasper Fforde’s novel “[Shades of Grey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_Grey),” in which the entire society is built around which colors a person can (or cannot) see. It was published in 2009, and while Fforde has talked about sequels (and _may_ be working on a sequel now), it’s still, at this point, a one-off book. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/10 "2021-08-19T00:51:28Z")
When I finished Neil Gaiman’s _The Ocean at the End of the Lane_, I was so taken with it that I immediately reread it, the only time I’ve ever done that. I think that world was a one-off and qualifies for this thread. Another one-off was Ursula LeGuin’s _The Lathe of Heaven_ in which dreams change the real world. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/11 "2021-08-19T01:59:31Z")
If the OP hadn’t specified one-offs, I would have agreed with Kayaker here. > [@kayaker](#): > > Philip José Farmer has been gone for a while now. He wrote a series of novels/novellas/stories about a fictional Riverworld where everyone eventually is resurrected. Although I’d prefer the World of Tiers. Whether using Farmers Kickaha and cronies (prior to the Farmer novels would work) or different characters in the same setting would be fun. For that matter, as several of the inhabitants of the lowest level are immortals from the Trojan war era, you could even have Riverworld-esque moments of ancient characters rekindling their desire to explore or conquer. 2 for 1! But back to the OP, more material set in the _Snow Crash_ Universe (Neal Stephenson) would be my choice. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/12 "2021-08-19T13:54:57Z")
I was so looking forward to even more adventures in the _Dark Crystal_ universe. I’m glad we got what we did from _Age Of Resistance_, but it wasn’t enough. I’d also like to see side-stories from the _Indiana Jones_ series, and more stories in the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ universe that have nothing to do with Jack Sparrow. I guess you could argue _Jungle Cruise_ is such a film. Perhaps a new _Haunted Mansion_ could complete that as a semi-trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/13 "2021-08-19T14:31:43Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > The OP did specify ‘one-off’ stories. So that rules out (for instance) Discworld and The Culture. > But it doesn’t rule out Good Omens You know there’s a [sequel (or series 2)](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/good-omens-season-2/) to the TV version in the works, right? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/14 "2021-08-19T14:49:37Z")
Great! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/15 "2021-08-19T15:28:11Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > But back to the OP, more material set in the _Snow Crash_ Universe (Neal Stephenson) would be my choice. Well, there was _The Diamond Age,_ set in the same “universe” except it takes place in China, not America. Speaking of which, remember _Rats and Gargoyles_? Where the Earth exists in a cosmos run by Hermetic alchemy, and the story unfolds in a nameless city, extending so far it spans time zones, built by inscrutable Lovecraftian gods who have invaded our reality and warped space and time according to their fancy? Except, the human gods are still around, lurking in the sewers. It might be interesting to learn in a sequel how all that pans out, but only if it be really out there, as well as deeply meaningful re. all the philosophy thrown about, so as not to be disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/16 "2021-08-19T16:10:16Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > The OP did specify ‘one-off’ stories. So that rules out (for instance) Discworld and The Culture. > But it doesn’t rule out Good Omens, or The _Algebraist_. Or _The Carpet People_, or the settings of _Dark Side of the Sun_ and _Strata_. Which are my nominations. Also, more works in the _Neverwhere_ universe, please. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/17 "2021-08-19T16:12:14Z")
_Strata_ crossed my mind, too. A kind of real-life simulation, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/18 "2021-08-19T16:15:19Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I will go with the world of _Pushing Daisies_ or _Edward Scissorhands_ . I like these worlds that are fairly anachronistic. I personally think those are more a set of aesthetics and atmospherics than actual settings, although I also like them. I think the screen versions of _The Mysterious Benedict Society_ and _A Series of Unfortunate Events_ have similar aesthetics and atmosphere, which is one reason why I enjoyed them. I’ve only seen _Edward Scissorhands_ once and don’t remember it that well, but I **loved** _Pushing Daisies_. It’s definitely my headcanon that _The Mysterious Benedict Society_ takes place in the same world. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/19 "2021-08-19T16:17:01Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > but I **loved** _Pushing Daisies_ . It’s definitely my headcanon that _The Mysterious Benedict Society_ takes place in the same world. I agree. It really felt like it was in the Pushing Daisies World. But _Edward Scissorhands_ could also fit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108/20 "2021-08-19T18:03:31Z")
The Forgotten Planet, by Murray Leinster. The plot: a vast human empire sends out automated ships to terraform planets. At particular stages in development, new ships are sent to progress things to the next stage. One such planet gets stuck at bugs and fungus because it falls off the grid for whatever reason and no more ships come. The story follows the descendants of a crashed space ship - because the planet is so inhospitable and deadly (all the bugs have of course grown to monstrous sizes), they’ve regressed to a primitive hunter-gatherer society. A series about a team that goes around cataloguing, fixing, exploring, etc. failed terraforming projects would be pretty neat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-settings-would-you-like-to-see-reused/949108.md?page=2)