Monday, August 29, 2016

Nine of the greatest (worst) megacities in sci-fi

Jeff Somers is the author of the Avery Cates series, The Ustari Cycle, Lifers, and Chum (among many other books) and numerous short stories. At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog he tagged nine of the greatest (worst)urban sprawls in sci-fi, including:
San Angeles in The Courier, by Gerald Brandt

Brandt’s debut novel offers up San Angeles, a sprawl that combined everything from San Diego to San Francisco—and then built upwards. Brandt’s genius is to realize that just because the cities merge, that doesn’t mean growth stops—and the only way to go will be up. His vision of San Angeles is a fascinating nightmare, with the dim, cramped lower levels housing the desperate, poor, and criminally desperate, while the upper levels (and the sunlight) are reserved for the wealthy and powerful—with the truly powerful living on floating Sat Cities, closer to the sun and further from the compost.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue