Cloud City from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
You knew this one was coming, right? We jump into the fray with everyone’s favourite. “I love you!” “I know.” The princess and the scoundrel can only say these words to each other among the clouds—this romance begs for a grand setting.
In reality, the Cloud City is one huge gas processor, taking in raw atmosphere and filtering out the impurities. But the more important question is, what really makes it float, science or love?
Laputa from Gulliver’s Travels
While the third part of Jonathan Swift’s seminal work is perhaps the dullest—what can top being a giant in Lilliput?—after all, it does feature a floating magnetic city. The pseudo-scientific explanations may read funny today (the Laputans move their island around using a massive lodestone resembling a “weaver’s shuttle”), but at the time, readers must’ve been flooded with a sense of wonder.
Sigil from Planescape: Torment
Torment remains one of the best-written—and most poignant—games in history. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Probably as many as can fit into a city that balances at the top of an infinitely tall spire. Some consider Sigil, the City of Doors, to be at the centre of the multiverse … For me, it’ll always remain close to the heart of my universe, its name invariably conjuring up summer evenings in my childhood home, the sunset through the window, and the smell of rain on the grass.
Umbriel from The Infernal City
Did you know there were two novels set in the Elder Scrolls universe, written by none other than Gregory Keyes? The Infernal City and Lord of Souls take place 40 years after the events of Oblivion—160 years before Skyrim—and feature the flying city of Umbriel, which brings death and devastation to any region it passes over. A character is captured and forced to work as a cook in one of the city’s many kitchens (Gormenghast, anyone?).
We need this concept implemented in future Elder Scrolls games. Just imagine all the wonderful bugs that would come with it!
The Flying Citadel from Dragonlance: The Test of the Twins
Ah, Dragonlance! I love how Test of the Twins ends—and to this day, keep wishing it had ended differently. The Flying Citadel featured in the novel isn’t quite a city, and it serves mostly as a plot device for one character’s grand entrance—but boy do you wish it would just drop on some unsuspecting folks’ heads!
Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory is out now from Caezik.
