List of fictional universes

This is a list of fictional universes, organized by genre and by sub-genre. The term "universe" can be misleading, since some of them are supposed to occur in our own world, but in a fictional future (sci-fi) or past (Hyborian Age) timeline. Because one author's universe may produce stories in different genres, it may be listed in more than one place.

Fictional Earths

Stories taking place on an Earth that varies from ours in a few details.

Fantastic Earth

An earth much like ours, but with some fantastic twists.
* universe, by Laurell K. Hamilton
* Breeniverse for the lonelygirl15 and KateModern
* Bleach universe
* Buffyverse by Joss Whedon
* Charmed universe by Constance M. Burge and Brad Kern
* Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft and others
* Death Note universe
* Digimon universe and Digital World within
* Final Fantasy universes, including Gaia, Vanadiel and Ivalice
* Godzilla universe where all the Toho monsters exist in one separate timeline. Created by Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya
* Mahabharata and Ramayana
* Highlander universe of TV and movies
* One Thousand and One Nights universe
* Pokémon universe, by Satoshi Tajiri
* Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, by Kazuki Takahashi
* The Wizarding world of the "Harry Potter" series by J. K. Rowling.

Archaic Earth

A fantasy world that is asserted to be Earth in an imaginary age of the distant past.
* The Asian-influenced world of .
* Hyborian Age in the Conan the Barbarian stories of Robert E. Howard. An earlier (but geographically very different) version of the same world featured in Howard's King Kull stories.
* Arda in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien
* Nyumbani in the works of Charles R. Saunders
* The Earth of and its spin-off .
* God of War of the God of War series of video games.
* The Endless Valley Shadow of the Colossus

Alternate history Earth

The past or present of an Earth where history diverged slightly from our experience.

* Code Geass universe
* Glorianna of Quest for Glory (video game)
* Metal Gear universe
* North America in the Tales of Alvin Maker series of novels by Orson Scott Card
* Tarrantry created by Rick Robinson
* The Domination series written by S. M. Stirling
* The Emberverse series written by S. M. Stirling
* The history in which the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde are based
* The owl kingdoms of Kathryn Lasky's Guardians of Ga'hoole series.
* The totalitarian Earth in George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (a future when written, now an alternate history)
* The universe in which "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Petticoat Junction", and "Green Acres" co-exist, linked by the appearance of the characters Uncle Joe Carson (played by Edgar Buchanan) and "Dog" (played by the dog actor Higgins) in all three series.
* The Years of Rice and Salt, a thought experiment about a world in which neither Christianity nor the European cultures based on it achieve lasting impact on world history.
* The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
* Timeline-191 series written by Turtledove
* Worldwar series written by Harry Turtledove
* Wild Cards series edited by George R. R. Martin

Future Earth

Earth as it may be in the future.

*Aldous Huxley's pseudo-utopian "Brave New World"
*Blade Runner dystopia, based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick This may be canon with Total Recall and Minority Report as the authors works are linked with subtle similarities.
*The Four Lands by Terry Brooks
*Futurama created by Matt Groening
*Gaia in Final Fantasy VII, and world of Final Fantasy VIII
*Ghost in the Shell universe
*Gundam universes, including the Universal Century, Future Century, After Colony, Correct Century, Cosmic Era and Anno Domini timelines
*Matrix movie universe, consisting of "our world in 2199" and a false reality created by machines.
*Neo Tokyo dystopia in "Akira" and its theatrical adaptation
*Randland in The Wheel of Time novels by Robert Jordan
*Terminator movie universe.
*The Bobbleverse of Vernor Vinge's novels The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime.
*Third Earth from the Pendragon Adventure Universe.

Dying Earth

Earth in the distant future, when the shapes of lands have changed.

* After War timeline in After War Gundam X
* Briah - name of the setting in several novels and short stories by Gene Wolfe
* The Dying Earth - Jack Vance et al.
* Filgaia - Wild Arms
* Gurren Lagann universe
* Macross universe
* Neon Genesis Evangelion universe
* Randland - Robert Jordan
* Sunfall - C. J. Cherryh
* Theologus Autodidactus universe - Ibn al-Nafis
* Viriconium - M. John Harrison
* World of Final Fantasy VI, and Spira in Final Fantasy X
* Zothique - Clark Ashton Smith

Lost Lands

A land which is asserted to exist somewhere on Earth and which can be reached, usually with difficulty, by travelers. See also Fictional country and List of fictional countries.

* The lands of the One Thousand and One Nights
* Oz - L. Frank Baum
* The lands of Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
* Lyonesse - Jack Vance
* Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs (inside a hollow Earth)
* The Plateau in "The Lost World" - Arthur Conan Doyle
* The island of Dinotopia - of author and illustrator James Gurney
* The "Lost" island - from the television series "Lost"
* Egon - the futuristic world beneath the ocean in Lionel Davidson's children's novel "Under Plum Lake"
* The Country of the Blind - from the short story of the same name by H. G. Wells
* The islands of the Abarat- from the book Abarat by Clive Barker
*Gensokyo of Touhou Project.
* Utopia, from Thomas More's dialogue.

Extraterrestrial

A science fictional universe consists of multiple stars and planets where the fictional action takes place, usually linked by some form of space travel, or in some cases by teleportation. The universe may or may not contain Earth (or some version of it, past, future or alternate).

Other planets

Stories that take place entirely on other planets, with little or no reference to Earth:

*Pern in Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern" series
*Mobius in the non-game Sonic the Hedgehog universe
* Eternia in the "Masters of the Universe" series
* Bionicle planet in Bionicle Sagas.
* Thra, the three-Sunned planet that is the setting for "The Dark Crystal"

Solar system

Our solar system in the near future, at a time when interstellar travel is impossible, unknown, or very rare.
* Buck Rogers universe (comics, radio, television, movies) and Buck Rogers XXVC game setting
* Captain Future by Edmond Hamilton
* Cowboy Bebop by Hajime Yatate
* Eight Worlds by John Varley
* Solar System of Leigh Brackett
* Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis
* Transhuman Space by Steve Jackson Games
* Jovian Chronicles by Dream Pod 9
* Barsoom (ancient Mars) in "John Carter of Mars"

Universes including Earth

These universes usually are set some hundreds or thousands of years in our future, at a time when mankind has spread to the stars. They mention or imply the existence of the Earth, the Sun, or other familiar stars.

In print

* Alliance-Union universe of C. J. Cherryh
* Berserker (Saberhagen) by Fred Saberhagen
* Bolo (self-aware tank) by Keith Laumer
* Childe Cycle (Dorsai) series of Gordon R. Dickson
* The CoDominium/Empire of Man series by Jerry Pournelle
* The Culture by Iain M. Banks
* The Cthulu mythos of HP Lovecraft
* Dune universe by Frank Herbert
* Empire of Isher setting by A. E. Van Vogt
* Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card
* Familias Regnant Universe by Elizabeth Moon
* Finisterre universe by C. J. Cherryh
* Foreigner universe by C. J. Cherryh
* Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
* Future History by Robert A. Heinlein
* Gaean Reach (Jack Vance)
* Gene Wars universe by C. J. Cherryh
* Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin
* Helliconia by Brian Aldiss
* Heritage Universe by Charles Sheffield
* Homecoming Saga by Orson Scott Card
* Honorverse (David Weber)
* The Humanx Commonwealth by Alan Dean Foster
* Instrumentality of Mankind by Cordwainer Smith
* Known Space by Larry Niven
* Liaden universe by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
* Lensman by E. E. Smith
* Noon Universe of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
* Null-A Universe by A. E. Van Vogt
* Oikumene of Jack Vance's Demon Princes series
* Perry Rhodan Universe (various authors)
* Psychotechnic League by Poul Anderson (Nicholas van Rijn)
* Sector General series by James White
* Skolianverse (Catherine Asaro)
* Trade Pact Universe by Julie E. Czerneda
* Uplift Universe of David Brin
* Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
* Zones of Thought Universe by Vernor Vinge

In film and television

* Andromeda
* Battlestar Galactica
* Babylon 5 universe by J. Michael Straczynski
* Buffyverse by Joss Whedon
* Charmed universe by Constance M. Burge and Brad Kern
* Farscape universe by Rockne O'Bannon and others
* Firefly 'Verse by Joss Whedon
* Gundam universes
* Gurren Lagann universe
* Invader Zim universe
* Kiddy Grade universe
* Land of the Lost
* Leijiverse (interconnecting anime/manga works of Leiji Matsumoto)
* The Lexx "Dark Zone"
* Macross universe
* Mongo of the "Flash Gordon" series
* Stargate universe
* Star Trek universe by Gene Roddenberry and others
* The Universal Century universe in the Gundam series
* The Whoniverse of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane and other spin-offs

In games

*Inner Sphere in Battletech and MechWarrior
*Warhammer 40,000 universe
*4D Space in Star Ocean 3
*Xen of Half-Life
* Halo universe
*Starcraft universe
*Traveller universe
*The UGSF universe in Galaxian, StarBlade, Ace Combat 3, Bounty Hounds, and New Space Order

Universes excluding Earth

These stories describe settings with no connection to our existing chronological framework, in which the Earth, the Sun, and other familiar stars are not mentioned. They tend to be science fantasies.

In film and television

* Star Wars universe by George Lucas (however, Earth appears in some stories deemed non-canon by Lucasfilm)

* Galactik Football universe by Alphanim.

In games

* Dragonstar
* The universe of New Eden in EVE Online (inhabitants of New Eden originally came from Earth via a wormhole, but there is now no connection between the two universes)
* Final Fantasy, in all of the Final Fantasy video games, There exists a wholly different world, where vicious creatures roam free and medieval yet fantasy weapons are used to fend them off.

Fantasy

Fantasy universes usually exist on single worlds; these worlds are typically earthlike, but differ from Earth at least in geography; they also frequently host animals and intelligent life-forms not found on Earth. They can be found in a variety of fantasy genres, e.g. high fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, etc.

Parallel worlds

A fantasy world resembling our Earth, forming part of a multiverse with Earth and reachable by magic, dreaming, or similar devices.

In print

* The Dreamlands of H. P. Lovecraft
* Everworld by K. A. Applegate
* Fantastica - Michael Ende's "The Neverending Story"
* Fionavar in The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
* Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa contains a world similar to ours, which developed alchemy instead of machinery
* Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner
* The Land and rest of the world in Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.
* The Lands of Dream (Perdóndaris, Utnar Véhi, etc.) in the writings of Lord Dunsany
* Lenfell in the "Exiles Trilogy" by Melanie Rawn
* Narnia by C. S. Lewis
* Neverland in J. M. Barrie's "Peter and Wendy"
*Neverwhere - Richard Corben's "Den" series
* and, to a lesser extent, "xxxHolic" by the manga collective called Clamp. In the former, the main characters travel throughout various worlds, and in the latter Yūko Ichihara is known as the Witch of Dimensions, and people from various worlds visit her for assistance. Since the stories occur in parallel universes, actions in one of them can have effects in the other.
* Witch World by Andre Norton
* Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land by Lewis Carroll
* Xanth by Piers Anthony

In games

*Dark Aether in the video game (in fact it is a planet of a universe parallel to the Metroid Universe, which could be classified as a "future earth universe").
*Worlds of light and darkness in Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy V
*Worlds of light and darkness in
*ZanZarah in the computer game

Other worlds

A world that resembles our Earth in a general sense, but exists entirely independently of it, and never includes any humans from Earth. Many, but not all of these worlds allow magic.

In print

* Aloria, Mallorea, etc. in the Belgariad and Malloreon, and Elenia and Tamul of the Elenium and the Tamuli, written by David Eddings.
* Alagaësia in the novels of Christopher Paolini
* Bas-Lag - Setting for China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station", "The Scar" and "Iron Council"; major city: New Crobuzon.
* Beklan Empire by Richard Adams in "Shardik" and its sequels.
* The world of Boxen which was created Clive and Warren Lewis when they were children.
* Discworld by Terry Pratchett, parodies fantasy clichés
* Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
* Emelan and Tortall in the novels of Tamora Pierce
* Estarcion - the world of Dave Sim's Cerebus comic
* Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
* Gwynedd in the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz
*Jaconia - Fantasy world of Finnish graphic artist Petri Hiltunen's comic Praedor
* Kelewan and Midkemia in Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga
* Krynn - the setting of the Dragonlance novels
* Osten Ard by Tad Williams
* Old Kingdom of Garth Nix
* Pegāna in the early writings of Lord Dunsany
* Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
* The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
* Thieves' World by Robert Lynn Asprin and others
* Tlön by Jorge Luis Borges
* Velgarth, the world of the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey
* Westeros in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
* World of the Three Moons in the Trillium novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May and Andre Norton

In art

* The country of Iblard and its surrounding universe, as depicted in the paintings of Naohisa Inoue

In film and television

* Encantadia - world of the Filipino television fantasy (fantaserye) of the same name
* The Avatarverse - the world of .
*Code Lyoko (Lyoko & Earth)
* Koala-walla Land (noozles)
* Morphea - A fictional dimension ruled by Mirage in the Aladdin cartoon.

In games

*Achaea, in the game of the same name by Iron Realms Entertainment
*Arcadia, of Eternal Arcadia/Skies of Arcadia
*Aventurien in Das Schwarze Auge
*The Warcraft universe, of Warcraft
*Barsaive in Earthdawn (FASA roleplaying game)
*Britannia in the Ultima series
*Dark Aether, a planet from a fictional parallel universe resembling ours, but dark, in the game
*Drakan in the computer game
*Final Fantasy worlds - Terra/Gaia (Final Fantasy IX), Spira (Final Fantasy X), Vana'diel
*Glorantha, world of RuneQuest, Hero Wars and HeroQuest roleplaying games
*Hârn - world of HârnMaster RPG
*The Homeworld universe of Homeworld and Homeworld 2
*Hyrule, of The Legend of Zelda game series
*Layonara by Layonara Studios LLC
*MageKnight universe
*Midgard (Midgard (role-playing game))
*Mordredica from the RPG Battleaxe
*Mushroom World of the Super Mario Bros. video games
*Nirn(Tamriel) in "The Elder Scrolls"
*Norrath, of EverQuest
*Nosgoth of Legacy of Kain
*Oddworld
*Orc Magazine - fantasy universe spoof
*Ravnica in the collectible card game
*Shadow World - setting for Rolemaster system, produced by Iron Crown Enterprises
*Talislanta of the roleplaying game of the same name
*Tamriel from The Elder Scrolls computer game series
*Tékumel of Empire of the Petal Throne
*Warhammer Fantasy universe
*World of Darkness universe for the games , , and others
*Yrth - GURPS Fantasy
* Zork series by Quendor of Infocom

In Dungeons & Dragons

*Athas - Dark Sun setting
*The Demiplane of Dread - Ravenloft setting (all settings can connect through this one)
*The Flow - Spelljammer setting (all settings can connect through this one)
*Krynn - Dragonlance setting
*Mystara
*Oerth - Greyhawk setting
*Planes of Existence - Planescape setting (all settings can connect through these)
*Toril - Forgotten Realms setting

Multiverses

Some stories take place in a series of connected universes, which may or may not include Earth, including:

In print

*All-World multiverse By Stephen King
*Amalgam universe (Marvel & DC crossover)
*Amber universe by Roger Zelazny.
*World of Tiers
*Assiti Shards multiverse by Eric Flint
*Bleach by Kubo Tite.
*Chronicles of Narnia worlds by C. S. Lewis (particularly as portrayed in the book The Magician's Nephew).
*CrossTime Traffic series by Harry Turtledove
*DC Multiverse or DC Universe of DC Comics.
*DragonBall Z by Akira Toriyama.
*Eternal Champion multiverse by Michael Moorcock.
*His Dark Materials trilogy worlds by Philip Pullman.
*Kelewan and Midkemia by Raymond E. Feist in his Riftwar Saga
*Landover universe by Terry Brooks.
*Marvel Multiverse or Marvel Universe of Marvel Comics
*The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy multiverse By Douglas Adams

In film and television

* Diniverse - Paul Dini's series of Warner Bros. animated cartoons of characters in the DC Comics universe.
*Matrix universe, consisting of "our world in 2199" and a false reality created by machines.
* The Charmed universe is set both on Earth and in supernatural locations such as heaven, limbo, the underworld and the "demonic wasteland".
*The Buffyverse from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, consisting of infinite parallel and alternate dimensions and realities.
* Bokurano, an anime where fifteen children have to defeat 15 other dimensional robots. If they're defeated, their universe will be lost forever. Same thing goes for those who got defeated by the protagonists.
* Digital World - world of Digimon.
* Chaotic and Perim- The other two worlds of Chaotic besides Earth.
* The Sliders multiverse consisting of alternate Earths, including one where time passes at a different rate and one where time passes in reverse.

In games

*D'ni in the Myst
*Everway of the role-playing game of the same name
*The Hero Universe from Hero Games includes superhero, fantasy, historical, and science fiction settings in a single time continuum.
*Kingdom Hearts (Disney) multiverse: There are "impassable walls between the worlds (universes)" that were broken upon the arrival of the Heartless.
* The [http://tempusmud.net/world/ Tempus Universe] is a multiverse from the time-travel MUD, [http://www.tempusmud.net/ TempusMUD]
*The Longest Journey takes place on the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia.
*The Palladium Megaverse encompasses all the game worlds that use Palladium's Megaversal system, most notably Rifts Earth.
*Planescape and Spelljammer both linked the various Dungeons and Dragons worlds. See also List of Spelljammer crystal spheres.

Other dimensions

* Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott
* Planiverse by Alexander Dewdney

ee also

*List of fictional timelines
*Planetary romance
*Sword and planet