Top Ten Most Vivid Literary Worlds & Settings

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top ten list features what I think are some of the best-built and most vivid worlds and settings from stories. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Middle Earth (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien) - I'm not sure how this could possibly not be included, considering all of the obsessive detailing that Tolkien put into creating the world.
2. Hogwarts (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) - Another world that must be included in this list. I feel that I have come to know this place and its moving staircases and hidden rooms, as well as the people who inhabit it.
3. Wonderland - (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll) - It would be nonsensical of me not to include this one. (See what I did there?) This world full of "stuff and nonsense" definitely belongs on the list.
4. Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis) - This is the point in my list where I'm thinking that I need to be less predictable, as Narnia is yet another obvious choice.
5. Le Cirque des Rêves (The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern) - The atmosphere created by Morgenstern in this book is phenomenal! Reading about this circus sent me into sensory overload and I completely fell in love with the setting.
6. The Moors (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and/or The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab) - These two books are both set beside the moors, and both authors make great use of the atmosphere that the moors provide. I love the wild and haunting mood that the moors create in these stories. I'll just say it: I have a THING for moor settings.
7. Prague & Elsewhere (Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor) - Laini Taylor does a great job of capturing a magical sort of city, and Prague felt like it came to life on the pages. Then she shows us Elsewhere and it is even more magical, and also completely engrossing.
8. Westeros (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin) - This one may be another unsurprising choice since the show has recently made many people into new fans of this series, but I wanted to include it anyway for its unapologetic harshness, its Wall, its rivers, its castles, its food, and its Winter.
9. Thisby (The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater) - Maggie Stiefvater does an amazing job of making the danger and magic of this place swirl together. I love it because it is mysterious and wild, enchanting and ominous at the same time. The characters really love this place, and I think that only added to my love for it.
10. Dustlands (Dustlands series by Moira Young) - The setting is one of the things that I really liked about Blood Red Road. The old western vibe of the lands is enhanced by the characters' dialects and makes for an engrossing post-apocalyptic world.

Honorable Mentions:

• Tortall in Tamora Pierce's books - I love this world and its characters. After all of the adventures to be had there, it feels very real!
• The Maze in The Maze Runner by James Dashner - How cool is a killer maze?
• Howl's Castle in Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones - Walking castles with portals to various places are awesome.
• The Leviathan in the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld - It's a whale-slash-airship. The setting is actually alive. I'm not sure it gets more vivid than that.
• Crystal Cove in Moonglass by Jessi Kirby - This is an incredibly vivid and well-written beach setting.

And there you have it! My noteworthy vivid, must-visit literary worlds. Do you agree with my picks? What are some others that you think deserve to be on this list? Let me hear about it in the comments!