Dystopian Fiction

[kentuckymom]

So, I just finished The Chrysalids, which was recommended by several here on a dystopian fiction thread awhile back. I just have to say that it was amazing. I had no idea what to expect, and I was pulled in from the start and didn't want to put it down. I disagreed with some of the ideas the book promoted, and mostly agreed with others with a bit of discomfort, but I'm really glad I read it. So, thanks to those of you who recommended it.

 

Also, I recently read SON, which completes the quartet begun with THE GIVER. I really, really liked it. It's hard to beat the first one, but I think SON is a close second. I especially enjoyed getting a view of the community Jonas was in from at totally different perspective.

 

Is there anything else in this genre I might have missed that I simply have to read?

[Mrs Mungo]

Ender's Game (coming out as a movie soon)

 

Gulliver's Travels

 

Harrison Bergeron

 

Brave New World

 

1984

 

The Time Machine

 

Fahrenheit 451

 

Hunger Games

 

The Minority Report

 

Tunnel in the Sky

 

Lord of the Flies

 

Ready Player One (this one is fairly new and I think is also being made into a movie)

[tammyw]

I love dystopian books, but haven't read the chrsalids so will have to check it out!

[Xuzi]

My favorite dystopian novel is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I really wish she'd write a sequel to it.

[GailV]

Wool by Hugh Howey.  The final volume, Dust, just came out about a week ago, so now you can read the entire thing nonstop, unlike those of us who had to wait wait wait for him to get around to publishing each book.

[SJ.]

The Last Survivors Series by Susan Beth Pfefer: Life As We Knew It, The Death and Gone, This World We Live In, The Shade of the Moon (haven't read this one yet, excited to give it a go!)

 

Maddaddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood

 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

 

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

[Word Nerd]

Wool by Hugh Howey.  The final volume, Dust, just came out about a week ago, so now you can read the entire thing nonstop, unlike those of us who had to wait wait wait for him to get around to publishing each book.

 

I'm in the middle of Shift and already bought Dust. I love this series!

[Heatherwith4]

I read The Handmaid's Tale at the first of the year. It is truly an awesome book.

[Word Nerd]

I really like the Divergent series, though I had to suspend my disbelief at the beginning because the premise is so far-fetched. Segregating a society into five distinct factions or personalities with no overlap allowed is such a dumb idea it's hard to imagine anyone—even characters in a book—would think it sounded reasonable, much less the key to world peace.

[Pawz4me]

Wool by Hugh Howey.  The final volume, Dust, just came out about a week ago, so now you can read the entire thing nonstop, unlike those of us who had to wait wait wait for him to get around to publishing each book.

 

 

I'm in the middle of Shift and already bought Dust. I love this series!

 

I finished Wool last week and immediately bought Shift.   If it's anywhere near as good as Wool I'll be buying Dust, too!

[Lady Florida.]

Wool by Hugh Howey.  The final volume, Dust, just came out about a week ago, so now you can read the entire thing nonstop, unlike those of us who had to wait wait wait for him to get around to publishing each book.

I read the Wool Omnibus Edition last year and was waiting for the prequel, but then I forgot about it. Now it seems there are several related books out. Since the Omnibus Edition had Wool 1-5, what's the correct order to read the others?

[Pawz4me]

I read the Wool Omnibus Edition last year and was waiting for the prequel, but then I forgot about it. Now it seems there are several related books out. Since the Omnibus Edition had Wool 1-5, what's the correct order to read the others?

 

Shift is a prequel (there's an Omnibus Edition of it).  So I think you could read Dust w/o reading it.  But most reviewers on Amazon recommend Wool (Omnibus), Shift (0mnibus) and then Dust.

 

At least I think that's right.  It's confusing, isn't it?

[Cinder]

Ready Player One (this one is fairly new and I think is also being made into a movie)

 

Really?!? Ds2 will be thrilled--he and I enjoyed the book. I also enjoyed the audio version narrated by Wil Wheaton. :thumbup1:

[jenn&charles]

So, I just finished The Chrysalids, which was recommended by several here on a dystopian fiction thread awhile back. I just have to say that it was amazing. I had no idea what to expect, and I was pulled in from the start and didn't want to put it down. I disagreed with some of the ideas the book promoted, and mostly agreed with others with a bit of discomfort, but I'm really glad I read it. So, thanks to those of you who recommended it.

 

Also, I recently read SON, which completes the quartet begun with THE GIVER. I really, really liked it. It's hard to beat the first one, but I think SON is a close second. I especially enjoyed getting a view of the community Jonas was in from at totally different perspective.

 

Is there anything else in this genre I might have missed that I simply have to read?

 

I'm a dystopian junkie. I love that genre.

I created an Amazon collection here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/collections/PCxxgnNKOmmd-dxLOX--P8aAg that features dystopian (and some sci-fi) titles.

You might be able to get some ideas from it...

 

Some titles off the top of my head:

Wool series by Hugh Howey

The Handmaid's Tale

[goldberry]

Is Chrysalids appropriate for 14 y/o?  I'm struggling to find books to interest DD..

[Word Nerd]

I don't think I'd skip Shift. It answers some of the big questions from Wool, and I've heard that Dust will tie the other books together.

[MicheleinMN]

Am I the only person who didn't like The Handmaid's Tale?  Now Atwood's book The Penelopiad was a very interesting read.  I would suggest it for adults and/or mature high school students.  (Please pre-read, I would not have given it to any of my high school students, but my dd read it in college and suggested it to me.)

 

I enjoyed Divergent, but you definitely have to be able to suspend disbelief.

[mommaduck]

The Uglies/The Pretties/The Specials. Good trilogy.

 

I'll be back to add to the list (A Handmaid's Tale is one of my favorites also).

[kentuckymom]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I've read some of them, but not all. I wasn't aware that The Last Survivors series had added a fourth book. I definitely need to read it!

 

I think most 14 year olds could handle The Chrysalids. The main character starts out the book at age 10 and is 18 when it ends. There's some romantic love and a line about their bodies longing for each other, but that's as sexual as it gets. You might want to preread it or at least skim it to make sure you're okay with the religious content. The protagonist comes from a strict religious community that uses religion as a justification for some horrible stuff. Also, it's very pro-evolution. I think it could lead to some great discussions for both religious and secular families, but some people wouldn't be comfortable with the perversion of Christianity, the evolutionary content, or both.

[Erin]

I'm currently midway through the -vergent series and am really liking it, but I too had to consciously suspend disbelief a few times.   ;)  I mean, the only people they know of are in Chicago?  They have guns but no one has traveled anywhere for new territory??

 

My favorite book in this genre is One Second After (though it's at the point of collapse, rather than truly dystopian).  

Good stuff but disturbingly possible!

[Cinder]

I'm currently midway through the -vergent series and am really liking it, but I too had to consciously suspend disbelief a few times.   ;)  I mean, the only people they know of are in Chicago?  They have guns but no one has traveled anywhere for new territory??

 

I think a community like that in Divergent is common in this type of story. It reminds me of Logan's Run or the planet in Star Trek: Insurrection or even the FLDS--a closed community built around a shared ideal. By the time we see them their community has been long established. There likely is another world outside their bubble but this one is all that the main characters know. IIRC in Divergent (or was it the second book?) Tris wonders briefly if the fence was put there not to keep others out, but rather to keep *them* in.

[Erin]

You're right.  It is common to limit the community.  

The Giver wasn't quite so noticeable, but it was still a very small area.  Even Hunger Games, which were all over the US supposedly, were still in very limited groups within those areas.  (I mean, knowing everyone in your district??)  

This is just my current read, so this is the one that's fresh in my mind.

[GailV]

Shift is a prequel (there's an Omnibus Edition of it).  So I think you could read Dust w/o reading it.  But most reviewers on Amazon recommend Wool (Omnibus), Shift (0mnibus) and then Dust.

 

At least I think that's right.  It's confusing, isn't it?

 

No, you really want to have read Shift in order to read Dust.  Otherwise it (Dust) will have a boatload of characters that you have no clue about, plus crap happening that makes no sense whatsoever. 

 

Shift tells how they got there (and, frankly, I didn't like as much as Wool and Dust, partially because -- spoiler alert --  I thought Donald was sort of annoying).  BUT, here's the thing -- the timeline (as it pertains to the cast list) isn't as straightforward as you might think due to ISSUES, which you'll learn about in Shift.  

 

Shift would be dull if you hadn't already read Wool.  You'd wonder what the heck all of these weirdos are going on about.  It's better if you know where they're headed.  Plus Third Shift might be bordering on nonsensical if you don't have a good grasp of the Wool universe already.

 

Edited to add:  Okay, here's how I should've explained it:  Shift tells what happened before Wool, but it isn't a prequel.  It's a look back. If you read it first, you'll have the wrong vantage point for the way it's written.

[PrincessMommy]

i appreciate this thread. 

 

spoiler alert!!

 

I'm currently reading Divergent, but having I'm having to continuously suspending belief.   I mean the main character is part of the fighter (military) faction, but they don't train her?? they just tell the newbies to get in the ring and "fight"?  Everyman for himself.  That doesn't seem like the way military's train.   And, I'm stuck on the idea that they get one chance to pick a faction and if it doesn't work - you're factionless.  There's just too much that seem unrealistic rather than something that maybe could happen.  I keep wondering if the author is a teenager.   I guess I should go check. 

 

But, they're hugely popular, so I keep thinking that maybe I'm missing something.  Then again, maybe I should just move on.

[Lady Florida.]

Am I the only person who didn't like The Handmaid's Tale?  Now Atwood's book The Penelopiad was a very interesting read.  I would suggest it for adults and/or mature high school students.  (Please pre-read, I would not have given it to any of my high school students, but my dd read it in college and suggested it to me.)

The only 2 Margaret Atwood books I've read are The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx & Crake. Most people I've talked to think Oryx & Crake is the better of the two, but I thought it was just okay. OTOH, I loved The Handmaid's Tale. I should probably try some of her other novels for comparison.

[Chocolate Rose]

I had put Wool, Shift and Dust in my Amazon cart earlier this week after reading this thread. But, I was at Costco today, and picked up Wool. I didn't see the other 2 books, though.

[bumblesmama]

Animal Farm and Homage to Catalina are good early, pre-dystopia books. I think a must read for how dystopias can happen. ;)

[PrincessMommy]

I just remembered the "Book of the Dun Cow" by Wangerin.  I read it years ago, but it was quite good.

 

I've just added "Wool" to my holds list at the library.

[mamaraby]

"Crewel" is on my list, but mostly because the author did it during NaNoWriMo. Stay-at-home mom turned published author - in my dreams she's what I want to be when I grow up.