Recommendation for dystopia/utopia novels?

Alexander Turcic · 11-29-2006, 12:06 PM

In another thread I saw nekokami mentioning the book Fahrenheit 451, which has always been one of my favorite dystopia novels. I wonder what other similar book are out there that you can recommend? Here are the ones I enjoyed reading:

1984 (Orwell)
Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)
Brave New World (Huxley)
A Clockwork Orange (Burgess)
Ambient (Womack)

raevyn1 · 11-29-2006, 12:26 PM

Alexander, I like those books, too. My fav has to be Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
Wikipedia has a nice shortlist of dystopian lit at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ian_literature.

NatCh · 11-29-2006, 01:17 PM

Well, the Council Wars series by John Ringo, kinda qualifies as both. But it's also definitely MilSciFi.

Kosst Amojan · 11-30-2006, 11:39 AM

Atlas Shrugged
The Man in the High Castle
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
The "Draka" series by Stirling

Nate the great · 04-17-2007, 02:29 PM

Gulag Archipelago

There is also one that I can't quite remember the name. I think it was something like "The Children's War". It was set in a Nazi Europe in the early-mid '80s.

igorsk · 04-17-2007, 02:35 PM

Gulag Archipelago is not a fiction. At least the Solzhenitsyn's book is not, and I'm not aware of any other with this name.

nekokami · 04-17-2007, 03:08 PM

Dystopias not on the wikipedia list: The Gate to Woman's Country, by Sherri Tepper (actually, many of her books qualify as dystopias), The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (and its sequels), The Weapon Shops of Isher by A.E. Van Vogt, the Tripods trilogy by John Christopher. A related category is apocolyptic fiction (end of the world stuff). Asimov, Greenberg and Waugh edited a great anthology titled Catastrophies that covers the spectrum from end of the universe to end of human civilization as we know it. For something a little different, try The Clowns of God By Morris West.

In re-reading my own post, I realize that I have a preference for dystopias in which the conflict is resolved, as opposed to the more "classic" dystopia in which the hero fails to affect the society and the conflict remains unresolved. Your mileage may vary, naturally.

SciFiReader · 04-18-2007, 04:32 PM

Try the Postman by David Brin. Was made into a very poor movie, but a very good book. Also Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which became the Blade Runner movie by Philip Dick.

SciFiReader · 04-18-2007, 04:38 PM

You might to try this web-site which deals with Allo-history novels, which has a good listing of many books by author's who have created current day dystopias by altering key events from the past. Particularluy changing the outcomes of things like the Civil War, WWII, etc.
http://www.uchronia.net/

johnnaryry · 04-20-2007, 02:17 PM

M.T. Anderson's 'Feed' is quite interesting. I listened to an audio version my wife picked up at the library. There's a review up at Slashdot.

It really makes you think...

--ryan

johnnaryry · 04-20-2007, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SciFiReader

You might to try this web-site which deals with Allo-history novels, which has a good listing of many books by author's who have created current day dystopias by altering key events from the past. Particularluy changing the outcomes of things like the Civil War, WWII, etc.
http://www.uchronia.net/

One of my favourites in this category is 'Climb the Wind' (for somewhat biased reasons

).

Harris's 'Fatherland' is also very good (and quite appropriately dystopian as well!).

--ryan

Nate the great · 04-20-2007, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorsk

Gulag Archipelago is not a fiction. At least the Solzhenitsyn's book is not, and I'm not aware of any other with this name.

I know. That was a joke. Anyway, I have another:

The Children of Men by P.D. James

Hadrien · 05-04-2007, 07:55 PM

There's also "The Sleeper Awakes" from HG Wells:
http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/593

Or "socialist utopias" like Looking Backward and Equality:
http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/829
http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/824

And of course, "the original", Utopia from Thomas More:
http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/198

Got quite a few utopia/dystopia in my p-books too. Ira Levin's "The perfect day" for example:
http://www.amazon.com/This-Perfect-D.../dp/0394448588

Or Mockingbird from Walter Tevis.

Andanzas · 06-16-2007, 09:18 PM

As I mentioned in a previous message, I just finished The Road by Cormac MacCarthy. This is a very powerful book, and one of the most pessimistic views of our future I've ever read.

I don't know if Saramago's Blindness could be considered a dystopia, but I would add it to the list. It is a novel where apparently all humans go blind except a woman. Great read.

igorsk · 06-17-2007, 08:59 AM

Future Imperfect collects dystopias by Keith Laumer.

11-29-2006, 12:06 PM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,175 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Recommendation for dystopia/utopia novels? In another thread I saw nekokami mentioning the book Fahrenheit 451, which has always been one of my favorite dystopia novels. I wonder what other similar book are out there that you can recommend? Here are the ones I enjoyed reading: 1984 (Orwell) Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury) Brave New World (Huxley) A Clockwork Orange (Burgess) Ambient (Womack)

04-20-2007, 02:17 PM	#10
johnnaryry Connoisseur Posts: 84 Karma: 194 Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Lexington KY, USA Device: 64GB Apple iPad 3 WiFi, 32GB Apple iPhone 4S	M.T. Anderson's 'Feed' is quite interesting. I listened to an audio version my wife picked up at the library. There's a review up at Slashdot. It really makes you think... --ryan Last edited by johnnaryry; 04-20-2007 at 02:21 PM.

05-04-2007, 07:55 PM	#13
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	There's also "The Sleeper Awakes" from HG Wells: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/593 Or "socialist utopias" like Looking Backward and Equality: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/829 http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/824 And of course, "the original", Utopia from Thomas More: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/198 Got quite a few utopia/dystopia in my p-books too. Ira Levin's "The perfect day" for example: http://www.amazon.com/This-Perfect-D.../dp/0394448588 Or Mockingbird from Walter Tevis. Last edited by Hadrien; 05-04-2007 at 07:59 PM.

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11-29-2006, 12:26 PM	#2
raevyn1 Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 148 Join Date: Jul 2006 Device: iLiad, Sony Reader, Treo 755p, Palm T\|X	Alexander, I like those books, too. My fav has to be Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Wikipedia has a nice shortlist of dystopian lit at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ian_literature.

11-29-2006, 01:17 PM	#3
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Well, the Council Wars series by John Ringo, kinda qualifies as both. But it's also definitely MilSciFi.

11-30-2006, 11:39 AM	#4
Kosst Amojan Addict Posts: 207 Karma: 19597 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Northern Virginia Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Atlas Shrugged The Man in the High Castle In the Presence of Mine Enemies The "Draka" series by Stirling

04-17-2007, 02:29 PM	#5
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Gulag Archipelago There is also one that I can't quite remember the name. I think it was something like "The Children's War". It was set in a Nazi Europe in the early-mid '80s.

04-17-2007, 02:35 PM	#6
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Gulag Archipelago is not a fiction. At least the Solzhenitsyn's book is not, and I'm not aware of any other with this name.

04-17-2007, 03:08 PM	#7
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Dystopias not on the wikipedia list: The Gate to Woman's Country, by Sherri Tepper (actually, many of her books qualify as dystopias), The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (and its sequels), The Weapon Shops of Isher by A.E. Van Vogt, the Tripods trilogy by John Christopher. A related category is apocolyptic fiction (end of the world stuff). Asimov, Greenberg and Waugh edited a great anthology titled Catastrophies that covers the spectrum from end of the universe to end of human civilization as we know it. For something a little different, try The Clowns of God By Morris West. In re-reading my own post, I realize that I have a preference for dystopias in which the conflict is resolved, as opposed to the more "classic" dystopia in which the hero fails to affect the society and the conflict remains unresolved. Your mileage may vary, naturally.

04-18-2007, 04:32 PM	#8
SciFiReader GadgetReader Posts: 33 Karma: 66686 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: Sony Reader	Try the Postman by David Brin. Was made into a very poor movie, but a very good book. Also Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which became the Blade Runner movie by Philip Dick.

04-18-2007, 04:38 PM	#9
SciFiReader GadgetReader Posts: 33 Karma: 66686 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: Sony Reader	You might to try this web-site which deals with Allo-history novels, which has a good listing of many books by author's who have created current day dystopias by altering key events from the past. Particularluy changing the outcomes of things like the Civil War, WWII, etc. http://www.uchronia.net/

06-16-2007, 09:18 PM	#14
Andanzas Out of print Posts: 487 Karma: 1549538 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Sony PRS-500 (recycled), Pocketbook Inkpad X Pro	As I mentioned in a previous message, I just finished The Road by Cormac MacCarthy. This is a very powerful book, and one of the most pessimistic views of our future I've ever read. I don't know if Saramago's Blindness could be considered a dystopia, but I would add it to the list. It is a novel where apparently all humans go blind except a woman. Great read.

06-17-2007, 08:59 AM	#15
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Future Imperfect collects dystopias by Keith Laumer.