Dystopian + Utopian Novels?

TadW · 03-05-2004, 03:24 AM

Hello,

I am a great fan of dystopian and utopian novels. Here are some I've read so far:

1984, G. Orwell
Fahrenheit 451, R. Bradbury
Brave New World, A. Huxley
A Clockwork Orange, A. Burgess
Ambient, J. Womack (just finished reading it, great book!)

Please please, if you know any more books that fit this category, post them here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cbarnett · 03-07-2004, 06:14 PM

Animal Farm. (never trust the pigs, they're always the trouble-makers

)

Craig.

TadW · 03-08-2004, 10:26 AM

Yes, I love Animal Farm

Especially the All Pigs are Created Equal, but some Pigs are more Equal than Others part

I forgot to mention, I also like all the Bradbury short-stories.

cbarnett · 03-08-2004, 07:03 PM

I haven't read any Bradbury at all, which is criminal, I know. I should go check out fictionwise, they might have some of his work, possibly at a nice price, too...

Craig.

wumpi · 03-09-2004, 05:51 AM

Good topic!

Some additional good "Utopian"/Proto-Cyberpunk novels I read:

Richard Adams - Watership Down
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World Revisited
Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
John Brunner - The Sheep Look Up / The Shockwave Rider
Suzy McKee Charnas - Walk to the End of the World / The Furies
Thomas Disch - Camp Concentration
Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
Yevgeny Zamyatin - We

Btw, check Students for an Orwellian Society to see how close to 1984 this world really is.

cbarnett · 03-09-2004, 05:58 PM

Did Huxley do a sequel to Brave New World? I wasn't aware of that.

BTW, it's not a book, but I think the film Brazil fits this category well. It's been years since I saw it, but found it thought-provoking in many ways.

Craig.

TadW · 03-10-2004, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbarnett

Did Huxley do a sequel to Brave New World? I wasn't aware of that.

Brave New World Revisited is not really a sequel, but a critical analysis of Brave New World, how it differs to Orwell's "1984", and the world as Huxley saw it some 30 years after the book debuted.

His commentary and social criticism cut deep, and this cautionary tale is perhaps more applicable today than it has ever been (as evidenced in Bush's reference to Brave New World in his speech concerning government funding of stem cell research).

Tad

Asterix · 03-23-2004, 03:29 AM

Obviously, try Utopia, Thomas Moore.

It is a bit archaic (obviously) it was translated from Latin into English around 1900 (approx) but it is the first Utopian novel. I actually enjoyed it very much, it was really really good and politically very enlightened for someone from the 17th Century.

He has a great deal to say about the system of criminal justice as it was in England. Thieves would be hanged just as quickly as murderers or robbers, so there was very little barrier for the hungry peasaentry to become hard-core criminals. In Utopia criminals were not hanged, they were made to wear gold and to perform public service. Quite enlightened.

Asterix · 03-23-2004, 03:31 AM

Try this site for a definitive list of dystopias:

http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sparks/sfclass/Cosycat.htm

Hadrien · 07-17-2007, 07:21 PM

Using our new lists feature I just created a list for books based on utopia/dystopia. We might have some other books in our database that could be added. If you know any public domain that could fit this description, I'll be happy to add them to this list !

Link: http://www.feedbooks.com/list/view/3

BenG · 07-18-2007, 06:20 PM

"Golf in the Year 2000" is a short humorous novel written in 1892. It's about a man who goes to sleep in 1892 and like Rip van Winkle, sleeps until 2000. The novel predicts things like digital watches, bullet trains, women's equality and golf clubs that automatically keep score. It's like "Looking Backward" with a utopia based on golf instead of socialism.

I created a Sony Reader version that I'll upload later.

Hadrien · 07-18-2007, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenG

"Golf in the Year 2000" is a short humorous novel written in 1892. It's about a man who goes to sleep in 1892 and like Rip van Winkle, sleeps until 2000. The novel predicts things like digital watches, bullet trains, women's equality and golf clubs that automatically keep score. It's like "Looking Backward" with a utopia based on golf instead of socialism.

I created a Sony Reader version that I'll upload later.

Sounds like a lot of fun ! I really need to read this one.

http://www.golf-in-the-year-2000.com...000/index.html

UncleDuke · 07-19-2007, 11:41 AM

i like windmills when i play golf

any novel about nyc or london should fit this group

eumesmo · 07-26-2007, 06:24 PM

Ayn Rand and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Certainly not for the easily susceptible(you don't want to wake up a republican the next morning), but each of the three Novels in my mind, Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and The Gulag Archipelago present very distinct Dystopian M.O., but the mother of all Dystopian + Utopian "novels" is my beloved Communist Manifesto, for without it, utopia is merely a platonic musing.

bingle · 07-27-2007, 02:19 PM

If you're going to read anytihng by Ayn Rand, I would suggest Anthem, which is more directly dystopian, and a lot shorter than anything else. Reading long Rand works is like being shouted at continually for days.

A little dated, but "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis is a tale of fascism coming to the US. There's also Kafka, of course, although I'm not sure that fits what you're looking for...

On the Sci-Fi front, Ira Levin (author of Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives) wrote a future Utopian/Dystopian novel called This Perfect Day. Very similar in tone to Brave New World. There's also "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas", a short story by Ursula K. LeGuin (A Wizard of Earthsea). It's more of a parable than anything else. She also wrote The Dispossessed, which is a longer exploration of "Utopia"

03-05-2004, 03:24 AM	#1
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Dystopian + Utopian Novels? Hello, I am a great fan of dystopian and utopian novels. Here are some I've read so far: 1984, G. Orwell Fahrenheit 451, R. Bradbury Brave New World, A. Huxley A Clockwork Orange, A. Burgess Ambient, J. Womack (just finished reading it, great book!) Please please, if you know any more books that fit this category, post them here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

07-18-2007, 06:20 PM	#11
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	"Golf in the Year 2000" is a short humorous novel written in 1892. It's about a man who goes to sleep in 1892 and like Rip van Winkle, sleeps until 2000. The novel predicts things like digital watches, bullet trains, women's equality and golf clubs that automatically keep score. It's like "Looking Backward" with a utopia based on golf instead of socialism. I created a Sony Reader version that I'll upload later. Last edited by BenG; 07-18-2007 at 06:22 PM.

07-26-2007, 06:24 PM	#14
eumesmo Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 272 Join Date: May 2006 Device: Sony Reader	Not forgetting the russians... Ayn Rand and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Certainly not for the easily susceptible(you don't want to wake up a republican the next morning), but each of the three Novels in my mind, Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and The Gulag Archipelago present very distinct Dystopian M.O., but the mother of all Dystopian + Utopian "novels" is my beloved Communist Manifesto, for without it, utopia is merely a platonic musing.

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03-07-2004, 06:14 PM	#2
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Animal Farm. (never trust the pigs, they're always the trouble-makers ) Craig.

03-08-2004, 10:26 AM	#3
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Yes, I love Animal Farm Especially the All Pigs are Created Equal, but some Pigs are more Equal than Others part I forgot to mention, I also like all the Bradbury short-stories.

03-08-2004, 07:03 PM	#4
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	I haven't read any Bradbury at all, which is criminal, I know. I should go check out fictionwise, they might have some of his work, possibly at a nice price, too... Craig.

03-09-2004, 05:51 AM	#5
wumpi Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 2358 Join Date: Feb 2003	Good topic! Some additional good "Utopian"/Proto-Cyberpunk novels I read: Richard Adams - Watership Down Aldous Huxley - Brave New World Revisited Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle John Brunner - The Sheep Look Up / The Shockwave Rider Suzy McKee Charnas - Walk to the End of the World / The Furies Thomas Disch - Camp Concentration Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale Yevgeny Zamyatin - We Btw, check Students for an Orwellian Society to see how close to 1984 this world really is.

03-09-2004, 05:58 PM	#6
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Did Huxley do a sequel to Brave New World? I wasn't aware of that. BTW, it's not a book, but I think the film Brazil fits this category well. It's been years since I saw it, but found it thought-provoking in many ways. Craig.

03-23-2004, 03:29 AM	#8
Asterix Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2004 Device: PPC 2002	Obviously, try Utopia, Thomas Moore. It is a bit archaic (obviously) it was translated from Latin into English around 1900 (approx) but it is the first Utopian novel. I actually enjoyed it very much, it was really really good and politically very enlightened for someone from the 17th Century. He has a great deal to say about the system of criminal justice as it was in England. Thieves would be hanged just as quickly as murderers or robbers, so there was very little barrier for the hungry peasaentry to become hard-core criminals. In Utopia criminals were not hanged, they were made to wear gold and to perform public service. Quite enlightened.

03-23-2004, 03:31 AM	#9
Asterix Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2004 Device: PPC 2002	Try this site for a definitive list of dystopias: http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sparks/sfclass/Cosycat.htm

07-17-2007, 07:21 PM	#10
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	Using our new lists feature I just created a list for books based on utopia/dystopia. We might have some other books in our database that could be added. If you know any public domain that could fit this description, I'll be happy to add them to this list ! Link: http://www.feedbooks.com/list/view/3

07-19-2007, 11:41 AM	#13
UncleDuke books & doughnuts Posts: 882 Karma: 37857 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: usa Device: sony reader, kindle2	i like windmills when i play golf any novel about nyc or london should fit this group

07-27-2007, 02:19 PM	#15
bingle Addict Posts: 273 Karma: 499 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Device: Sony Reader	If you're going to read anytihng by Ayn Rand, I would suggest Anthem, which is more directly dystopian, and a lot shorter than anything else. Reading long Rand works is like being shouted at continually for days. A little dated, but "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis is a tale of fascism coming to the US. There's also Kafka, of course, although I'm not sure that fits what you're looking for... On the Sci-Fi front, Ira Levin (author of Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives) wrote a future Utopian/Dystopian novel called This Perfect Day. Very similar in tone to Brave New World. There's also "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas", a short story by Ursula K. LeGuin (A Wizard of Earthsea). It's more of a parable than anything else. She also wrote The Dispossessed, which is a longer exploration of "Utopia"

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