Dystopian novels

[Absolut]

Ive got a thing for these kinds of books, but Ive read most of the novels I can come to think of (ie 1984, Kallocain, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451) so Im in some kind of draught now and I have no clue whatsoever as to newer dystopian novels.

If anyone has any good recommendations Id be very glad to hear them. :)

Also, if anyone know any good books of The Master and Margarita kind, I would be extatic to hear them. That book was fucking brilliant.

[couch13]

Jennifer Government was okay. Not a classic or anything, but a good view as to why Anarcho-capitalism would suck.

[LOLseph Stalin]

Jennifer Government was okay. Not a classic or anything, but a good view as to why Anarcho-capitalism would suck.

I've heard about that book off some nation simulation thing. I haven't actually read it though, but it seems like a Capitalist nightmare world. Apperently corporations run everything.

[couch13]

I've heard about that book off some nation simulation thing. I haven't actually read it though, but it seems like a Capitalist nightmare world. Apperently corporations run everything.

I used to play nation states alot, it was pretty fun.

You have the book pegged. Its complete chaos.

[LOLseph Stalin]

I used to play nation states alot, it was pretty fun.


That's probably where i've heard about the book then. I played nation states, but got bored of it pretty quickly.


You have the book pegged. Its complete chaos.

Damn, I want to read it now.

[couch13]

That's probably where i've heard about the book then. I played nation states, but got bored of it pretty quickly.

Yeah, it got really repetitive.


Damn, I want to read it now.

Its almost worth it.

[Absolut]

Looks nice, thats the kind of books I was looking for, thanks. :)

[Killfacer]

We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (really original, excellent book)
Never let me go - Kazuo Ishiguro (a dsytopia, but not in the 1984 sense)
The handmaids tale - Margert Atwood (i thought it was shit, but others seem to like it)

[Hegemonicretribution]

I know it is not strictly fitting with the genre, but it was after a similar ammount of reading that I read 'Island' (Huxley). You may have come across this, but if not I give it three thumbs up.

I found the questions raised in BNW to be somewhat deeper than those raised in 1984 etc because the world was obviously supposed to be more appealing in some ways, despite being objectionable. Island seems to ask the questions that BNW did not do so (at least explicitly) and which are not often dealt with in detail by most dystopian works I have come across.

That said it is also more philosophical than most of what you listed (at least those I know), and I do not know if this is a plus or minus, but just tso you know. :)

[Absolut]

I always thought that Island was more of a utopian novel than a dystopian one, at least thats the impression I got when I skimmed through some text by Huxley I found once. If Im not wrong, and I may very well be, Ive never read Island, its supposed to be some kind of opposite to Brave New World.

Either way, Ive been looking for the book, but Ive been wanting it in Swedish, and there seems to be a shortage of that version on the market. Maybe Ill just have to accept the fact that the only one availible to me is in English.

I dont mind philosophical books at all, especially not if it resembles Brave New World. :)

[Woland]

It has already been mentioned, but We is very good, despite being anti-communist in some places.

[Jimmie Higgins]

The book U.S. is sort of a dystopian novel about the 1980s-1990s. Socialist author Upton Sinclair is brought back from the dead where he finds himself in a world where few workers look to socialism and more look to right wing ideas.

Onyx and Crake, also by Atwood is decent. There's a definite (but shallow) treatment of class issues and they've genetically engineered meat-blobs that grow chicken thighs like tomatoes on plants.

[Blackscare]

More "grimy bizarre steampunk universe" than straight up dystopia, "Perdido Street Station" by China Meiville is an amazing book, I highly recommend it.

Don't be turned off by the description on the back of the book, as I recall it was cheesy sounding and not at all representative of the awesomeness of the book.

It is set in a far from ideal world, with all kinds of crazy shit going on. It's be pretty impossible to give you an accurate overview of the book, so I'm just going to say that it is amazing and you should read it as soon as you get the chance :)

[cleef]

little brother by cory doctorow is pretty good + because of the publication copyright laws its available free online :)

[Hegemonicretribution]

I always thought that Island was more of a utopian novel than a dystopian one, at least thats the impression I got when I skimmed through some text by Huxley I found once. If Im not wrong, and I may very well be, Ive never read Island, its supposed to be some kind of opposite to Brave New World........

.....I dont mind philosophical books at all, especially not if it resembles Brave New World.

You are correct, that is why I said it may not be fitting with the genre, but then again I do not consider BNW to be a straight dystopian novel either. Island is kind of the flipside to BNW. It is also very good after reading a lot of dystopian books, just refreshing and thought-provoking.

I don't know about Swedish versions, but it is not very obscure...good luck on that count. :)

If BNW is one of your favourites then this truly is a must.

[Led Zeppelin]

The Iron Heel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Heel) by Jack London is supposedly very good.


The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908.

Generally considered to be "the earliest of the modern Dystopian," it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. It is arguably the novel in which Jack London's socialist views are most explicitly on display. A forerunner of soft science fiction novels and stories of the 1960s and 1970s, the book stresses future changes in society and politics while paying much less attention to technological changes.

[Absolut]

You are correct, that is why I said it may not be fitting with the genre, but then again I do not consider BNW to be a straight dystopian novel either. Island is kind of the flipside to BNW. It is also very good after reading a lot of dystopian books, just refreshing and thought-provoking.

I don't know about Swedish versions, but it is not very obscure...good luck on that count. :)

If BNW is one of your favourites then this truly is a must.

Seems Ill have to get a hold of the book, then. :)

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, its greatly appreciated.

[Angry Young Man]

The handmaids tale - Margert Atwood (i thought it was shit, but others seem to like it)
That's a good book, it's just oddly written.

Absolut, have you read A Clockwork Orange?

[Killfacer]

That's a good book, it's just oddly written.

Absolut, have you read A Clockwork Orange?


It's a shit book. It's full of hack names and it's really poorly imagined.

Clockwork orange is great and i would also reccomend that. However, it's not really a proper dystopia like Nineteen Eighy Four.

[Angry Young Man]

I'd say it fits all the criteria, it's just that most blast just one political structure.

[Hoxhaist]

Yeah I played Nationstates!! 1984 is a classic even though it was written by Trotskyite George Orwell. Its not as virulent propaganda as Animal Farm

[Angry Young Man]

Take it as a note of how far Stalinists can go, and not to go there.

[Absolut]

That's a good book, it's just oddly written.

Absolut, have you read A Clockwork Orange?

Nope, havent had the chance yet. Ill check it out though. Thanks. :)

Only problem I had with Animal Farm was that it was too short. Such a brilliant piece shouldnt be as short as it was.

[rocker935]

I too would like to recommend A Clockwork Orange, just got done reading it. Bit of a learning curve though. Its tough to learn Nadsat(the fake language created by the author, you'll know what I mean when you start reading it.)

[Angry Young Man]

I've forgotten it mostly, but if I read ACWO again, I'll be speaking nadsat like a native, o my brothers.

[Pirate Utopian]

I had a little nadsat dictionary in the back.
But I got it pretty quickly.

I unintentionally started using nadsat words in everyday life after finishing it.

[Angry Young Man]

Same, droog.