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Original poster

Can you suggest any incredible dystopian novels for me to read, pls??

217 replies

CantFindTheBeat · 09/01/2023 20:37

I'm desperate to get engrossed in a book again.

Very little seems to interest me right now.

I love dystopian novels.

Over the years, I've loved:

Handmaids Tale
Flawed
The Road
World War Z
Brave New World

Found these ok:

Vox
Station Eleven
The Chrysalids
1984
I am legend

And loads more I can't remember!

Have you read anything along these lines that you would recommend?

OP posts:
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Original poster
CantFindTheBeat · 13/09/2023 06:06

Velvian · 11/09/2023 17:32

Another, nother vote for Station Eleven. It is really good. I don't usually go for dystopia fiction, but even I enjoyed it.

Totally agree with Station Eleven.

Loved it.

Also loves the tv show of it (although i had to really focus to keep up!!).

OP posts:
Velvian · 11/09/2023 17:32

Another, nother vote for Station Eleven. It is really good. I don't usually go for dystopia fiction, but even I enjoyed it.

orangelous · 07/02/2023 12:29

just read Afterland by Lauren Bauker - i enjoyed it / again a world without men story

BigMadAdrian · 20/01/2023 21:05

CantFindTheBeat · 20/01/2023 21:04

@BigMadAdrian

Oh yes -
I think MN was quite glitchy that day.

Or maybe folk were very keen to put forward their suggestion!!!

It made me laugh out loud a couple of times! Moths!!!

Original poster
CantFindTheBeat · 20/01/2023 21:04

@BigMadAdrian

Oh yes -
I think MN was quite glitchy that day.

Or maybe folk were very keen to put forward their suggestion!!!

OP posts:
BigMadAdrian · 20/01/2023 21:00

CantFindTheBeat · 20/01/2023 20:51

@BigMadAdrian - in what way?

Show quote history

The many duplicate posts. It just made me smile as it felt a bit trippy and quite cool on a thread about dystopian novels!

Original poster
CantFindTheBeat · 20/01/2023 20:51

BigMadAdrian · 20/01/2023 17:51

The first few pages of this thread is bonkers!

@BigMadAdrian - in what way?

OP posts:
JanglyBeads · 20/01/2023 19:20

Er what?

BigMadAdrian · 20/01/2023 17:52

ARE bonkers! I think I started writing this thread is bonkers and changed my mind! 😁

BigMadAdrian · 20/01/2023 17:51

The first few pages of this thread is bonkers!

DinosaurOfFire · 18/01/2023 23:32

I've not read the whole thread so not sure if it's been suggested, but I really enjoyed Unwind, by Neal Shusterman. There's a series of them and I found them really gripping.

mamaduckbone · 18/01/2023 21:38

littleburn · 09/01/2023 20:39

The MaddAddam Triology by Margaret Atwood.

Yes!

Anonymouseposter · 16/01/2023 14:01

Far Notth by Marcel Theroux?

NeuroWasabi · 15/01/2023 22:44

5th sacred thing by Starhawk. It's kind of utopia/dystopia.

Original poster
CantFindTheBeat · 14/01/2023 17:25

@toofishy - I'm so grateful for the suggestions too!!

I bought and have just finished 'I who have never known men' from the recommendations. Such a thought provoking story.

The Mandibles has just arrived... I can't wait to start it.

Thank you everyone who suggested great reads.

Can you suggest any incredible dystopian novels for me to read, pls??
OP posts:
toofishy · 14/01/2023 09:26

thankyou so much OP for this thread and all who have responded.
I have just read the Power based on this and really enjoyed it.
Going to pick out some others from here now as well !

Wtafis · 10/01/2023 19:24

The Power

HandShoe · 10/01/2023 19:07

Theredjellybean · 10/01/2023 08:15

@stringbean I read the mandibles by Lionel Shriver a few yrs ago, was just thinking how it would be more "scary" reading it for the first time now given the economic and social climate.
It's a fantastic book

I second this. It’s really stayed with me and as you say it would be all the more terrifying now

JoonT · 10/01/2023 18:24

Theredjellybean · 10/01/2023 08:15

@stringbean I read the mandibles by Lionel Shriver a few yrs ago, was just thinking how it would be more "scary" reading it for the first time now given the economic and social climate.
It's a fantastic book

Good recommendation. I really like Lionel Shriver's stuff. Very underrated.

I was going to recommend Brave New World, but re-reading your post, OP, I see that you mentioned it. How about another Huxley novel – Island. It is utopian rather than dystopian, in that he imagines a perfect future society rather than an imperfect one. Obviously everything falls apart in the end, however (message being no utopia lasts, I guess). Like all Huxley's work it's packed with ideas and is endlessly interesting.

Sunset6 · 10/01/2023 14:06

“A Very Private Life” by Michael Frayn. It’s set in a future where most people don’t ever leave their houses and do literally everything via virtual communication. The main character has grown up in this environment and has an ingrained fear of the outside but also a curiosity. I read this years ago but found myself reminded of it a lot during the COVID pandemic.

TigerDroveAgain · 10/01/2023 13:50

Off Target by Eve Smith

LesserKnownKardashian · 10/01/2023 13:37

MissHavishamsMouldyOldCake · 09/01/2023 20:43

I was listening to the Backlisted podcast today (highly recommend) and one of the guys who hosts it was raving about a post-apocalyptic novel written in the 1950s called The Death of Grass.

I read this at school. Can't remember much about it, but I enjoyed it.

SpacersChoice · 10/01/2023 13:34

Pretty much anything by Phillip K Dick, but of particular note and easiest to read are

  • The Penultimate Truth
  • A Scanner Darkly
  • Ubik
Burgerqueenbee · 10/01/2023 13:30

@CantFindTheBeat yes I agree with that, I took it along as a holiday read so I guess it ticked the good enough for waiting in an airport box!
Wholeheartedly recommend the Marlen Haushofer one, it is also a film but I haven't watched it yet (DH enjoyed it though).

Original poster
CantFindTheBeat · 10/01/2023 13:25

@Burgerqueenbee

John Lanchester.

I got a strong sense of 'I know where this is going' right from the start and lost interest.

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