Dystopian future novels

[alltouchedout]

Anything in that vein that you'd recommend? Books I've enjoyed include The Stand, Atwood's Handmaid's Tale and Oryx & Crake trilogy, Justin Cronin's trilogy which starts with The Twelve... I'll give absolutely anything a go tbh. I loved Auster's In The Country of Last Things too, if that counts.

Also, alternate history novels- any you think are great? And maybe sci fi too- I love Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and Children of God and the first book in The Forever War series, for example.

All suggestions will be tried outo. I live to read and I don't consider reading even a book I hate to be wasted time :)

Day of the Triffids deserves a mention, giving how innovative it was at the time. The writing of the female characters hasn't aged well though.

The, Maze Runner trilogy, also Divergent trilogy.

Fantastic to have all these recommendations :) Thank you!

Uh oh, just read the linked thread and added 5 books to my amazon basket...

Might transfer them to my xmas wishlist.

Divergent/Maze Runner etc are entertaining but note vvvv teenage and a little little little bit (hah) unbelievable.

Maze runner is v teenage IMO. Divergent slightly better but still a YA book.

Nothing wrong with YA books per se (Children of the Dust and The Host are both decent reads) but there's much better out there.

My apologies, I'm just place making so I too can follow up any recommendations!

Will be pinching some of these recommendations too. To give one back, I read Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time as part of a comparative study with The Handmaid's Tale years ago and enjoyed it.

Just looking at this for ideas but help me - Children of the Dust - is this the book I read when I was 9 and its stayed with me ever since but I've never really know the name ? It just rings a bell. Nuclear fall out? From a child's point of view?

DS and I share a love of this genre (although he's only 11 and so his choices are obviously different from mine!) He recommended The Boy in the Tower to me which was a really good book for someone of his age getting into this genre.

He wants me to read the Tripods series which is sitting on the bookshelf but Ive never read. He loved them.

Yes Children of the Dust - guaranteed to haunt 1980s children!

Its not published yet, but keep an eye out for a book called Hellscape.

its due for release by the author in the next month, and its a sci-fi, end of the world, dystopian/horror type story.

I've been on the Beta Reading team while its being going through final edits and its incredible!

I read Children of the Dust! Still remember it so so clearly.

The problem with the stand is the numbers don't stack up. Giving 99.6% mortality rate still leaves 320,000 in New York alone. Even a small city such as york would have around 8,000 survivors.

Plus, within a week of the population being mostly wiped out, everyone's a bloody survival expert, being adept at making fires, catching game, knowing which kit to take from the camping supply stores which are located at convenient distances and miraculously haven't been looted, having enough water, food etc.

And they're too damn cheerful. Everyone they know is dead, ffs. Not one of the protagonists seems particularly fussed about that.

And their committee wouldn't have worked, at the first mention someone would have said 'hey, who died and made you king?'. And insisted on a proper vote.

Also, who the fuck would have gone to Vegas? Even the dark man's echelons are shit scared and creeped out by him, so why did people go there? Granted, you have your oddballs like the trash can man, but they are mostly normal people...

But I do love it, despite all that!

Children of the Dust. See I'm so traumatised I can't bear to google the synopsis! And I've slightly projected my life aged 9 over the top of the story (did they live in s cul-de-sac?) and its a big old mash up. It also completely put me off dystopia fiction. But my non reading DS 10 and I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy which we both loved and I thought I might have the stomach for something a bit stronger!

Kennington Super Cannes and High Rise are two of my favourite books of all time. Give the high rise film a miss though and read the book, much better

I hated Station Eleven. Interesting and thoughtful but too many implausibilities.

Children of the Dust. I still think of that bloody dog!

Dave eggers - The Circle

If you like sci-fi with a difference, I'd strongly recommend Anathem by Neal Stephenson. It's mind blowing.

I've missed this! Cronin's last book in the trilogy has been released? Well about fecking time!

I'll have to re-read the first two now.

I second the Wool, Sand & Dust trilogy.

If you want something with an Alternative History aspect then try the Bone Season and Mime Order by Samantha Shannon - absolutely can't wait for the next in the series!

The News Flesh Series and Parasitology Series both by Mira Grant are brilliant!

The Circle by Dave Eggers is good

And also although it's a bit more fantasy but I'd also recommend The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Saunders

Plus another vote for Red Rising Series

Sheri Tepper is a great writer of fantasy, I love Beauty.

For books offering Dystopian/Utopian futures try Marge Piercy Woman on the Edge of Time and Starhawk's Fifth Sacred Thing and City of Refuge.

Very good at making as look at choices we make now and the impact on the Earth and future generations.

Oh! I forgot! Also try Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield (Uglies/Pretties/Specials/Extras) aimed at YA audience but I read them when I was in my early 20's working in New York and they were just brilliant. I stayed up all night and read the 1st one in a single sitting and then literally ran to the book store the next morning to get the others!

I think my favourite bits of the Stand are the early parts tbh. The reaction of the top military people when it all starts going to shit. I get very worked up wondering whether they'd really do something like project trojan (if that's the right name for it). And I like the anticipation when none of the survivors really know what's happening yet. But I get fed up at the end and mother abigail pisses me off (sorry... Maybe I'd be in Las Vegas!)

Had to check that they weren't mentioned first

World War Z (very, very good, film apparently only uses the title and otherwise different story, I fumed when I found out)

Genus by Jonathan Trigell - world of designer babies, suddenly the richest in society are also the most beautiful, talented....

The End Specialist by Drew Magary.

A cure is found for the aging process. Happy Days. Except No. Unhappy days. It was brilliant, actually.