Looking for good Dystopians (not YA)

[lockitdown]

I'm finding it quite hard to find non YA dystopians - I have read a few here and there but would love some recommendations if anyone has any.

The Power by Naomi Alderman
Sleeping Beauties - Stephen King and Owen King
The Fireman - Joe Hill

My favourite genre!

The Power by Naomi Alderman
The Book of Strange New Things
Agree on Attwood trilogy but also The Heart Goes Last

I’m reading Woman on the edge of time by Marge piercy at the moment which has two dystopias!

Ancillary Justice trilogy by Ann Leckie I also really enjoyed although it’s really sci-fi, it’s high concept.

Thanks for ideas! I would have answered sooner but for some reason everytime I clicked on Mumsnet I was getting a 404 message!!

I have already read - the road, station 11, 1984, The Stand, Bird Box and the wall. Thanks so much, I have a few more on my list now :)

Margaret’s Ark - Daniel Keohane - one of my favourite reads of last year

I’ve read most mentioned on this thread, and wanted to suggest Soon by Hanna Jameson.

Wool. Can't remember who it's by. But there is some good fan fic about it.

The Wanton Seed (Anthony Burgess)
The Method (Juli Zeh)

Anything by Sheri S Tepper - some are post-apocalyptic, some are dystopian. The Companions is particularly good.

The Children of Men by PD James is a good one (better than the film).

Lots of good options above. - I'll add

We (Zamyatin)
Farenheit 451
And I've just read War with the Newts - which I really enjoyed (not strictly dystopian but very enjoyable)

There are better books above, but one more for your list - Into The Forest by Jean Hegland. I enjoyed reading it.

I enjoyed the Wool trilogy by Hugh Howey. Interestingly this seems to have developed with other writers setting stories in different parts of the same world...

Have you read The Silo series starting with Wool?

Also Dune is obviously science fiction but it is also dystopian because something apocalyptic has happened with AI that has resulted in a ban on computers so they have mechanical advancements (space travel) but in other ways they are basic civilisations.

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris is an interesting take on dystopian society although not his best work.

The Death of Grass

Although more post apocalyptic and in the same vein as The Stand, Swansong by Robert R Mcammon is an amazing book.

I, Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman.

It is really bleak though, just to warn you.

The Passage by Justin Cronin - vampires
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

Place marking

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess. Throws up all sorts of questions about how the state responds to violent crime.

I came to say The Unit too.

Anything by Naomi Oldermann or Scarlett Thomas.

Echo. Just beta read and author I'm sure he'd be happy to let me forward. Its like the film Knowing crossed with a linear inverted version of time travellers wife with a splash of Sophie's choice. Four chapters in the middle made me cry more than Sophie. Best thing is the Main Character is a single mum devoted to her five year old. Best twist ever and so emotional. I'll see if I can post the back page thing.

Echo. Here's the back page. (Ok. I had to get number three daughter to do it) Blurb

It’s a love as old as history. One must never remember. One can never forget.
Leaving behind her poor childhood Psychiatrist and devoted mother, Hannah Johnson begins her residency at Tallwood Psychiatric Hospital and a new life in small-town Arizona. Her first patient is Skye, a girl with multiple personalities. As a friendship grows Hannah realises something connects them. That the girl has abilities. Her stories aren’t stories at all, they’re the memories of a thousand lifetimes.
Blissfully happy, Hannah loves her new life. Yet now she’s throwing her sleepy daughter in the SUV and driving in panic to the middle of an empty desert.
It’s not the truth of Skye that frightens Hannah. It’s the bleak future the girl foresees. An ancient darkness, patient, watching. It hunted Skye a thousand lifetimes. Now it comes for Hannah and those she loves most.
Hannah now understands what Skye needs from her as the salvation of all depends on one day, a single choice and a light that has yet to shine.

@Lucked
Yes, I have read Wool. I haven't gone onto the next ones though.

Oh god, how could I forget The Unit? Honestly one of the best books I have ever read - I must have read it three times now, and wept each time. So beautifully written. If you liked Never Let Me Go it has a similar vibe.