Dystopia

[kev67]

Which are the great dystopias? I have read 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

[PeterL]

If I were even more sarcastic than I am, then I would respond: the history of the United States of America.
I would contend that The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich was more dystopic than 1984, and that Brave New World is somewhat optimistic.

[Paulclem]

Neuromancer by William Gibson is pretty good especially given it was written in the 80s and tries to anticipate the digital age.
I also really like China Mieville stuff particularly Perdido St Station and The Iron Council. These have a new classificatiin apparenly whichh is The New Weird. I think this is a good description as well as dystopian.

[TheFifthElement]

There is We by Yevgeny Zamyatin which was the inspiration for 1984 (and the better novel in my opinion). The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Battle Royale for a Japanese twist. I think some of the novels by J G Ballard could be classed as dystopian, say The Drowned World which is excellent. Of course there is Fahrenheit 451 which is a classic.

Also perhaps worth a mention is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro which surprises you with it's sneaky dystopic elements. Subtly done, and somehow more real for it.

[kev67]

Neuromancer by William Gibson is pretty good especially given it was written in the 80s and tries to anticipate the digital age.
I also really like China Mieville stuff particularly Perdido St Station and The Iron Council. These have a new classificatiin apparenly whichh is The New Weird. I think this is a good description as well as dystopian.

I have read Neuromancer, but understood hardly any of it. It seemed rather like a mix Bladerunner, The Matrix, and Tron, but I had great trouble working out who was doing what to whom and whether that was in the real world or a virtual world. That despite my degree in Technology and twenty years working as a computer programmer. I read it the same time as Great Expectations and the contrast was jarring.

[aaron stark]

Don't forget Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. An extremely interesting read, if you ask me

[Paulclem]

I have read Neuromancer, but understood hardly any of it. It seemed rather like a mix Bladerunner, The Matrix, and Tron, but I had great trouble working out who was doing what to whom and whether that was in the real world or a virtual world. That despite my degree in Technology and twenty years working as a computer programmer. I read it the same time as Great Expectations and the contrast was jarring.

Haha. I know what you mean. My approach was to just go with the flow of the fictionalised tech. Perhaps having such a good technical knowledge was a disadvantage. My own relative ignorence probably helped me. Some of the elements are anachronistic such as phones. They seem to have been largely unpredicted.

[blackbird_9]

Anthony Burgess's The Wanting Seed is a fair example. It was so depressing though that I could barely bring myself to finish it. I mean really, it was very well written, interesting, and yet I don't think I could recommend it to anyone in good consciousness. So so depressing. I'm depressed right now just thinking about it...

[ralfyman]

Try some of the works given here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction

[ashulman]

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler is a good one.

[kelby_lake]

The Handmaid's Tale

[Eiseabhal]

I read The Rise and Fall etc . Peter L when in barracks in Belfast and I did see it as an account of a dysfunctional nasty utopia - though semantically "nasty" and "utopia" don't usually go together, they always do in my head

[PeterL]

I read The Rise and Fall etc . Peter L when in barracks in Belfast and I did see it as an account of a dysfunctional nasty utopia - though semantically "nasty" and "utopia" don't usually go together, they always do in my head

A dystopia is a community or society, usually fictional, that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utopia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopia
A utopia (/juːˈtoʊpiə/) is a community or society possessing highly desirable or perfect qualities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia

Then you agree with me. O.K.