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Looking for some lesser-known dystopian fiction. Any suggestions? (self.books)

submitted ago by eclectickellieLullaby, 50% finished

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[–]RavenNemain 6 points7 points ago

The Chrysalids, We, the Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, Children of Men

[–]ElboRexelA Canticle for Liebowitz (re-read) 0 points1 point ago

I saw the movie of Children of Men, and really enjoyed it. Is it a good adaptation?

[–]lancemonkey 0 points1 point ago

The movie version of Children of Men is very different from the book. It's been about 12 years since I read the book, but I remember feeling that a lot of the major plot points/characters were completely changed. But I think it's worth the read. P.D. James said she was pleased with the adaptation despite the alterations (per Wikipedia)

[–]RavenNemain 0 points1 point ago

It is very different. I enjoyed the book on its own merits, separate from the movie (which I loved), and it raises different questions about the nature of power and what people will do out of desperation.

[–]Zonel 12 points13 points ago

Oryx and Crake, and The Handmaiden's Tale both by Margaret Atwood.

[–]kittenhiccups 5 points6 points ago

It's The Handmaid's Tale and, yes, it's excellent, but isn't it one of the most well-known works of contemporary dystopian fiction? Forgive my priggishness, but I thought we were discussing lesser-known works.

[–]fegh00t 1 point2 points ago

You're not incorrect. Author Margaret Atwood has 300,000 followers on twitter. Twitter! She's certainly well-known.

[–]aussiekingaShadowmarch - Tad Williams 0 points1 point ago

Maybe it was because I was forced to study it in my Lit class, but I really dislike The Handmaid's Tale. Can never understand why everyone things it is so wonderful...

[–]gareenzeeds 1 point2 points ago

After the Flood is a great second perspective of Oryx and Crake

[–]kittenhiccups 8 points9 points ago

Just for the sake of accuracy, the title is The Year of the Flood.

[–]gareenzeeds 0 points1 point ago

Ahh right you are

[–]SlothMold 0 points1 point ago

Excellent book, but I picked it up thinking it would be another Oryx and Crake. I was disappointed. It's a good book by virtue of it being written by Margaret Atwood and therefore populated by realistic characters and flowing language and thoughtful social commentary, but I feel like people should be warned to expect something different, rather than more of the same kind of wonder.

[–]bwanab 0 points1 point ago

Definitely these.

[–]apearl 4 points5 points ago

The Running Man and The Long Walk by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman)

[–]stevetroyer 5 points6 points ago

I liked The Passage by Justin Cronin. I guess it's going to be a trilogy. The 2nd book is suppose to come out this year. Also The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

[–]RipperMEdge of Dark Water | 16% 0 points1 point ago

Great books, but I would call both of those post-apocalypse not dystopian.

[–]stevetroyer 0 points1 point ago

You are right. I guess I should've googled dystopian. I misunderstood what it meant.

[–]SaneDunk 5 points6 points ago

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin.

[–]rndmaccnt1209 3 points4 points ago

Could you post what you've already read just for a reference?

[–]eclectickellieLullaby, 50% finished[S] 2 points3 points ago

The Giver Trilogy The Hunger Games 1984 Brave New Word Island Fahrenheit 451 Others, I'm sure, but I'm tired and not thinking well. Working on His Dark Materials series now.

[–]rndmaccnt1209 15 points16 points ago*

I guess I'd split my recommendations into a couple groups then. Just use the list a as starting place to look further and see if the description look interesting.

Famous / Historically Significant:

We, Yevgeny Zamyatin

1984, George Orwell

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Lord of the Flies, William Golding (kinda fits, kinda doesn't)

The Trial, Franz Kafka

Sci-Fi / Fantasy:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Phillip K. Dick

Logan's Run, William F. Nolan

Heroes Die, Mathew Stover

The Forever War, Joe Haldeman

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

The Dark Elf Trilogy, R. A. Salvatore

Neuromancer, William Gibson

Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny

Comic Books:

The Invisibles, Grant Morrison

V for Vendetta, Alan Moore

Watchmen, Alan Moore

Akumetsu, Yoshiaki Tabata

Movies (if you're interested):

Dark City,

Strange Days,

Battle Royal,

I just didn't do it - (basically the Japanese version of "The Trial)

Hopefully somewhere on that list is something that catches your attention. Happy reading! EDIT: Sorry for the formatting, I'm kinda a noob.

[–]apotheonThe Blue Light Project | 9/10 | Finished 4 points5 points ago

I thought of Forever War and Ender's Game, but they didn't seem quite enough about the society to think of them as particularly dystopian, at least to me. Still, I was tempted to list them. . . .

On the subject of illustrated tales (graphic novels, comic books, and manga), I think that Transmetropolitan, Ghost in the Shell, and Appleseed, as well as almost anything about the X-Men, dealt deeply with dystopian themes (avoid stuff where they leave the planet and other such lunacy for the X-Men books).

I don't know how Bladerunner doesn't get mentioned in dystopian film. Ghost in the Shell, again, too. A lot of the old black and white Twilight Zone eppisodes were heavily dystopian. A Scanner Darkly is based on another Philip K. Dick tale; so are Paycheck, Total Recall, and Minority Report, for that matter, though they're less excellent movies. Equilibrium is excellent and easily overlooked due to its unfortunate lack of marketing.

[–]rndmaccnt1209 1 point2 points ago

I went back and forth on Including those two as well, but I figured I'd just include what came to mind, and let her decide what sounded interesting.

The film list was pretty short, and more toward the "less known" stuff, but yeah, I'd agree with everything you listed. "The Island" too was better than I thought it would be. I'm personally more of an Outer Limits guy myself, but Twilight Zone has some good stuff in there too.

Thanks for the tip on Transmetropolitan! I've seen art of it floating around online and always meant to check it out, but didn't know the name.

[–]apotheonThe Blue Light Project | 9/10 | Finished 2 points3 points ago

I didn't see nearly enough Outer Limits to be able to judge it in relation to Twilight Zone.

Transmetropolitan is crazy stuff. It's a bit like the story of a guy who embodies the idea of a dystopian near-future version of Hunter S. Thompson as written in collaboration by Robert A. Heinlein and Bill Hicks.

I was going to say Douglas Adams, but realized he wasn't foul-mouthed enough, so I went with Bill Hicks instead.

[–]bloodroseyWe 3 points4 points ago

I second We. One of the best books I've ever read.

[–]neuralrxn 1 point2 points ago

I enjoyed We.

[–]war_whale 2 points3 points ago

Every work of utopian fiction is, for someone, a work of utter dystopian horror.

Just as every work examining a terrifying dystopia is someone's ideal world.

Utopia - "Good place"; "no place."

[–]Adajeanne 2 points3 points ago

Hence More's Utopia as a classic of the genre. Upvote for etymology, too.

[–]mickey_kneecaps 0 points1 point ago

I suggest "Stand on Zanzibar" by John Brunner. Awesome book, a hundred times more prescient than anything written by Orwell and Co.

[–]greatbacon 2 points3 points ago

How has no one mentioned Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson?

[–]pbmonster 0 points1 point ago

Ctrl+f "Snow", not disappointed... you just got here first.

[–]hobbit6Infinite Jest 1 point2 points ago

Because he asked for lesser known. Snowcrash isn't exactly obscure.

[–]brjohn9 2 points3 points ago

Arslan by MJ Engh is a neglected masterpiece. I bought it because it made William Gibson's top ten list, but I was nevertheless amazed by how good it was.

[–]Hooray_for_You 2 points3 points ago

I love this kind of stuff myself.

If you're looking for "dystopias" as such - like creepy future societies, rather than just anarchic breakdown - try This Perfect Day by Ira Levin and The Tomorrow File by Lawrence Sanders.

They both have that Brave New World/1984/We vibe to them.

If you want to take it to the next level and creep yourself out, read Walden Two by B.F. Skinner afterwards.

(And as a movie pairing, THX 1138 is good fun. Of course, Lucas had to go back and fuck with the special effects, but that's what he does. Apparently, Ben Bova wrote a novel adaptation, which i haven't read.)

[–]corvuskorax 2 points3 points ago

I would just like to add extra emphasis to my upvote for This Perfect Day. That was probably the first dystopian novel to really catch me off-guard, and it has the benefit of not being over-hyped or too polished. I had barely heard anything about it before reading it.

[–]J-mak 2 points3 points ago

Player Piano. A pretty realistic and believable dystopian future.

[–]intangible-tangerineConfessions of an English Opium eater - Thomas De Quincy 2 points3 points ago

Ridley Walker - Russell Hoban. It's a 'cult' classic YA book about a post-nuclear war England, wonderfully written and deserves to be much better known.

[–]nostradamnit 0 points1 point ago

Very good book, but the dialect can be annoying.

[–]destroytheheart 1 point2 points ago

Buy the complete short stories collection by J.G. Ballard that came out a few years ago (just months after his death, unfortunately). Yes, his name gets thrown around a lot, but I always get the impression that most people have just heard of/seen the Cronenberg film adaptation of Crash and haven't delved into his short fiction, which is where his real strength as a writer lies. There's also a cheaper "best of," but if you're like me it will only lead to you buying the complete short stories down the road.

There's also the anthology Brave New Worlds compiled and edited by the dependable John Joseph Adams that should give you a plethora of short fiction by established and lesser-known writers as well as a bibliography that should fill your need for dystopian fiction for years to come. By association, Paolo Bacigalupi has a short story in there, and his stuff is great in general and eco-dystopian in nature.

[–]apotheonThe Blue Light Project | 9/10 | Finished 7 points8 points ago

The Windup Girl was an incredibly good read (speaking of Bacigalupi). I recommend it, and it's definitely a very grim future. Some of the author's politics lurk a little uncomfortably behind the curtain, but in the novel every political faction is gratifyingly spiteful, short-sighted, and prone to the evil of mediocrity, so it all works well for those who want the grit of a dystopian future built by the frailties of mankind without feeling bludgeoned by the politically correct biases of a writer.

Pretty much anything by Philip K. Dick is both dystopian to some degree and very well-written, so find anything lesser-known by him and you're probably on the right track.

A Canticle for Leibowitz is postwar post-apocalyptic, so it doesn't quite qualify as dystopian per se, but it has some of that feel I like in my dystopian fiction reading, is an amazing piece of writing (and a classic well-regarded by sci-fi reader greybeards, though it's "lesser-known" amongst later generation readers).

I think "lesser-known" is a bit too vague to be able to nail down, really. I'm not sure what to recommend. Should I really be trying to think of obscure novels and short stories, or just things the querent is unlikely to have read -- and how do I know what the querent hasn't read without any sense of his/her reading habits? Does Handmaid's Tale qualify, or is that "well-known" for these purposes?

[–]eclectickellieLullaby, 50% finished[S] 0 points1 point ago

I was shooting more for things that everyone didn't read in high school lit. class, not so much completely obscure. It's just my favorite genre. I'll definitely take a look at your suggestions! Thanks!

[–]apotheonThe Blue Light Project | 9/10 | Finished 1 point2 points ago

Okay, so 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and Anthem are probably out. Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale might qualify, and Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly should qualify (and maybe Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? if you've been unlucky). Jennifer Government probably got nowhere near your high school classes. For some reason, William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy (starting with Neuromancer) doesn't seem to be common grist for high school reading, despite being as definitive for speculative dystopian fiction as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

While you're looking at Dick, check out basically any collection of his short stories. Gibson's Bridge trilogy is fairly dystopian, too, now that I think about it -- and also excellent.

Whitechapel Gods by SM Peters and The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling are both excellent steampunk dystopian novels, but as stories and narrative voices you would be hard-pressed coming up with two novels that are more different.

The Golden Compass is dystopian fiction, as well, but (unlike many) I found it pretty unremarkable apart from a few interesting ideas in it. Hunger Games is pretty clearly very dystopian, too, and seems to be a pretty interesting book (I've read about a quarter of it in one sitting while visiting a bookstore). I don't know if they're sharing these around high schools (they hadn't been written when I was in high school, and Hunger Games hadn't been written when I was in the army, or college after the army, or several years after that).

It's late here, and I'm getting tired; nothing else is coming to me. I hope that helps you get started.

[–]satur9chyld 0 points1 point ago

Definitely seconding The Windup Girl.

[–]SavageOrc 0 points1 point ago

I just finished Flashback by Dan Simmons. I was entertained.

[–]VibsterAltered Carbon 1 point2 points ago

That book reads like it was written by the crazier parts of Glen Becks mind

[–]SavageOrc 0 points1 point ago

There were a few WTF moments that my liberal brain had while reading it, but I don't take speculative fiction so seriously that those sections kept me from enjoying it.

[–]RattusRattus 1 point2 points ago

The Wanting Seed. Someone will probably tell you to read A Clockwork Orange, but pick up The Wanting Seed instead.

[–]Cinnamon_No 0 points1 point ago

Try The Lake at the End of the World by Caroline MacDonald. I read it in high school and quite enjoyed it

[–]nostradamnit 1 point2 points ago

Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange overshadowed another of his novels, The Wanting Seed; I found it much better (and without the dialect!). Great stuff!

[–]nathism 0 points1 point ago

The Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe

[–]incorporeal05Analog SF&F | May Issue 0 points1 point ago

I asked this same question, and got a huge response! Here's my original thread. You'll find some really good suggestions there, including a few short stories as well.

[–]Bettlewood 1 point2 points ago

Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald - one of the most powerful books I've read

[–]IAmTheRedWizards 0 points1 point ago

More people need to read this, for sure.

[–]Mr_vindictive 0 points1 point ago

I'd say the Wool series by Hugh Howey. Can't recommend it enough. The entire series is about $5 if you have a Kindle and well worth the read. Amazing story about a society of people stuck in a silo for millenia after a disaster has made the earth toxic. Seriously good read, full of deceit and suspense.

[–]bullohnie 1 point2 points ago

I'm curious; are they stuck in a grain silo or a missile silo?

[–]Mr_vindictive 0 points1 point ago

Missile silo.

[–]BrainsAreCoolThe B∞k: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are 0 points1 point ago

Resisting the Virtual Life: The Culture and Politics of Information

[–]kittenhiccups 0 points1 point ago

I really like Marcel Theroux's Far North though it might be considered more post-apocalyptic than specifically dystopian.

[–]chunklight 1 point2 points ago

Dahlgren by Samuel R. Delaney.

[–]local_mekon 0 points1 point ago

yeah, this

[–]FerazberryWater for Elephants | pg. 104 0 points1 point ago

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler has become one of my all time favorites. Currently reading Parable of the Talents and it is equally thought provoking.

[–]pockiieePrince of Thorns (The Broken Empire) 0 points1 point ago

Wyndham - The day of the Triffids. Love this book.

[–]hvn_bside_u 0 points1 point ago

The Iron Heel. Very scary read with modern politics in mind.

[–]SlothMold 0 points1 point ago

One that hasn't been mentioned yet is Into the Forest.

I did not like this book. I found the characters unrelatable and the symbolism over-heavy. That said, I cannot ignore this book. I think I disliked the characters because they were so different from me, and I find myself thinking fondly of the scenario it presented (believable). The writing was acceptable, though again, I feel like the author was hammering home the "Men are technology and therefore evil - only the great mother goddess can save us" aspect too much. It was on the edge of being subtle, but I could not ignore it.

[–]a-holtAnathem 0 points1 point ago

Not sure if it's lesser known but Snow Crash

[–]mikeybender 0 points1 point ago

Cool, I get to use this comment twice in one day. I really enjoyed The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstaya. It's a great dystopian future story from a Russian perspective.

[–]Kim-Jong-ChilThe Magus 0 points1 point ago

Seriously check out Transmetropolitan

[–]drnaturalistThe Box Man 0 points1 point ago

I second We by Zamyatin. You can try two newer ones: The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung or Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin.

[–]drnaturalistThe Box Man 1 point2 points ago

Also try Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s short story Harrison Bergeron's. I have a pdf is anybody wants it. PM

[–]cfrey 0 points1 point ago

The Sheep Look Up also by Brunner.

[–]BettyMcBitterpants 0 points1 point ago

I'm not sure if it's exactly dystopian or perhaps utopian, however, "But What of Earth?" by Piers Anthony was a funny little one.

Plus it has a William Goldman feel with Anthony v. the editors commentating, if you're into that kind of meta writing.

[–]eclectickellieLullaby, 50% finished[S] 0 points1 point ago

Thanks! I like Piers Anthony.

[–]staroverblue 0 points1 point ago

In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster.

[–]IAmTheRedWizards 0 points1 point ago

Some Will Not Die- Algis Budrys

[–]TheKnightofNewThe Book Thief 0 points1 point ago

Battle Royale- Houshun Takami

Basically a better version of the "Hunger Games" that came out almost a decade before. It's a shame that it's so unknown.

[–]eclectickellieLullaby, 50% finished[S] 0 points1 point ago

Thanks! I'll check it out.

[–]icognito 0 points1 point ago

Never Let Me Go, and House of the Scorpion.

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