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Dystopian fiction

gandalfe

gandalfe

Well-Known Member
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Just out of curiosity, and for no political reason whatsoever, what are your favorite pieces of dystopian fiction? Are you a fan of the classic novels, like 1984 and Brave New World? Maybe something more modern and specific, like Handmaid's Tale or Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents? Maybe you prefer films that don't rely on previous literature, like 12 Monkeys, or the Matrix, or Gattaca?
 
Interstellar
12 monkeys
The recent mad max movies
3 body problem (I watched the first season of the TV series. I'm starting on the first book tonight) not sure if this one counts or not but aliens basically take over the world before they even arrive to destroy us all.
The book of Eli
Handmaid's tale
 
Amusing ourselves to death:

it’s non-fiction but seems like a documentary. It was written in the 1980s about how Huxley was right and Orwell was wrong. Society doesn’t need to be brainwashed to be controlled. It just needs to be entertained. Teevee was the medium for cheapening our politics, personal connections, and intelligence in this book. One can easily see how he was right… but it took a combo of teevee and smartphones.

Lord of the Flies:
The strongest and dumbest kid on the island rules the rest of the kids.

Brave New World:
It’s just really good.

1984:
It was good to read once. It’s otherwise really dark and depressing. One hopes we aren’t headed towards this type of society.

A Very Dangerous Game:
Quick read pretty fun.

Fahrenheit 451:
Obviously

Handmaid’s Tale:
Seems like a non-fiction documentary now.

The Clockwork Orange:
Get it on audiobook. Far easier to understand.

Severance (both book and movie even though they don’t have much in common)



​

 
The Thriller said:
Amusing ourselves to death:

it’s non-fiction but seems like a documentary. It was written in the 1980s about how Huxley was right and Orwell was wrong. Society doesn’t need to be brainwashed to be controlled. It just needs to be entertained. Teevee was the medium for cheapening our politics, personal connections, and intelligence in this book. One can easily see how he was right… but it took a combo of teevee and smartphones.

Lord of the Flies:
The strongest and dumbest kid on the island rules the rest of the kids.

Brave New World:
It’s just really good.

1984:
It was good to read once. It’s otherwise really dark and depressing. One hopes we aren’t headed towards this type of society.

A Very Dangerous Game:
Quick read pretty fun.

Fahrenheit 451:
Obviously

Handmaid’s Tale:
Seems like a non-fiction documentary now.

The Clockwork Orange:
Get it on audiobook. Far easier to understand.

Severance (both book and movie even though they don’t have much in common)



​

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Is severance movie related to severance TV series?
 
The Road is the most depressing movie I ever saw before.

I think Interstellar is the GOAT
 
fishonjazz said:
3 body problem (I watched the first season of the TV series. I'm starting on the first book tonight) not sure if this one counts or not but aliens basically take over the world before they even arrive to destroy us all.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't really call it dystopian, at least not the first book/season. By the 2nd book, it's an arguable point. (I have read all 3 of the main books, someone else wrote a 4th book that I haven't read.) The books are FANTASTIC, and I really love the translation work by Ken Liu (no relation to the author, Liu Cixin).
 
I read a piece that said the 20th Century gave us 4 main types of dystopian fiction: Orwellian, Huxleyan, Kafkaesque, and (I love this) Phildickian.

www.damnitiloveamerica.com

Dystopian Fiction — Damn It, I Love America!

The elements of dystopian fiction depicts fear, distress, tyrannical governments, religious dogmatism and other characteristics associated cataclysmic decline in society, all resulting a promise for societal perfection.
www.damnitiloveamerica.com www.damnitiloveamerica.com
 
Book: Ender's Game
Movie: the Matrix (just the first one, the rest just feel like money grabs to me)
 
Have any of you read the Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler? Truly frightening, even moreso than Handmaid's Tale.
 
fishonjazz said:
Interstellar
12 monkeys
The recent mad max movies
3 body problem (I watched the first season of the TV series. I'm starting on the first book tonight) not sure if this one counts or not but aliens basically take over the world before they even arrive to destroy us all.
The book of Eli
Handmaid's tale
Click to expand...
The 3 Body Problem book is amazing. Like sort of life altering. The show was okay. Better than I was expecting and I'm in for the rest of the series.
 
Sardines said:
The 3 Body Problem book is amazing. Like sort of life altering. The show was okay. Better than I was expecting and I'm in for the rest of the series.
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I liked the show alot. I got the book from the library 2 days ago and plan to start on it tonight or tomorrow.
I'm excited but I hate reading books after movies or shows so I'm hoping the show won't have ruined the book for me.
 
fishonjazz said:
I liked the show alot. I got the book from the library 2 days ago and plan to start on it tonight or tomorrow.
I'm excited but I hate reading books after movies or shows so I'm hoping the show won't have ruined the book for me.
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I'll be honest I've started almost exclusively listening to audiobooks vs reading. I drive long distances regularly and fly, and while flying is a great place/time to read a book I usually just want to continue what I'm listening to. The audio book of 3 Body Problem is one of the better ones.

Either way, I don't think the show will have ruined the book.
 
gandalfe said:
Just out of curiosity, and for no political reason whatsoever, what are your favorite pieces of dystopian fiction? Are you a fan of the classic novels, like 1984 and Brave New World? Maybe something more modern and specific, like Handmaid's Tale or Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents? Maybe you prefer films that don't rely on previous literature, like 12 Monkeys, or the Matrix, or Gattaca?
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of Orwell's and have read his fiction and non-fiction widely (I wrote a short thesis on Orwell while at Uni, my bastard cousin stole my collection of his complete articles!!!!) I read both Vonnegutt and Phil Dick at Uni, my ex was a big fan of them, i didn't love them. David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest could be considered dystopian but I found it incredibly hard to read. (I like to read in bed and the book weighs about 12 kilos and has tiny text. I ended up cutting it into sections)

I used to read a bit of Kafka's stuff, I had an amazing collection of his short stories with an assortment of other lesser known existential authors which someone nicked off me.

Some of Chuck Palahniuk's stuff could definitely be considered dystopian and I read most of his early work 20 years ago.

My favourite dystopian author is probably Arthur Koestler, his novel Darkness at Noon, is where I get my username from (Rubashov is the protagonist) but I actually prefer his diaries Dialogue with Death and Scum of the Earth. Dialogue with Death is about his experience of being on death row in Franco's Spain as a Comintern agent and Scum of the Earth is about his flight from France at the beginning of the Second World War. The diaries are extraordinary and are an example of sometimes life being stranger than fiction.
 
fishonjazz said:
Is severance movie related to severance TV series?
Click to expand...
I was referring to the book severance (which isn’t anything like the tv show but it’s way interesting) and the tv show. I’m a few episodes into the second season. really well done. Have you watched it yet?
 
The Thriller said:
I was referring to the book severance (which isn’t anything like the tv show but it’s way interesting) and the tv show. I’m a few episodes into the second season. really well done. Have you watched it yet?
Click to expand...
Watched the first season and loved it.
Will watch the second season in a few weeks probably
 
I keep missing a lot of these good ones because i refuse to sign up for Apple TV. There are already too many streaming services. I'm not signing up for any more. Time to dust off my bittorrent I guess.
 
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