OK, clearly I'm slacking and have some reading to do!

Hmmm, most of those listed I would characterize as Apocolyptic not Dystopian...but Alas Babylon has already gotten two mentions so I will give it a third. And Earth Abides gets another shout out. So if we are going Apocolyptic there is always Fail Safe but I read Level Seven about the same time (early 80's/early teen years for me) as the other two and it always stayed with me.

A Clockwork Orange

quote:

Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:
Not my favorite, but definitely dystopian:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/papers_pdf/117717.pdf

Since 1984 and "Brave New World" were ruled out, I was going to suggest "The Audacity of Hope" or "Dreams from My Father", but you beat me to the punch. He sure did his best to make his dystopian dreams come true.

quote:

Originally posted by detroit192:
Hmmm, most of those listed I would characterize as Apocolyptic not Dystopian...but Alas Babylon has already gotten two mentions so I will give it a third. And Earth Abides gets another shout out.

^^^^^^^^
With our broad criteria and off the top of my head, I would add the following (I also agree with Alas Babylon and Earth Abides):

A Brave New World
Logan's Run;
Z for Zacharia;
Sixth Column;
Farnham's Freehold;
Revolt in 2100;
SM Stirling's Nantucket Series and Emberverse or Change series;
A Canticle for Leibowitz;
Donald McQuinn's Moondark trilogy;
John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Sword of the Spirits (unofficial series name);
Kornbluth's Not This August; and
Terry Brooks' Word and Void trilogy.

Edited to add Animal Farm and of course 1984.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BB61,

Several good ones so far.

I'll add "It Can't Happen Here".

quote:

Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:
A Clockwork Orange

A classic as well. I read Clockwork and 1984 in 1984 in an Honors English class while a freshman in college. It was an interesting class to say the least.

The Camp of the Saints; unarmed pitiable wretches of the Third World migrate through southern France and demolish Europe.

Level Seven, by Mordecai Roshwald. It is a work of science fiction about two nations that build 'doomsday machines' and deep deep underground shelters for the select few to outlast the radiation of nuclear war.

Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature, David Cook. Not really a novel but dystopic as the book outlines the doctrine for extirpating you, or your children, or grandchildren, or great- grandchildren.

Catch 22 is among my favorites.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I find it to be a book full of good ideas, but a terrible book to read. Rand is verbose, pedantic and repetitive in the extreme. Plus, her prose is about as exciting as cold oatmeal. She needed a strong editor and some writing talent.

Absolutely! I'm sorry to admit that I gave up on this classic, probably within the first 75 pages, because it was so difficult to follow.

Okay, so she's wordy - even I skimmed bits of the infamous speech towards the end (not identifying it clearly to avoid spoilers - but anyone who has read it knows the speech I'm talking about). BUT, difficult to follow? Especially near the beginning? I'm not sure I get that. If anything, she gives the reader too much information.

Still - there are excerpts that I always go back to. The rise and fall of Twentieth Century Motors is particularly good. Francisco's money speech, of course.

Anyway, read it. Don't watch the movies. They're crap.

-Rob

Kurt Vonnegut has a couple that qualify. "Player Piano" springs to mind. Depicts a society where automation has made most of humanity obsolete.

You also might want to read Vonnegut's short story titled "Harrison Bergeron". It features a character with THIS description:

--------------------------------------------
Diana Moon Glampers - The Handicapper General of the United States. Diana Moon Glampers is in charge of dumbing down and disabling those who are above average. It is her minions who enforce the handicap laws and create new hindrances for superior beings such as Harrison.
-------------------------------------------

If THAT doesn't strike you as a bit familiar you're not paying attention to modern trends. Most of Vonnegut's stuff was written in the 60s and the 70s and his foresight is nothing less than amazing.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I find it to be a book full of good ideas, but a terrible book to read. Rand is verbose, pedantic and repetitive in the extreme. Plus, her prose is about as exciting as cold oatmeal. She needed a strong editor and some writing talent.

Absolutely! I'm sorry to admit that I gave up on this classic, probably within the first 75 pages, because it was so difficult to follow.

Okay, so she's wordy - even I skimmed bits of the infamous speech towards the end (not identifying it clearly to avoid spoilers - but anyone who has read it knows the speech I'm talking about). BUT, difficult to follow? Especially near the beginning? I'm not sure I get that. If anything, she gives the reader too much information.

Still - there are excerpts that I always go back to. The rise and fall of Twentieth Century Motors is particularly good. Francisco's money speech, of course.

Anyway, read it. Don't watch the movies. They're crap.

-Rob

Definitely agree. Despite its flaws, the book has got some classic passages. In addition to Francisco's money speech, I particularly like Hank Rearden's trial. I have gone back and read that part several times.

Das Kapital



.

We can't forget the books by our own billnchristy. The first of which is, The Last Gallon

Several of Margaret Atwood's novels:

"The Handmaid's Tale"

"Oryx and Crake," "The Year of the Flood," and "MaddAdam."

Others, too. This is a common theme in Atwood's novels.

Wow. This forum is awesome. I was expecting a few recommendations that I hadn't heard of and this forum accomplished that and then some. You guys gave me a hell of a reading list!

I'll definitely be picking up Billnchristy's book along with many others mentioned in this thread.

Thank you!

"Dark Titan Journey" by Thomas A Watson. Story covers the journey from Atlanta to Idaho for a guy who is stranded by an EMP.

I'll add my endorsement for "Alas Babylon", "Earth Abides", "Lucifer's Hammer" and the Patriot series by John Wesley Rowles.

I've read the One Second and One Day novels but couldn't muster enough interest to read the final book in the series.

quote:

Originally posted by MagnumU:
Neuromancer by William Gibson.

Not sure I'd classify it as dystopian, but it certainly is a damn good book. I like Gibson's stuff, but the Sprawl trilogy( Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive) may well be my favorite books. They're certainly high on the list.

You've got good taste.

quote:

Originally posted by detroit192:
Hmmm, most of those listed I would characterize as Apocolyptic not Dystopian...but Alas Babylon has already gotten two mentions so I will give it a third. And Earth Abides gets another shout out. So if we are going Apocolyptic there is always Fail Safe but I read Level Seven about the same time (early 80's/early teen years for me) as the other two and it always stayed with me.

Amazing! Someone else has read Level 7. I read it as a teenager, and it has always stayed with me, too!

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

I find it (Atlas Shrugged) to be a book full of good ideas, but a terrible book to read. Rand is verbose, pedantic and repetitive in the extreme. Plus, her prose is about as exciting as cold oatmeal. She needed a strong editor and some writing talent.

Again - good ideas, but a terrible novel.

That's almost exactly the way I felt. In fact, I would be a little more harsh. I simply couldn't finish the book.
I like Rand's philosophy when clearly stated, but simply couldn't "get it" from the book.

I liked Brave New World, because, if you think about it, it is not really "dystopian". You really can just go to Tahiti! No reason for anyone to have any unpleasantries in any way.