List of notable works of dystopian literature
This is a list of notable works of dystopian literature. A dystopia is an unpleasant (typically repressive) society, often propagandized as being utopian. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction states that dystopian works depict a negative view of "the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction."[1][2]
18th century
- Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift[3]
19th century
20th century
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
Fiction
- Clash of Eagles (1990) by Leo Rutman
- The Dark Beyond the Stars (1991) by Frank M. Robinson
- Timewyrm: Exodus (Doctor Who novel) (1991) by Terrance Dicks
- The War in 2020 (1991) by Ralph Peters (Pocket Books, 1991)[44]
- The Children of Men (1992) by P. D. James (Faber and Faber, 1992)[10][45]
- Fatherland by Robert Harris (Hutchinson, 1992)[46]
- Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson (Bantam Spectra, 1992)[46]
- Parable of the Sower (1993) by Octavia E. Butler (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993)[citation needed]
- Virtual Light (1993) by William Gibson (Bantam Spectra, 1993)[citation needed]
- Vurt (1993) by Jeff Noon
- The Memory Police (1994) by Yōko Ogawa
- The Diamond Age, or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (1994) by Neal Stephenson (Bantam Spectra, 1994)[47]
- Gun, with Occasional Music (1994) by Jonathan Lethem (Harcourt Brace & Co., 1994)[48]
- Amnesia Moon (1995) by Jonathan Lethem
- '48 (1996) by James Herbert
- Attentatet i Pålsjö skog (1996) by Hans Alfredson
- Infinite Jest (1996) by David Foster Wallace (Little, Brown, 1996)[citation needed]
- Battle Royale (1999) by Koushun Takami (Ohta Publishing, 1999)[49]
- Forever Free (1999) by Joe Haldeman
- The Ice People (1999) by Maggie Gee (Richard Cohen Books, 1999)[citation needed]
Young adult fiction
21st century
2000s
Fiction
- Ella Minnow Pea (2001) by Mark Dunn (MacAdam/Cage, 2001)
- Feed (2002) by M. T. Anderson (Candlewick Press, 2002)[51]
- In the Presence of Mine Enemies (2003) by Harry Turtledove (2003, the first 21 pages were originally a short story published in 1992)
- Jennifer Government (2003) by Max Barry (Doubleday, 2003)
- Oryx and Crake (2003) by Margaret Atwood (Doubleday, 2003)[52]
- Collaborator (2003) by Murray Davies
- Asphalt (2004) by Carl Hancock Rux (Simon & Schuster, 2004)
- Cloud Atlas (2004) by David Mitchell (Sceptre, 2004)[53]
- The Plot Against America (2004) by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin, 2004)
- Divided Kingdom (2005) by Rupert Thomson (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005)[54]
- Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber and Faber, 2005)[54][55][not specific enough to verify]
- Armageddon's Children (2006) by Terry Brooks (Del Rey Books, 2006)
- The Book of Dave (2006) by Will Self (Viking Press, 2006)[56][not specific enough to verify]
- Day of the Oprichnik (2006) by Vladimir Sorokin (Zakharov Books, 2006)[57]
- The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006)
- Blind Faith (2007) by Ben Elton (Bantam Press, 2007)
- Rant (2007) by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday, 2007)
- Last Light (2007) by Alex Scarrow (Orion Publishing Group, 2007)
- Nontraditional Love (2008) by Rafael Grugman (Liberty Publishing House, 2008)[58][59]
- World Made by Hand (2008) by James Howard Kunstler (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008)
- Farthing, Ha'penny, and Half a Crown, series by Jo Walton (2006–2008)
- The City & the City (2009) by China Miéville (Del Rey Books, 2009)
- Shades of Grey (2009) by Jasper Fforde (Viking Press, 2009)
- The Windup Girl (2009) by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books, 2009)
- The Year of the Flood (2009) by Margaret Atwood (McClelland & Stewart, 2009)[60][non-primary source needed]
- Z213: Exit (2009) by Dimitris Lyacos (Shoestring Press, 2009)[61]
Young adult fiction
- Gathering Blue (2000) by Lois Lowry (Houghton Mifflin, 2000)
- Mortal Engines (The Hungry City Chronicles #1) (2001) by Philip Reeve (Scholastic, 2001)
- Noughts and Crosses (2001) by Malorie Blackman (Random House, 2001)[62]
- The House of the Scorpion (2002) by Nancy Farmer (Atheneum Books, 2002)
- Among the Barons (Shadow Children #4) (2003) by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster, 2003)
- Among the Betrayed (Shadow Children #3) (2003) by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster, 2003)
- The City of Ember (2003) by Jeanne DuPrau (Random House, 2003)
- Among the Brave (Shadow Children #5) (2004) by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster, 2004)
- Messenger (2004) by Lois Lowry (Houghton Mifflin, 2004)
- The People of Sparks (2004) by Jeanne DuPrau (Yearling, 2004)
- Among the Enemy (Shadow Children #6) (2005) by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster, 2005)
- Checkmate (2005) by Malorie Blackman (Random House, 2005)[63]
- Uglies (2005) by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2005)[64]
- Pretties (2005) by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2005)
- Among the Free (Shadow Children #7) (2006) by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster, 2006)
- Genesis (2006) by Bernard Beckett (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006)[65][unreliable source?]
- Life as We Knew It (2006) by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt Children's Books, 2006)
- Specials (2006) by Scott Westerfeld (Simon & Schuster, 2006)
- Extras (2007) by Scott Westerfeld (Simon & Schuster, 2007)
- Incarceron (2007) by Catherine Fisher (Hodder & Stoughton, 2007)
- Unwind (2007) by Neal Shusterman (Simon & Schuster, 2007)
- The Host (2008) by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Company, 2008)[66][non-primary source needed]
- The Dead and the Gone (2008) by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt Children's Books, 2008)
- The Declaration (2008) by Gemma Malley (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008)[67]
- From the New World (2008) by Yusuke Kishi (Kodansha Novels, 2008)
- Gone (2008) by Michael Grant (HarperCollins, 2008)
- The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2008)
- The Diamond of Darkhold (2008) by Jeanne DuPrau (Yearling, 2008)
- The Resistance (2008) by Gemma Malley (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008)[68]
- Sapphique (2007) by Catherine Fisher (Hodder & Stoughton, 2008)
- Catching Fire (2009) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2009)
- The Forest of Hands and Teeth (2009) by Carrie Ryan (Random House, 2009)[69]
- The Maze Runner (2009) by James Dashner (Delacorte Press, 2009)
2010s
Fiction
- The Envy Chronicles (series) (2010) by Joss Ware (Avon, 2010–2015)
- The Passage (2010) by Justin Cronin (Ballantine Books, 2010)
- Super Sad True Love Story (2010) by Gary Shteyngart (Random House, 2010)
- Ready Player One (2011) by Ernest Cline (Random House, 2011)
- Shimoneta (2012) by Hirotaka Akagi (Shogakukan, 2012)[70]
- Bleeding Edge (2013) by Thomas Pynchon (Penguin Press, 2013)
- The Bone Season (2013) by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury, 2013)[71]
- The Circle (2013) by Dave Eggers (Alfred A. Knopf, 2013)[72]
- MaddAddam (2013) by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese, 2013)[73]
- The Office of Mercy (2013) by Ariel Djanikian (Viking Books, 2013)[74]
- Wool (2013) by Hugh Howey (Simon & Schuster, 2013)[75]
- Dominion (2014) by C. J. Sansom (Mulholland Books, 2014)
- Submission (2015) by Michel Houellebecq (Groupe Flammarion, 2015)
- The Heart Goes Last (2015) by Margaret Atwood (Penguin Random House, 2015)
- Friday Black (2018) by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Mariner Books, 2018)
- Tears of the Trufflepig (2019) by Fernando A. Flores (FSG Originals, 2019)
- The Testaments (2019) by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese, 2019)
Young adult fiction
- Matched (2010) by Ally Condie (Dutton Children's Books, 2010)[76]
- Mockingjay 2010) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Corporation, 2010)[77]
- Monsters of Men (2010) by Patrick Ness (Candlewick Press, 2010)[78]
- The Scorch Trials (2010) by James Dashner (Delacorte Press, 2010)
- Across The Universe (2011) by Beth Revis (Razorbill Books, 2011)
- Crossed (2011) by Ally Condie (Dutton Children's Books, 2011)[76]
- The Death Cure (2011) by James Dashner (Delacorte Press, 2011)
- Delirium (2011) by Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins, 2011)
- Divergent (2011) by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books, 2011)
- Legend (2011) by Marie Lu (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2011)
- Shatter Me (2011) by Tahereh Mafi (HarperCollins, 2011)
- The Unwanteds (2011) by Lisa McMann (Aladdin Paperbacks, 2011)
- Wither (2011) by Lauren DeStefano (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2011)
- Article 5 (2012) by Kristen Simmons (Tor Teen, 2012)
- Pandemonium (2012) by Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins, 2012)
- Insurgent (2012) by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books, 2012)[citation needed]
- The Selection (2012) by Kiera Cass (HarperCollins, 2012)
- Son (2012) by Lois Lowry (Houghton Mifflin, 2012)
- Reached (2012) by Ally Condie (Dutton Children's Books, 2012)
- Revealing Eden (2012) by Victoria Foyt (Sand Dollar Press, Inc., 2012) [citation needed]
- Under the Never Sky (2012) by Veronica Rossi (HarperCollins, 2012)[79]
- Prodigy (2013) by Marie Lu (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2013)
- The Elite (2013) by Kiera Cass (HarperCollins, 2013)
- The 5th Wave (2013) by Rick Yancey (Penguin Group, 2013)
- Unravel Me (2013) by Tahereh Mafi (HarperCollins, 2013)
- Allegiant (2013) by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books, 2013)
- Champion (2013) by Marie Lu (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2013)
- Reboot (2013) by Amy Tintera (Harper Teen, 2013)
- The Infinite Sea (2014) by Rick Yancey (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2014)
- Red Rising (2014) by Pierce Brown (Random House LLC, 2014)
- Golden Son (2015) by Pierce Brown (Random House LLC, 2015)
- Red Queen (novel) (2015) by Victoria Aveyard (Harper Teen, 2015)
- Morning Star (2016) by Pierce Brown (Random House LLC, 2016)
- The Last Star (2016) by Rick Yancey (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2016)
- Scythe (2016) by Neal Shusterman (Simon & Schuster, 2016)
- Iron Gold (2018) by Pierce Brown (Del Rey Books, 2018)
2020s
Fiction
- Prophet Song (2023) by Paul Lynch (Oneworld Publications, 2023)
Young adult fiction
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Stableford, Brian (1993). "Dystopias". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. pp. 360–362. ISBN 1-85723-124-4.
- ^ "Life of chaos, life of hope: Dystopian literature for young adults". Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ Houston, Chlöe (2007). "Utopia, Dystopia or Anti-utopia? Gulliver's Travels and the Utopian Mode of Discourse". Utopian Studies. 18 (3, Irish Utopian). Penn State University Press: 425–442. doi:10.2307/20719885. JSTOR 20719885.
- ^ Kennedy, Randall (2003). Interracial Intimacies. New York: Pantheon Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-375-40255-5.
- ^ Marina Yaguello. Lunatic Lovers of language. Imaginary languages and their inventors. London: Athlone Press, 1991. 0-485-11303-1. p. 31.
- ^ Jean Pfaelzer (1984). The Utopian Novel in America 1886–1896: The Politics of Form. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press; pp. 81–6.
- ^ Pfaelzer, pp. 120–40.
- ^ Art, Carden (June 28, 2010). "Looking Hard at 'Pictures of the Socialistic Future'". Forbes.
- ^ Barron, Neil (1998). What Do I Read Next?. Detroit: Gale Group. p. 299. ISBN 0-7876-2150-1.
"The Repairer of Reputations", which offers a dystopic vision of the future...
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Top 12 Dystopian Novels". March 12, 2008.
- ^ Uniwersytet Jagielloński (1986). Prace historycznoliterackie. Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. p. 70. ISBN 9788301066154. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ a b c Mark Bould, Sherryl Vint, (2011) The Routledge Concise History of Science Fiction. Routledge, ISBN 0-415-43571-4 (p.23).
- ^ "Another classic dystopian work, Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (1921) was written at the same time as Zamyatin's work". The Cybernetic Imagination in Science Fiction. Patricia S. Warrick, MIT Press, 1980 ISBN 0-262-73061-8, (p.48).
- ^ "Top 10 Overlooked Dystopian Novels You Should Read – Toptenz.net". toptenz.net. March 9, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ HO, KOON-KI TOMMY (1987). "Cat Country: A Dystopian Satire". Modern Chinese Literature. 3 (1/2): 71–89. ISSN 8755-8963. JSTOR 41492507.
- ^ Cornis-Pope Marcel & John Neubauer (2004). History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Junctures and Disjunctures in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Volume 3. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing, 2004. p. 183. ISBN 90-272-3455-8.
...the dystopic satire Válka s mloky (The War With The Newts)...
- ^ " a feminist novelist called Katherine Burdekin published under a male pseudonym, Murray Constantine, an anti-fascist dystopia with the title Swastika Night.."Alkeline van Lenning, Marrie Bekker, Ine Vanwesenbeeck, (p.88) Feminist Utopias in a Post Modern Era. Tilburg University Press, 1997. ISBN 9036197473
- ^ a b c Tom Moylan; Raffaella Baccolini (2003). Dark horizons: science fiction and the dystopian imagination. Taylor and Francis Books. ISBN 0-415-96613-2. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
- ^ Booker, M. Keith (2002). The Post-utopian Imagination: American Culture in the Long 1950s. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 50. ISBN 0-313-32165-5.
Invitation also resembles other absurdist dystopias of the 1930s, such as Ruthven Todd's Over the Mountain (1939) and Rex Warner's The Wild Goose Chase.
- ^ Clute, John (1993). "Koestler, Arthur". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 675. ISBN 1-85723-124-4.
- ^ Hickman, John (2009). "When Science Fiction Writers Used Fictional Drugs: Rise and Fall of the Twentieth-Century Drug Dystopia". Utopian Studies. 20 (1). Penn State University Press: 141–170. doi:10.2307/20719933. JSTOR 20719933.
- ^ Clute, John (1993). "Nabokov, Vladimir". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 854. ISBN 1-85723-124-4.
- ^ Clute, John (1993). "Orwell, George". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 896. ISBN 1-85723-124-4.
- ^ Stableford, Brian (1993). "Vonnegut, Kurt Jr.". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 1289. ISBN 1-85723-124-4.
- ^ "The Space Merchants describes an archetypal dystopia, an America choked by the waste products of consumerism..." George Mann, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2012 ISBN 1-78033-704-3 (p. 1983).
- ^ Knud Sørensen (1971) "Language and Society in L. P. Hartley's 'Facial Justice,'" Orbis Litterarum 26 (1), 68–84.
- ^ Lopez, Edward J Archived November 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. (associate professor, San Jose State University) "Thoughts on "Harrison Bergeron"", April 16, 2007
- ^ a b The best dystopias Michael Moorcock, The Guardian, January 22, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ^ "Michael Frayn's comedy has more usually taken an anti-utopian turn. He has written one explicitly dystopian novel, A Very Private Life...", "Whitehall Farces" Patrick Parrinder, London Review of Books, October 8, 1992.
- ^ Clute, John (1993). "Levin, Ira". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 715. ISBN 1-85723-124-4.
- ^ "Ursula Le Guin Q&A | By genre | Guardian Unlimited Books". London: Books.guardian.co.uk. February 9, 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
- ^ Survey of Science Fiction Literature
- ^ a b Downing, David C. (September 1, 1995). Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-87023-997-X.
- ^ Walter, Damien (December 17, 2012). "Darkness in literature: Philip K Dick's A Scanner Darkly". The Guardian. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 1979.
- ^ Mullan, John (November 12, 2010). "Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ Riddley Walker: a Novel. WorldCat. OCLC 6916115.
- ^ "The hero migrates from "real" Glasgow to Unthank, an underground dystopia". John Clute, Science Fiction: A Visual Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley, 1995 (p. 231).
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 1984.
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 1986
- ^ "BOOKS OF THE TIMES". The New York Times. June 2, 1987.
- ^ Strauss, Victoria. "Book Review: Obernewtyn Vol. 1, The Obernewtyn Chronicles", SF Site, 1999
- ^ Characterized as such by author himself, see Chapter 1
- ^ "Kirkus Book Review".
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 1993.
- ^ a b Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 1992.
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 1994.
- ^ Phil Daoust (September 1, 2001). "A kangaroo in a dinner jacket". London: Books.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
- ^ Koehler, Robert (January 23, 2001). "Battle Royale film review (mentions book)". Variety Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- ^ Natalie Babbitt, "The Hidden Cost of Contentment", Washington Post May 9, 1993, p. X15.
- ^ Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002.
- ^ Brian Bethune (April 28, 2003). "Book Review: Atwood's Oryx and Crake". Maclean's Magazine.
- ^ Kloszewski, M. (June 15, 2004). Library Journal, 129(11): 56.
- ^ a b D. J. Taylor: "Anima Attraction", The Guardian (April 16, 2005).
- ^ Atwood, M. Brave New World: Kazuo Ishiguro's novel really is chilling., Slate Magazine, April 1, 2005
- ^ Harrison, M John (May 27, 2006). "The gospel according to Dave". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
- ^ Kotkin, Stephen (March 11, 2011). "A Dystopian Tale of Russia's Future". The New York Times.
- ^ "Liberty Publishing House — Nontraditional Love (English)". Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- ^ "LGBT themes in speculative fiction". www.general-books.net. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ "Margaret Atwood – The Year of the Flood". Knopfdoubleday.com. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^ Rivieccio, Genna (February 12, 2017). "Poena Damni Z213: Exit by Dimitris Lyacos Gets Worthy Translation from Shorsha Sullivan". theopiatemagazine.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ The Guardian (January 23, 2001) [full citation needed]
- ^ The Guardian July 27, 2005 [full citation needed]
- ^ My Top Five...Dystopian Novels for Teens The Guardian, August 4, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ^ "REVIEW: Genesis by Bernard Beckett". SF Signal. May 12, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
- ^ "The Host". Stephenie Meyer. May 6, 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Gemma Malley – The Declaration". www.gemmamalley.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ "Gemma Malley – The Resistance". www.gemmamalley.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ Karen Brooks-Reese: "Zombies Rise in Teen Lit", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 26, 2009
- ^ Dempsey, Joe (October 28, 2015). "The Sex-Obsessed Cyberpunk Dystopia of Shimoneta". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- ^ "The Bone Season". www.boneseasonbooks.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (October 3, 2013). "Inside the World of Big Data: 'The Circle,' Dave Eggers's New Novel". nytimes.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- ^ Newitz, Annalee (September 13, 2013). "Atwood Imagines Humanity's Next Iteration In 'MaddAddam'". npr.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
- ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Office of Mercy by Ariel Djanikian. Viking, $26.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-670-02586-2". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ "Wool", a dystopian series about a group of underground people who get all of their information about the outside world through a single, digital screen...""Self-published e-book author: 'Most of my months are six-figure months'". CNN. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ a b "Books". allycondie.com. December 11, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ Carpenter, Susan (August 23, 2010). "Book review: 'Mockingjay'". Los Angeles Times.
Fans aren't likely to be disappointed
- ^ Tjala (March 2011). "Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness – review". theguardian.com.
Monsters of Men was a real thrill to read, with a cliffhanger at the end of nearly every chapter.
- ^ "Rossi's YA Dystopian Romance Lands at Warner Brothers". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
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