#dystopian literature

[foetus-on-your-breath]

TIL that the author of the 60s horror dystopian novel I have no mouth & I must scream played himself in Scooby Doo Mystery Inc

[carpe-astrae]

currently reading - Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

“If they want me to be a monster one step closer to God, that's fine. In what world was their God ever a benevolent one?”

(more of this sort of stuff on my sideblog @astraemoodboards!)

[canadianabroadvery]

[bones-clouds]

best books i read in 2024:

"hell followed with us"

andrew joseph white

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️, 5

genre: dystopia, horror, mlm, transgender

synopsis:

Prepare to die. His kingdom is near.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation.

[sluttish-armchair]

Vaporization

Syme strikes me as an autistic guy with a special interest in linguistics. I mean, Orwell gave the guy four whole pages to talk non-stop about Newspeak. When Winston asked him about the dictionary, prior to the infodump, his face “lit up.”

Seeing how the Party only wants to make people suffer all the time… Maybe the Party killed Syme — not only because he understood — but because he liked his job too much. And even if they just transferred him somewhere else, he would’ve still gotten the satisfaction of seeing the language change over time, picking out the patterns of what they’re doing; and in order to pick out the patterns, one would have to recognize that words were not always the way the Party says they were.

Enjoyment and understanding are intertwined. If you enjoy something, you begin to understand it; if you understand something, you may begin to enjoy it. That being said, who else was vaporized in the book?

Ampleforth, who is described as “a dreamy creature… with a surprising talent for juggling with rhymes and meters” also got a chance (unfortunately, in the Ministry of Love) to explain his line of work to Winston. His vaporization is attributed to not being able to find a substitute for “God” in a Kipling poem… but is that entirely the case? Let’s look at something he said about that poem:

‘It was impossible to change the line. The rhyme was ‘rod”. Do you realize that there are only twelve rhymes to ‘rod’ in the entire language? For days I had racked my brains. There WAS no other rhyme…’

‘Has it ever occurred to you,’ he said, ‘that the whole history of English poetry has been determined by the fact that the English language lacks rhymes?’

If there was no possible way to replace that rhyme, why didn’t they just erase the entire poem from history? It doesn’t make sense under any circumstances, unless it was a setup. I’ve read that abusers will often give their victims tasks that they KNOW are impossible to complete, as an excuse to punish the victim for failing to complete them.

This is what happened to Ampleforth. He liked his job well enough to explain abstract concepts about it; and he remembered “the whole history of English poetry.” That’s not allowed. That makes Big Brother very angry. So as one final blow and humiliation to this poor guy, they told him he‘s so bad at the one skill he genuinely enjoyed, he deserved to be killed for it; forever corrupting it in his mind as the reason for his torture and death sentence. They wanted to make sure he never writes, or even thinks about poetry again without feeling horrible pain.

Winston is also described as enjoying his job to some degree; and we all know he was vaporized, being placed in a different department in the days leading up to his demise… Although he was also having sex, writing in a diary, and aspiring to overthrow the government; so I can’t necessarily attribute his capture to just one thing; because, from the Party’s point of view, there were so many things “wrong” with him. Which would explain why the other prisoners — such as Ampleforth and Parsons — were immediately taken to Room 101 after a few days of being in the Ministry of Love. Ampleforth said he was in for only three days; and Parsons couldn’t have been in there for very long either, as Winston (who worked on replacing real dead people with fake dead people) was never made aware of Parsons’ vaporization like he was Syme’s. These two men had only committed “unconscious” acts of thoughtcrime; Winston’s thoughtcrime was 100% purposeful, and much longer-lasting. Winston — and by extension, Julia — was a threat to them.

[dujekdkxuuen]

The truly disturbing thing about Dystopian stories such as the hunger games and the handmaid's tale isn't that someone came up with it and wrote it down it's that you can see how we could get from here to there

[jpohlmanwriting]

I finally got around to finishing my Dystopian Review of One Punch man. It's a bit long, but give it a watch and let me know what you think!

[thatstudyblrontea]

“A man is like a novel: you don't know how things will end until the very last page. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth reading...”

— Yevgeny Zamjatin, We

“Человек – как роман: до самой последней страницы не знаешь, чем кончится. Иначе не стоило бы и читать…”

— Евгений Иванович Замятин, Мы

[dysphoresque]

I hate purity, I hate goodness! I don't want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.

George Orwell, 1984

But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

[giftedpoison]

I still think about this one tiktoker (that i have literal beef with who i have blocked now) who tried to say that dystopian literature was an inherently American genre and thereby she had come to this groundbreaking conclusion that America is a dystopia.

And when I pointed out other countries have a myriad of dystopian literature (with examples) they said "right but it's not as many as Americans"

And they just kept pushing the narrative that America is uniquely awful.

And every time i think about it I want to scream.

[noe-clara69]

i want a dystopian hero with the vibes of “i never meant to save everyone; i only meant to save myself”

[eelifnazfirat]

I have read a lot of books and explored various kinds of genres but my favorite novels are divided into 3 groups based on their genres; Fantasy, dystopian, and the classics.

Fantasy started existing during the 18th century but it started getting recognized as a separate genre in the 19th century. Fantasy is a unique genre. It often consists of mythical creatures, superpowers, and improbable situations. It is sometimes known for being childlike but I believe that is not true. Reading fantasy novels feel like expanding our world and creating other alternative universes. If it is well written enough it gives the feeling of home and it often consists of the same tropes like good against evil, coming of age, and betrayal. It is often full of plot twists, unexpected events, and a little bit of reality and sorrow as most main characters usually go through hell and back. For example, one of my all-time favorite book series in fantasy is the Six of Crows duology written by Leigh Bardugo. The duology follows Kaz Brekker and his gang of anti-heroes, also called “The Crows”. The story is full of tension and mind-numbing plot twists until the end. There's also some magic, which is complemented by a darker atmosphere to make things even more interesting. Kaz Brekker, the infamous thief is promised a considerable amount of cash to kidnap Bo Yul-Bayur, a scientist. The Ice Court is the most heavily guarded location in Fjerda, and Kaz will not be able to enter it alone. He hires Inej Ghafa. Inej is well-known for her agility in climbing buildings and moving across impossible terrain. She is quiet but powerful. Next, Kaz hires Jesper Fahey, the crew's sharpshooter. He is careless, sarcastic, and enjoys gambling a little more than he should. The third member is Nina Zenik, who is a witch. She is confident, loud, and not afraid of who she is. She is also powerful as she can kill people from meters away, without even having to touch them. Matthias Helvar is a witch hunter who somehow ends up on the crew. He has a history with Nina and he only accepts to join the crew if he gets to kill Nina in the end. Lastly, Wylan Van Eck is the son of a rich merchant. He is very insecure because he is not able to read but he is the brain of the group. He is a demolition expert and an incredible engineer. He is the only ace in Kaz’s hand since Wylan’s father is the one who is paying them but soon they have to learn that Wylan’s relationship with his father is not like they have expected. The second novel follows the aftermath of the heist and has an intriguing storyline since politics get involved. The duology is full of diversity and everyone can find a piece of themselves in a character. I believe that it is one of the best examples of this genre because it consists of a fair level of magic, diversity, myths, and plot twists that leave a bittersweet feeling in your heart when you are done with it.

Moving on to Dystopian Literature, The word dystopia has greek roots and it means “bad place”. Dystopian literature began as a response to its polar opposite, utopian fiction where everything seems to be perfect. The history of dystopian literature traces back to the French Revolution in 1789 and it is first used to criticize dictatorship. Dystopian books are set in a different universe, where everything seems to be as bad as it can be. Its purpose is to make people uncomfortable, examine our values in society, and make comments on society’s flawed parts with making them stand out while using an unfamiliar setting. Every dystopian book is an echo of our society’s voice. Dystopian literature reaches its peak in the late ’90s and early ’00s. One of the most popular series written in this era is The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins. It is a trilogy and a perfect example of how corrupt governments can be and how far they can go, just to stay in power. It makes discrimination, selfishness, need for revenge and hunger for power stand out. In the books, there have been attempts to get rid of the corrupt government of Panem but none of them are successful. The government sets up a punishment called “The Hunger Games” where 2 kids from every district are chosen to fight in an arena until there is a survivor. The main heroine, Katniss Everdeen is a confident archer who hunts with his best friend Gale to keep her family well-fed. When she volunteers to go to the Hunger Games to replace her 12-year-old sister, she knows that she has to survive. The other tribute from the 12th district is Peeta Mellark. Peeta’s parents are sure that their son is not going to be able to make it out alive from the arena. During the games, Barbaric murders occur but somehow Katniss and Peeta are the last ones to remain alive. They both find a way to stay alive and it makes the president furious. They eventually lead an evolution when they get back home but realize that things are getting worse as they keep fighting for their freedom. It is a story of characters that eventually have to lose everything they ever had and Katniss needs to choose between Peeta and Gale. In the story, they are used for metaphors and two pathways Katniss could take while Gale symbolizes anger, war, and trouble; Peeta symbolizes light in the darkness, mercy, rebirth, and peace. What makes the story relatable is the parallels we can see in our daily lives. For instance, why does the public allow The Hunger Games? Because they do not believe their children will be picked. How many people believe that they will never be unsatisfied, separated, seriously ill, or harmed? People enjoy making decisions based on themselves. But wouldn't we be better off as a society if we ensured safety for everyone who is having a hard time? Also, The metaphor for Gale and Peeta is a parallel showing the two ways a person can take after traumatic events. Recovery or Rage. The story is like a wake-up call to everyone, making them find connections to their lives. This is why dystopian books are important for society. It teaches people what is wrong in the world they are living in. Hopefully, more people start reading dystopian again and it continues to exist as a reflection of our society.

Lastly, there is Classical Literature. Etymologically, the word classics comes from the Latin adjective “classicus” which means "belonging to the highest class of citizens". Classical literature originates from ancient Greece and Rome but the term classical is mostly used in every period when authors provide excellence and high quality in their work so it also includes parts of French, Russian, and English Literature. The middle to late 1700s was considered the Golden Period of Classicism. Some well-known authors that contributed to Classical literature are; John Milton, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Mark Twain. Every novel from this era is written with clearness and elegance and analyzes some timeless, unchangeable reality about how people behave so it can connect with readers both from our time and its time even if it is mostly based on themes about the time it was created and classic themes like love and mankind against nature. They still get passed from reader to reader and seem to be one of the most indispensable parts of literature. For example, The Lord of The Flies by William Golding was an award-winning and famous book in the past and its reputation still carries on. The book is based on the theme of morality and immorality as the story follows a group of teenage boys surviving a deadly plane crash and ending up on an uninhabited island. Two of the boys find a big shell on the island and decide to use it as a horn to make the other survivors know where they are. They choose one of the boys, Ralph as their leader and split up since some of them have to go and hunt. The boys first take advantage of their time without adults, playing games and splashing around in the pool. Ralph, though, says that they should be keeping the signal fire going and building shelter huts. The hunters' attempt to capture a wild pig is unsuccessful, but their leader Jack grows more and more obsessed with the act of hunting. The rivalry between Jack and Ralph is the main conflict in Lord of the Flies. A peaceful democracy, personified by Ralph, and a violent dictatorship, personified by Jack, are at battle in the conflict over control of the island. Although Jack first unwillingly accepts Ralph's leadership, both boys can lead the entire group. As the story continues, their rivalry increases and strengthens until it becomes a fight to the death. Boys who identify with Ralph, Jack, or either of them reflect many morals and aspects of human nature. Jack stands for aggression, harshness, duty, and protecting the weak, whereas Ralph stands for respect for the law, responsibility, and reason. The book, which is set against the background of a world war, is both a warning against the specific effects of nuclear weapons and a study of human nature and the unstable influence of man in nature. The novel gives the specific tale of a small group battling nature and one another a sense of inevitability and humanity by narrating the story through the experience of young boys isolated from the rest of civilization and making few references to the world outside. It is also an accurate example of how classic novels should be as it checks all the boxes about how a classic novel should be. Classics are like an old door that leads the way to nostalgia and a look at the old times. They should be protected and get passed on to the generation after us, making them have the same opportunity to take a look at the past, just like we did.

In conclusion, every genre is unique in its own way and important for society in different aspects. We should explore different genres and find the ones that fit our taste the most and try to learn some valuable lessons. Remember that everyone can be a reader if they find what they like, try to enjoy what you are reading, and discover your favorite books and genres. Maybe in the future, you can enjoy classifying your favorite books according to their genres too!

[shytulipghost]

For this poll, I'm not asking which one is more similar to real life. Vote for the one that has the best worldbuilding, characters, plot, etc., or the one that terrified/shocked you the most.

[bones-clouds]

best books i read in 2024:

"i keep my exoskeletons to myself" marisa crane

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

genre: dystopia, science fiction, wlw

synopsis:

In a United States not so unlike our own, the Department of Balance has adopted a radical new form of law enforcement: rather than incarceration, wrongdoers are given a second (and sometimes, third, fourth, and fifth) shadow as a reminder of their crime—and a warning to those they encounter. Within the Department, corruption and prejudice run rampant, giving rise to an underclass of so-called Shadesters who are disenfranchised, publicly shamed, and deprived of civil rights protections.

Kris is a Shadester and a new mother to a baby born with a second shadow of her own. Grieving the loss of her wife and thoroughly unprepared for the reality of raising a child alone, Kris teeters on the edge of collapse, fumbling in a daze of alcohol, shame, and self-loathing. Yet as the kid grows, Kris finds her footing, raising a child whose irrepressible spark cannot be dampened by the harsh realities of the world.

With a first-person register reminiscent of the fierce self-disclosure of Sheila Heti and the poetic precision of Ocean Vuong, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is a bold debut novel that examines the long shadow of grief, the hard work of parenting, and the power of queer resistance.

[pigeonriot]

ppl who are like "omg this is so dystopian" "we are living in a dystopia" "i cant believe that every year we are moving closer to a dystopia" are *so close* to getting what a dystopia is

[jpohlmanwriting]

So I finally got around to writing, voice-overing, image-sourcing and editing together a Dystopian Review of Berserk, by Kentaro Miura. All trigger warnings apply, so please skip this video if you are sensitive to any of the material that might be covered.