| Jan. 4th, 2008 @ 02:46 pm Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Book Recs |
|---|
I have a deep and abiding love of dystopian and post-apocalyptic literature and film. In the interests of developing my 2008 reading list I've begun to wade through all of the post-apocalyptic tags on Amazon, but I'm afraid that at 500+ I may be wasting valuable reading time.
Do you know of any good post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels? Frequently, the two sub-genres overlap, and that's okay with me. I've read most of the "classics"--1984, Animal Farm, Farenheit 451 and most of the "modern masterpieces"--The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, The Road. I've also read the ones that everyone seems to suggest...mostly The Stand for some reason.
Basically, I like books about the end of the world, or just after the end of the world. My favorite two books out of the ones I've just mentioned were Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood) and The Road (Carson McCullers). It doesn't matter if it's zombies, SARS, nuclear war, earthquakes, comets, etc. I'm pretty much okay with all of it. The world doesn't have to be destroyed; it could just be a really dysfunctional society, a la William Gibson's "Johnny Mnemonic." And the genre (and length!) doesn't matter...while some books are staunchly Speculative Fiction (or Sci-Fi), and others resist that appellation, I don't care if it's from Tor or a YA selection! Just bring on the gloom and doom and destruction, and I'll be one happy camper (believe it or not, I'm a fairly chipper person IRL; go figure).
It might actually be better to say what I don't like. I loved the first half of The Stand, but I'm not too big on the god vs the devil stories. I'm okay with good vs. evil, but the whole divine thing just doesn't do it for me...i don't know why. Also, just say no to Left Behind.
I have a list of about fifty books so far, but any suggestions you all have will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
x-posted in several places |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
super_books
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
curious
mischievous
creative
excited