Welcome

My drug of choice is writing––writing, art, reading, inspiration, books, creativity, process, craft, blogging, grammar, linguistics, and did I mention writing?

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

What is the Best Dystopia? (Nominations Needed)

What is the best (worst?) dystopia?  

Edit: Nominations are now closed for this poll.

Even as our current best villain poll heats up, it is time to start taking nominations for Novembers poll.

The world is in ruins. Or maybe it's not in ruins but there's just something a little off. Or maybe it's perfect, but the price is the torturous misery of a single innocent child. In any case it's a dystopia, and it is doing its literary work to hold up a twisted mirror to our own society.

The Rules

1- As always, I leave the niggling to your best judgement because I'd rather be inclusive. If you feel like Jim Butcher writes dystopia, I'm not going to argue. (Though you might need to "show your work" to get anyone to second your nomination.) If you think Discworld is a dystopia, nominate it. I won't be enforcing any rules about it being future Earth or anything.

2- Since dystopias are a setting, they can be for a single book, a series, or several series.

3- You may nominate two (2) dystopias. Remember that I am a terrifying, power hungry monster who hates free will and all things of kind heart. To encourage reading and reading comprehension I will NOT take any dystopias beyond the second that you suggest. (I will consider a long list to be "seconds" if someone else nominates them as well.)

3- You may (and should) second as many nominations of others as you wish.

4- Please put your nominations here. I will take dystopias nominated as comments to this post on other social media; however, they may not get the seconds you need because no one will see them. (Seriously, Deloris Umbridge got a nomination for our current poll, but no seconds because she was nominated on Facebook instead of here. And then everyone got sad that she wasn't on the polls.)

5- You are nominating WRITTEN DYSTOPIAS, not their movie portrayals. CGI is making the Insurgent movies pretty fun to look at, but if you find the books to be a little contrived, you shouldn't nominate them.

My own nominations will be in comments.
at
Labels:

53 comments:

  1. Chris BrecheenNovember 3, 2015 at 9:55 AM

    The post-flu-world of Station 11.

    Octavia Butler's Parable series world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BajonistaNovember 3, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    A Handmaid's Tale
    The MADDADAM Trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, Mad Addam)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JenNovember 3, 2015 at 5:00 PM

      Second Handmaids Tale. That one still scares me.

      Delete
    2. GingerNovember 4, 2015 at 1:22 PM

      Thirded Handmaids Tale

      Delete
    3. GingerNovember 4, 2015 at 1:26 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. JohnnyNovember 10, 2015 at 9:21 AM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    5. JohnnyNovember 10, 2015 at 9:22 AM

      I concur with The Handmaid's Tale

      Delete
    6. UnknownNovember 16, 2015 at 9:06 PM

      The Handmaids's Tale! Fifthed!

      Delete
  3. Rick CastelloNovember 3, 2015 at 10:08 AM

    The United States in Stephen King's "The Stand" (book, not movie)
    The world in William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson's "Logan's Run" (book, not movie)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 3, 2015 at 12:50 PM

      2nd The Stand. Was gonna nominate that myself :)

      Delete
    2. JenNovember 3, 2015 at 5:01 PM

      Love the Stand. Thirding!!!

      Delete
    3. CaitlynNovember 3, 2015 at 5:13 PM

      Nth The Stand! Which reminds me that I'm overdue to reread.

      Delete
  4. UnknownNovember 3, 2015 at 10:28 AM

    Android series by Mel Odom
    Deathstalker series by Simon R. Green

    ReplyDelete
  5. papadiabolousNovember 3, 2015 at 10:38 AM

    Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun (Torturer series)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. papadiabolousNovember 3, 2015 at 5:13 PM

      Also
      Jack Vance's "Dying Earth"

      Delete
    2. UnknownNovember 4, 2015 at 5:30 AM

      I never really thought of Urth as a dystopia, but you're right, it kinda is. Seconded.

      Delete
  6. Antigone10November 3, 2015 at 11:07 AM

    This one is especially niggling to me because I have so many questions and the answers would effect that. Best dystopia (as in, best place that gets called a dystopia)? Brave New World- less poverty than we have now, no giant wars, barely any crime, almost all disease eradicated, everyone is perfectly self-actualized (and if you aren't, there is a humane solution) and all the sex and drugs that you'd like. All of the flaws that exist in that world ALSO exist in our world and a near worse rate.

    Worst dystopia to live in? While my heart will always belong to Atwood, the worst has got to be Warhammer 40K universe. Holy nightmare Batman!

    Most likely dystopia? Ready Player One universe.

    Dystopia that I completely missed the point of when I read the first time? 1984. (Seriously, I thought the world was fascist, and the anti-communism completely flew over my head).

    World that is actually an authoritarian nightmare but no one seems to notice because the tv show has it covered in pastels? My Little Pony Universe

    But since we can only nominate two, I'm going to second The Handmaiden's Tale and go with the best "pointlessly cruel for no reason" dystopia of Battle Royale.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ethnopopgirlNovember 5, 2015 at 4:21 PM

      Seconding Brave New World. If you hadn't I was about to.

      Delete
    2. UnknownNovember 9, 2015 at 6:02 PM

      I second the warhammer 40 k universe!!!!!

      Delete
  7. Antigone10November 3, 2015 at 11:12 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. TrysteroNovember 3, 2015 at 11:25 AM

    The Giver (and sequels) by Lois Lowry
    The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. papadiabolousNovember 3, 2015 at 5:13 PM

      Second The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey

      Delete
    2. AnonymousNovember 17, 2015 at 12:42 PM

      Second The Giver.

      -CM Scott

      Delete
  9. Mrs. BursbyNovember 3, 2015 at 12:03 PM

    Anthem by Ayn Rand

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownNovember 3, 2015 at 12:52 PM

    Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JenNovember 3, 2015 at 4:59 PM

      Second! I was going to suggest this. It's what popped into my mind immediately!

      Delete
    2. papadiabolousNovember 3, 2015 at 5:14 PM

      Second Snow Crash

      Delete
  11. JenNovember 3, 2015 at 5:09 PM

    Seafort Saga by David Feintuch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GingerNovember 4, 2015 at 3:40 PM

      Do'h.
      Shoulda thought of that. But since I didn't - seconded!

      Delete
  12. CaitlynNovember 3, 2015 at 5:11 PM

    Nominating:
    Alas, Babylon! - Pat Frank
    Who Fears Death - Nnedi Okorafor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JenNovember 4, 2015 at 6:50 PM

      Alas, Babylon is such a great book! Second!

      Delete
  13. Evan AdamsNovember 3, 2015 at 8:09 PM

    Finally, one that's in my actual field of expertise! (Yeah, I'm a scholar of dystopian fiction. It's more fun than it sounds).
    Since everyone has almost pointedly *not* been nominating YA, I'm gonna go with 1) Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace, and 2) Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

    ReplyDelete
  14. UnknownNovember 4, 2015 at 6:49 AM

    Dhalgren

    ReplyDelete
  15. GingerNovember 4, 2015 at 1:24 PM

    Is Fahrenheit 451 really missing from this list? because I nominate that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 5, 2015 at 12:08 PM

      That's such a classic, I have to second it.

      Delete
    2. GingerNovember 9, 2015 at 3:12 PM

      Any future that has no books or reading is the saddest future for me.

      Delete
    3. JohnnyNovember 10, 2015 at 9:25 AM

      Yes, Fahrenheit 451. "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." - Ray Bradbury

      Delete
  16. playapepperNovember 5, 2015 at 12:24 AM

    Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

    Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

    World War Z by Max Brooks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ethnopopgirlNovember 5, 2015 at 4:22 PM

      Seconding Canticle for Lebowitz because it has to be an option.

      Delete
  17. playapepperNovember 5, 2015 at 12:26 AM

    Whoops. Sorry I meant to delete the last before publishing the comment.

    ReplyDelete
  18. playapepperNovember 5, 2015 at 12:26 AM

    Whoops. Sorry I meant to delete the last before publishing the comment.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousNovember 8, 2015 at 1:11 PM

    1984
    Harrison Bergeron

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousNovember 9, 2015 at 12:40 PM

    The Gold Coast by Kim Stanley Robinson

    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick

    ReplyDelete
  21. Daniel SheelerNovember 9, 2015 at 12:55 PM

    CivilWarLand in Bad Decline -- George Saunders

    ReplyDelete
  22. shhNovember 9, 2015 at 1:59 PM

    Does it need to be a book? Judge Dredd's Mega City One is easily my favourite, and other than that 1984 easily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris BrecheenNovember 9, 2015 at 2:57 PM

      It can be a short story, but since graphic novels rely on visuals to build their world instead of strictly words, I'm going to let the blogs dedicated to them field their own such poll.

      Delete
  23. CaramidaNovember 10, 2015 at 6:05 AM

    Nobody writes dystopia quite like Phill Dick. And other people have already nominated the other books I would have chosen, so...

    The Man in the High Castle.

    I suppose I could also nominate Cormac McCarthy's "The Road."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JohnnyNovember 10, 2015 at 9:28 AM

      Second The Road

      Delete
    2. UnknownNovember 17, 2015 at 9:19 AM

      Second The Man in the High Castle, mostly for the intricacies of the political game between Japan and Germany, coupled with Germany's continuation of their genocidal policies. There's a lot of stuff in that story that's never really spelled out, but hinted at wonderfully.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)