For quite a while now dystopian science fiction has been a very popular sub-genre of sci-fi. It's probably best not to think about that too much. Equally worrying is the impressive array of ways books can tell a dystopian story. You have your classic man made oppression like 1984 or Handmaid's Tale. You can have the same thing but with a cyber punk corporate twist, like Neuromancer. Aliens? Natural disaster? Robots? Yep, all causing the end of civilisation as we know it with surprising frequency.
It would be tempting to assume the current love of these dystopian sci-fi novels would be because of… you know… real life. But it's not a new phenomenon. HG Wells (1866-1946) and George Orwell (1903-50) were both writing those sorts of books. Although you probably don't need a history degree to have a guess at why they might have been feeling a bit apocalyptic at certain points in their life.
-
Snow Crash
Vendor:Neal StephensonRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
Neuromancer
Vendor:William GibsonRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
I Who Have Never Known Men
Vendor:Jacqueline HarpmanRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
Station Eleven
Vendor:Emily St John MandelRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
The Fifth Season
Vendor:N K JemisinRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
The Handmaid's Tale
Vendor:Margaret AtwoodRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
Oryx and Crake
Vendor:Margaret AtwoodRegular price £10.99Regular priceUnit price per -
Brave New World
Vendor:Aldous HuxleyRegular price £9.99Regular priceUnit price per -
Red Rising
Vendor:Pierce BrownRegular price £10.99Regular priceUnit price per
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Opens in a new window.