Dystopian book that most predicts the future?

Discussion in 'Books' started by Michaele8, Jul 8, 2011.

  1. Michaele8

    Michaele8 New Member

    May 7, 2001
    elmira, oregon
    I have read the following:

    We
    1984
    Brave New World

    I am wondering, which do you believe will be most predictive of the late 21st. Century future? If not one of these, which?
     
  2. DDR

    DDR Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jun 13, 2006
    Club:
    AS Roma
    I always liked Huxley's A Brave New World. I read it many years ago and reread it a couple of years ago. I haven't read We but have read 1984. Of the two I think Huxley's work has aged much better. 1984 feels very much a product of it's times and in a sense outdated. Meanwhile with Huxley's novel a lot of the concepts feel more relevant. We might not be genetically programmed, but we certainly are being trained to consume more and more goods. Often times things we don't even need. He really had some good foresight and thoughts of the problems future societies might face.

    If you enjoyed Brave New World them try reading Island, also by Huxley. He also has a Brave New World Redux which is a collection of essays on problems he envisions societies will face. He goes into a lot of the things he wrote about in Brave New World.
     
  3. Uppa 90

    Uppa 90 Member

    Jan 16, 2004
    K.C. MO
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    a few more modern ones:

    Feed - by M.T. Anderson
    Candor - by Pam Bachorz
     
  4. gmonn

    gmonn Member+

    Dec 8, 2005
    Worst case scenario: McCarthy's The Road.
     
  5. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This may sound weird, but I don't think Isaac Asimov was too far off with his Robot and Empire series. Think of it. Overpopulated, sick world in the future where people are clamoring to settle other worlds and those left behind get too attached to robots/conveniences. We almost have that today.
     
  6. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    what other worlds are we clamoring to settle? the Jersey Shore?
     
  7. maturin

    maturin Member

    Jun 8, 2004
    Take a look at The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster. It describes a world in which direct human experience is completely marginalized in favor of mechanized predictability. Spontaneity is non-existent; routine is everything. To question authority is to commit a crime. The pursuit of intellectual knowledge is abandoned in favor of the rehashing of knowledge already gained.
     
  8. Ismitje

    Ismitje Super Moderator

    Dec 30, 2000
    The Palouse
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Book of the Revelation of Saint John the Divine? ;)
     
  9. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    it's only partly dystopian :)
     
  10. Smurfquake

    Smurfquake Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2000
    San Carlos, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I just read "Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shteyngart. It won the "Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize" for comic literature (comic as in funny, not as in comic books) last year, but I found the book very depressing and frighteningly possible -- I think it qualifies as dystopian.
     

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