Dystopian and Apocalyptic Literature

sturlington (49): Futuristic philosophical dystopia. Loss of freedom of speech, mass consumerism, totalitarianism and extreme censorship. Required reading.

sturlington (50): Classic feminist dystopia. Totalitarianism, infertility, theocracy. Required reading.

sturlington (40): Classic dystopia and counterpoint to 1984. Genetic engineering, mass consumerism, mind control, totalitarianism. Required reading.

sturlington (37): Classic political dystopia. Mass surveillance, propaganda, historical deletion, mind control, and extreme totalitarianism. Required reading.

sturlington (39): Political/satirical allegory with animal characters. Propaganda and totalitarianism. Required reading.

sturlington (22): Allegorical dystopia. Castaway boys on an uninhabited island regress to savagery.

sturlington (116): Classic example of a children's dystopia, one of the few on this list.

sturlington (60): Post-apocalyptic. A man and his son wander through a desolated landscape of ashes, eking out their survival from the little that's left remaining, while trying to get... well, nowhere in particular, really.… (more)

sturlington (57): Futuristic biopunk dystopia leading to an apocalypse. First of a trilogy.

sturlington (45): Classic futuristic dystopia written in fictional dialect. Mind control, extreme violence. Required reading.

Her_Royal_Orangeness (0): I've tried to read this several times and just can't get past the monk wandering around in the desert digging holes. *yawn*

sturlington (41): Post-apocalyptic theological novel. Six hundred years after the Simplification -- total nuclear annihilation -- a cloister of monks in Utah preserve the little that remains of the world's knowledge, and wonder whether mankind is perpetually doomed to destroy itself.… (more)

sturlington (62): Flu pandemic wipes out most of the population.

sturlington (119): Sequel to The Hunger Games.

Her_Royal_Orangeness (0): Homophobic and misogynistic.

sturlington (117): Futuristic military SF with dystopian themes. Child soldiers versus aliens. First in a series.

sturlington (47): Philosophical futuristic dystopia. Environmental degradation, androids, existentialism.

sturlington (11): Apocalyptic "cozy catastrophe". Blindness epidemic and man-eating plants.

sturlington (61): Biblical apocalypse, epidemic of human-engineered virus, showdown between good and evil.

sturlington (33): Classic time travel novel. Far future dystopia in which humanity has de-evolved; also dying Earth. Required reading.

Her_Royal_Orangeness (0): "We're in a battle for our lives so why don't we go in this cave and make out for awhile?" *eyeroll*

sturlington (118): Televised survival contests. Post-apocalyptic future America. Probably the best of the recent YA dystopias.

sturlington (120): Sequel to Catching Fire.

sturlington (46): False utopia/anarchism.

sturlington (55): Feminist dystopia. Society has completely collapsed, and a young woman is driven from her home after her neighborhood is burned and her family murdered. Despite the violence and hopelessness that surrounds her, she is determined to spread her spiritual message.… (more)

sturlington (102): Classic "pre-apocalyptic" novel. Nuclear devastation.

sturlington (59): Sequel to The Year of the Flood.

sturlington (25): Classic cyberpunk. Required reading.

sturlington (42): Satirical apocalyptic novel.

sturlington (24): Human colonization of Mars, during which there is a nuclear war on Earth.

sturlington (23): WWII alternate history dystopia. Fascist US.

sturlington (58): Sequel to Oryx and Crake.

sturlington (121): Future subterranean totalitarian society. Post-apocalyptic--environmental destruction.

sturlington (31): Cyberpunk (or post-cyberpunk).

sturlington (122): YA dystopia. Conformity, personal appearance. First of a series.

sturlington (63): Classic precursor to 1984. Required reading for serious fans of dystopian lit.

sturlington (43): Futuristic dystopia/apocalyptic novel. Male infertility, human extinction, dictatorship. Christian allegory.

sturlington (44): Post-apocalyptic dystopia. Evolution of humanity, development of telepathic powers, theological themes. YA audience.

sturlington (26): Alternate history dystopia. Cloning and organ harvesting.

sturlington (0): YA dystopia. Conformity, totalitarianism. First of a trilogy.

aulsmith (0): Clarke didn't mean this to be dystopian, just a sad evolutionary farewell.

sturlington (123): False utopia. Alien invasion, transhumanism.

sturlington (27): Vampire apocalypse. First in a trilogy.

sturlington (28): Sequel to The Passage.

sturlington (103): Feminist dystopia in which women gain the power to kill with electrical shocks. Reverse gender roles.

sturlington (125): Alternate history with superheroes. Dystopian and apocalyptic themes.

sturlington (34): A mysterious dome encloses a small town and civilization regresses quickly. Strong apocalyptic themes.

Her_Royal_Orangeness (0): RapeX1000. *shudder*

sturlington (113): Futuristic biopunk dystopia. Climate change and genetic engineering.

sturlington (124): Feminist dystopia in which suburban housewives are replaced with robot versions of themselves by their husbands.

sturlington (8): Far future following an apocalypse; first contact with advanced alien species. First in a trilogy.

sturlington (56): Sequel to Parable of the Sower.

sturlington (95): Feminist false utopia. Post-apocalyptic matriarchal society.

sturlington (128): Post-apocalyptic novel. Cloning, loss of individuality.

sturlington (110): Climate change leads to drought, collapse, and violent clashes over water in the Southwest.

sturlington (7): This novel takes place in many different time periods, one of which is a mega-corporation dystopia with cloning, and another is a post-apocalyptic scenario featuring a fictional dialect.… (more)

sturlington (115): Zombie apocalypse.

sturlington (18): Futuristic dystopia; perpetual war.

sturlington (126): Alien civilization that experiences cyclical apocalypses.

sturlington (127): Post-apocalyptic. When the end of America comes, what is the one thing that can bring us back from the brink of complete anarchy? That's right: the U.S. Postal Service.… (more)

sturlington (99): A utopian all-female society.

sturlington (98): Satirical dystopia in which people volunteer to live in a closed community where they must spend every other month in prison.

sturlington (138): Futuristic dystopia. Organ harvesting, euthanasia of the aged and non-productive members of society.

sturlington (96): Post-nuclear war. Once the apocalypse is over with, two women survive on a farm on the Oregon coast while trying to preserve the remainder of mankind's knowledge and sparring with the ultra-Christian religious cult down the beach.… (more)

sturlington (19): Comic apocalyptic novel that takes the biblical rapture as its premise.

sturlington (14): Post-apocalyptic alternate universe. Mix of western, horror and science fiction. First in a series.

sturlington (35): Martian invasion with a strong apocalyptic tone.

sturlington (132): Futuristic dystopia: overcrowding and escape to virtual reality. Video game-like narrative.

sturlington (131): Apocalyptic allegory. Blindness epidemic, extreme regression of civilization.

sturlington (1): Time travel and alternate history. Dystopia is only at the very end, as a result of changes to the timestream.

sturlington (0): Sequel to Uglies.

sturlington (21): Short stories, several of which have apocalyptic and dystopian themes.

sturlington (38): Classic post-nuclear war apocalyptic fiction. The residents of a small Florida town, having been alerted just prior to an all-out nuclear war, must struggle with the vagaries of small-town politics after the apocalypse.… (more)

sturlington (129): Futuristic dystopia. Survival contests. One of The Bachman Books.

sturlington (130): A comet has slammed into the Earth, destroying all governing structures, and within weeks all of the survivors have reverted to feudalism, cannibalism and worse. Fun times.… (more)

sturlington (51): Pre-apocalyptic. Imminent meteor impact causes social collapse. First in a trilogy.

sturlington (9): Sequel to Dawn.

sturlington (36): Collection of three novels. Two are set on alien planets. One is far-future post-apocalyptic Earth following an alien invasion.

sturlington (52): Sequel to The Last Policeman.

sturlington (15): Sequel to The Gunslinger.

sturlington (16): Sequel to The Drawing of the Three.

sturlington (0): Sequel to Pretties.

sturlington (0): Sequel to Count Zero.

Lucy_Skywalker (0): a great book, indeed, but it's not really a dystopia

sturlington (54): Alternate realities include dystopian and apocalyptic possibilities.

sturlington (141): YA dystopia. Technology implants.

sturlington (20): Vampire/zombie apocalypse.

sturlington (12): Futuristic dystopia. Overcrowding, scarcity of natural resources.

sturlington (82): The last section takes place in a dystopian post-climate change world.

sturlington (3): First in a trilogy. Mysteriously transformed Area X threatens to spread beyond its border.

sturlington (0): First of a series.

sturlington (133): One by one, use of different letters of the alphabet is outlawed in a fictional island country.

sturlington (48): Classic post-apocalyptic novel. One of the few survivors of a plague attempts to rebuild society but instead must watch it erode to a primitive state.… (more)

sturlington (107): Nuclear war post-apocalypse. Supernatural showdown between good and evil.

sturlington (134): Satirical dystopia. Evolved apes, de-evolved people.

sturlington (146): Post-apocalyptic flooded London.

sturlington (114): A future anarchist utopia presented in contrast with present-day and (briefly) an alternate future dystopia.

sturlington (32): Set in three different times; the last is a futuristic dystopia.

sturlington (17): Feminist spec fiction set in 4 alternate universes, two of which could be considered dystopias.

sturlington (84): Set on an alien planet while apocalyptic collapse is going on back on Earth.

sturlington (111): Feminist dystopia in which abortion is illegal.

sturlington (135): WWII alternate history in which England goes fascist. First in a trilogy.

sturlington (100): Feminist post-apocalyptic fiction. Regression of civilization, return to the wilderness.

sturlington (137): First in a trilogy. Climate change apocalypse.

sturlington (150): Corporate-run domed cities, climate change.