Dystopian and Apocalyptic Literature

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

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

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

sturlington (50): Classic feminist dystopia. Totalitarianism, infertility, theocracy. 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 (115): 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 (61): Biblical apocalypse, epidemic of human-engineered virus, showdown between good and evil.

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

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

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 (118): Sequel to The Hunger Games.

sturlington (42): Satirical apocalyptic novel.

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

skid0612 (0): Wonderful book, not a dystopia

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

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

Her_Royal_Orangeness (0): Homophobic and misogynistic.

sturlington (116): Futuristic military SF with dystopian themes. Child soldiers versus aliens. First in a series.

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

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

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

sturlington (119): Sequel to Catching Fire.

sturlington (25): Classic cyberpunk. Required reading.

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

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

sturlington (121): YA dystopia. Conformity, personal appearance. First of a series.

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

sturlington (122): False utopia. Alien invasion, transhumanism.

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

sturlington (120): Future subterranean totalitarian society. Post-apocalyptic--environmental destruction.

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

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

sturlington (28): Sequel to The Passage.

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

sturlington (130): Apocalyptic allegory. Blindness epidemic, extreme regression of civilization.

sturlington (58): Sequel to Oryx and Crake.

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

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

sturlington (123): Feminist dystopia in which suburban housewives are replaced with robot versions of themselves by their husbands.

sturlington (124): Alternate history with superheroes. Dystopian and apocalyptic themes.

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 (114): Zombie apocalypse.

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

Her_Royal_Orangeness (0): RapeX1000. *shudder*

sturlington (112): Futuristic biopunk dystopia. Climate change and genetic engineering.

sturlington (102): Feminist dystopia in which women gain the power to kill with electrical shocks. Reverse gender roles.

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

sturlington (98): A utopian all-female society.

sturlington (127): Post-apocalyptic novel. Cloning, loss of individuality.

sturlington (99): Feminist post-apocalyptic fiction. Regression of civilization, return to the wilderness.

sturlington (137): Futuristic dystopia. Organ harvesting, euthanasia of the aged and non-productive members of society.

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

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

sturlington (131): Futuristic dystopia: overcrowding and escape to virtual reality. Video game-like narrative.

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

sturlington (128): Futuristic dystopia. Survival contests. One of The Bachman Books.

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

sturlington (94): Feminist false utopia. Post-apocalyptic matriarchal society.

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

sturlington (109): Climate change leads to drought, collapse, and violent clashes over water in the Southwest.

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

sturlington (18): Futuristic dystopia; perpetual war.

sturlington (0): Sequel to Uglies.

sturlington (182): Sequel to Count Zero.

sturlington (125): Alien civilization that experiences cyclical apocalypses.

sturlington (87): Technological dystopia. Social networks, loss of privacy, corporate culture.

sturlington (129): 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 (113): A future anarchist utopia presented in contrast with present-day and (briefly) an alternate future dystopia.

sturlington (95): 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 (14): Post-apocalyptic alternate universe. Mix of western, horror and science fiction. First in a series.

sturlington (0): YA dystopia series

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

sturlington (0): Sequel to Pretties.

sturlington (0): DNF

sturlington (0): YA dystopia inspired by 1984.

sturlington (140): YA dystopia. Technology implants.

sturlington (20): Vampire/zombie apocalypse.

sturlington (81): The last section takes place in a dystopian post-climate change world.

sturlington (107): Futuristic dystopia. Environmental degradation of Earth. Miserable Martian colonies.

sturlington (132): One by one, use of different letters of the alphabet is outlawed in a fictional island country.

sturlington (141): Televised survival contests in futuristic dystopia. One of The Bachman books.

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 (80): People start seeing something that causes them to go violently insane.

sturlington (0): Post-apocalyptic. DNF

sturlington (133): Satirical dystopia. Evolved apes, de-evolved people.

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

sturlington (67): Post-apocalyptic dystopian city dominated by a genetically engineered giant bear.

sturlington (134): WWII alternate history in which England goes fascist. First in a trilogy.

sturlington (79): Dystopian future in which outlawing of fossil fuels has sparked a second American Civil War.