A Reading List
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948) George Orwell
A books so eerily prescient that a multitude of its terms are now commonplace in our modern world. Big
Brother, Room 101, Newspeak and 2+2=5 all originate from Orwell's classic tale. A disturbing, dystopian world
of constant surveillance and government-controlled media for sure, but one which, uncomfortably, we
recognise more as real life than when Orwell wrote it in 1949.
The Road Cormac McCarthy
A searing, post apocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece. A father and his son
walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is
cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast,
although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits. The future is hopeless, but on they must go, into the
unknown and whatever awaits them. As dystopian novels go, this is certainly one of the most bleak.
Fahrenheit 451 (1953) Ray Bradbury
The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books,
which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is
discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed
with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to
preserve and read books. The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside
Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by
the media, drugs and conformity. Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the
potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle
and shock.
"Harrison Bergeron" (1961) by Kurt Vonnegut
Is a satirical and dystopian science-fiction short story written by Kurt Vonnegut and first published in October
1961. The story was written as a satire of Cold War-era misconceptions about communism and socialism. It is an
exaggerated portrayal of a dystopian society based on an intentionally absurd extrapolation of egalitarian ideals.
In spite of this, it has been embraced by those critical of egalitarianism as an allegory of caution against socially
enforced equality, more specifically the dangers of enforcing equality by virtue of leveling
A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess
A vicious fifteen-year-old "droog" is the central character of this 1963 classic, whose stark terror was captured in
Stanley Kubrick's magnificent film of the same title. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where
criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang
that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good
and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. When the state undertakes to reform Alex—to "redeem" him—
the novel asks, "At what cost?"
Logan's Run (1967) William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson
It's the 23rd Century and at age 21... your life is over! Logan-6 has been trained to kill; born and bred from
conception to be the best of the best. But his time is short and before his life ends he's got one final mission:
Find and destroy Sanctuary, a fabled haven for those that chose to defy the system. But when Logan meets and
falls in love with Jessica, he begins to question the very system he swore to protect and soon they're both
running for their lives. When Last Day comes, will you lie down and die... or run!
Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card
The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been
underway for almost as long. Enter Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the result of decades of genetic experimentation.
Is Ender the general Earth so desperately needs? The only way to find out is to throw him into ever-harsher
training at Battle School, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six
years old when his training begins. He will grow up fast.
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. His two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as
unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Among the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that
is, the world survives.
The Running Man Richard Bachman
Set in a dystopian America in 2025 where the economy is in ruins, violence is commonplace and a totalitarian
government rules. Life for those 'blacklisted' is unbearable, and submitting to a game show where death is allbut-certain looks like the only way out. Like so many King novels, the The Running Man went on to be hugely
influential; many say that The Hunger Games, also on this list, was based on it.
We Yevgeny Zamyatin
A novel with a fascinating background: Zamyatin experienced the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917 and in
between worked for the Russian Navy on the Tyne shipyards in Newcastle during the First World War. Informed
by these experiences, he wrote We, set in the future in an urban nation constructed of glass, with secret police
and constant observation in a similar method to the Panopticon and Foucault's associated ideas of power.
People are numbered, not named and individuality is lost. Written in Russian way before Stalin was in power, it
was eerily predictive of some elements of the eventual Communist way of life.
The Chrysalids John Wyndham
Set a few thousand years in the future, The Chrysalids outlines a world which is dystopian due to its inability to
tolerate any difference. Convinced that 'normality' is key to preserving their world, the inhabitants of Labrabor
set out to kill, or banish, anyone that differs from them - including those who happen to have telepathic powers.
With the rise of religious fundamentalism, this is another book which gave an eerie prediction of our real-life
progress as a society.
The Drowned World J.G. Ballard
As the title suggests, Ballard paints a vivid picture of a world irreversibly changed by global warming; the cities
of Europe and America lie submerged in tropical lagoons, while a biologist cataloguing flora and fauna is beset
with strange dreams. A global scenario that might have seemed fanciful when the book was written back in
1962, Ballard's predictions could well end up playing out in real life very soon
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick
A literary phenomenon and one that inspired the equally successful movie Blade Runner, it's all built within a
post-apocalyptic society featuring - of course - hover cars and robots. Following the nuclear 'World War
Terminus' and the resulting radiation poisoning, animals are rare and unfeeling androids proliferate. Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? forces the reader to consider what it is that really makes us human.
Brave New World Aldous Huxley
Inspired by the utopian novels of H.G.Wells, Huxley sought to write a book with a polar opposite prediction of
the future. He managed it with some style, by painting an image of a cold world with numbing drugs, organised
reproduction, no concept of family, and brainwashing from birth. While superficially a hedonistic environment,
it soon becomes clear that this is no place to live: if you cannot feel pain, can you ever truly feel joy?
The Children of Men (1992) P.D. James
The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future. The human race has become infertile,
and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become
commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his
time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an
audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just
awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber and Faber, 2005)
As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the
English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly
reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy
have reentered her life, and for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand
just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together
Pretties Scott Westerfeld Simon Pulse
Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is
totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted. But beneath all the fun -- the
nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong.
Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong
with pretty life, and the fun stops cold. Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and
fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.
Uglies Scott Westerfeld
An interesting take on a dystopian world, Westerfeld describes a place where conformity is everything, achieved
through mandatory extreme cosmetic surgery - making everyone 'pretty' - upon reaching the age of 16. Individual
choice has been removed and - of course - Big Brother is watching your every move. Although written relatively
recently, the constant move towards the conformity of beauty standards in the Western world suggests that this
particular image-based dystopia may not be too far away.
The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins 2008
The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy
Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the
Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In
punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one
girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are
chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim
victory.
When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss
volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger
representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But
Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
Jennifer Government Max Barry
In Max Barry's twisted, hilarious and terrifying vision of the near future, the world is run by giant corporations and
employees take the last names of the companies they work for. It's a globalised, ultra-capitalist free market
paradise! Hack Nike is a lowly merchandising officer who's not very good at negotiating his salary. So when John
Nike and John Nike, executives from the promised land of Marketing, offer him a contract, he signs without
reading it. Unfortunately, Hack's new contract involves shooting teenagers to build up street cred for Nike's new
line of $2,500 trainers. Hack goes to the police - but they assume that he's asking for a subcontracting deal and
lease the assassination to the more experienced NRA. Enter Jennifer Government, a tough-talking agent with a
barcode tattoo under her eye and a personal problem with John Nike (the boss of the other John Nike). And a
gun. Hack is about to find out what it really means to mess with market forces
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Delacorte Press, 2009
If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his
name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way
out—and no one’s ever made it through alive. Everything is going to change. Then a girl arrives. The first girl
ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as
environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God's Gardeners--a religion devoted to the melding
of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life--has long predicted a natural
disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have
survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God's
Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible.
Have others survived? Ren's bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover,
Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the
shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers . . .
Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo'hair sheep with human hair,
the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this
strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move. They can't stay locked away . . .
MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
Maddaddam concludes the dystopian trilogy which began with Oryx and Crake (2003) and continued with The
Year of the Flood (2009). While the plot from these previous novels run along a parallel timeline, Maddaddam is
the continuation of both books. Maddaddam is written from the perspective of Zeb and Toby, who were both
introduced in The Year of the Flood. A man-made plague has swept the earth, but a small group survives, along
with the green-eyed Crakers – a gentle species bio-engineered to replace humans. Toby, onetime member of the
Gods Gardeners and expert in mushrooms and bees, is still in love with street-smart Zeb, who has an interesting
past. The Crakers’ reluctant prophet, Snowman-the-Jimmy, is hallucinating; Amanda is in shock from a Painballer
attack; and Ivory Bill yearns for the provocative Swift Fox, who is flirting with Zeb. Meanwhile, giant Pigoons and
malevolent Painballers threaten to attack.
Divergent by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books, 2011
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation
of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the
peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the
faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her
family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone,
including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her
fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of
endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms
them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes
fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept
hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing
conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her
save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Insurgent Veronica Roth
Allegiant Veronica Roth
Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood
Is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before
mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and
mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search
of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the
lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled
genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond
our imagining.
The Natural way of Things Charlotte Wood
Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in an abandoned property in the
middle of a desert in a story of two friends, sisterly love and courage - a gripping, starkly imaginative exploration
of contemporary misogyny and corporate control, and of what it means to hunt and be hunted.
Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be there with eight other girls,
forced to wear strange uniforms, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious armed jailers and a
'nurse'. The girls all have something in common, but what is it? What crime has brought them here from the
city? Who is the mysterious security company responsible for this desolate place with its brutal rules, its total
isolation from the contemporary world? Doing hard labour under a sweltering sun, the prisoners soon learn
what links them: in each girl's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man. They pray for rescue - but when the
food starts running out it becomes clear that the jailers have also become the jailed. The girls can only rescue
themselves.
The Natural Way of Things is a gripping, starkly imaginative exploration of contemporary misogyny and
corporate control, and of what it means to hunt and be hunted. Most of all, it is the story of two friends, their
sisterly love and courage.
With extraordinary echoes of The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies, The Natural Way of Things is a
compulsively readable, scarifying and deeply moving contemporary novel. It confirms Charlotte Wood's position
as one of our most thoughtful, provocative and fearless truth-tellers, as she unflinchingly reveals us and our
world to ourselves.