Chris Dietzel's Blog, page 4

January 28, 2017

Books like 1984

With the renewed interest in George Orwell’s dystopian classic, I thought I'd put together a list of books similar to 1984. Readers who loved the tale of ‘Big Brother,’ Newspeak, and the Ministry of Truth will find familiar elements in each of the following stories.

The Circle by Dave Eggers We by Yevgeny Zamyatin The Theta Timeline by Chris Dietzel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley The Iron Heel by Jack London





The Circle
Replace an all-seeing authoritarian government with an all-seeing Facebook-type of company and you have The Circle, by Dave Eggers. Many of the same ideas found in 1984 are also here. It even has a set of three contradictory mottos.

We
More than any other book, We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, is the book you have to read if you loved 1984. After all, It's the book that inspired Orwell to write his masterpiece. We’s government of OneState is eerily similar to that of ‘Big Brother’, both authors write about authoritarianism with an air of absurdity, and the major theme is the individual versus the state, just like in 1984.

The Theta Timeline
My goal with The Theta Timeline was to create a novel that could continue what Orwell did with 1984 and make it relevant to the surveillance state we currently live in. Like 1984, it’s a dystopian that is at times satirical, infuriating, scary, and all too possible. Add in time travel and you have 1984 for the 21st century.

Brave New World
Aldous Huxley’s classic also has an all-controlling government. The difference here is that it relies on drugs and distraction rather than Big Brother’s strong hand.

The Iron Heel
First published in 1907, it's heard to imagine this book didn’t influential all of the subsequent dystopians and Orwell himself. The Oligarchy in The Iron Heel aims to crush its citizens, just as Oceania does in 1984. After reading this, you see that the often used term "Orwellian government" could easily be replaced by "Londonian government."
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Published on January 28, 2017 06:30 Tags: 1984, dystopian, eggers, london, orwell, orwellian, the-circle, we

December 28, 2016

My Five Favorite Books Read in 2016

Every year I read a few books that will stay with me for a long time. If I’m lucky, as I was this year, I find a book or books that will be added to my list of “Favorite books of all time.” Here are the five books I read this year that I most enjoyed (regardless of when they were originally published).

5. The Nightingale (2015) - I found myself constantly comparing this book to All the Light We Cannot See, another historical fiction that takes place during WWII. Because of how much I enjoyed that book, The Nightingale had a lot to measure up to. Whereas Dooer's book immediately grabs you, it took me longer to become invested here. And whereas All The Light We Cannot See excels because of its beautiful prose, this book succeeds because of the emotionally wrought story being told. By the end, I was completely captivated by this and found myself thinking about it for days afterward.

4. Cat's Eye (1998) - Until this book, Surfacing was my favorite non-dystopian book by Margaret Atwood. Cat's Eye now claims that spot. There were parts of this that were so honest and awkward in their depiction of children being cruel to each other that it was uncomfortable to read. Atwood does an amazing job of providing a main character who is not necessarily an unreliable narrator but who is definitely an unaware narrator. And yet the author finds ways to convey subtle ideas of just how unaware that narrator is without ruining the main character's voice. A really wonderful book.

3. All the Light We Cannot See (2014) - Everything about this book was excellent. It's always a pleasant surprise when a book can live up to all the acclaim it has received and this is one of the few that does. The writing and story are both great, and Doerr does a remarkable job of keeping you engaged the entire time. The author also does a good job of making it easy to follow multiple story lines.

2. War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier (1935) - This falls under the category of "Must Read." Butler's argument is that the wealthy elite benefit financially from war while everyone else suffers, either through fighting in the wars or else from paying for the war that the rich get richer from. Part of what makes the book so powerful is Butler's history: he fought in WWI and was the most decorated soldier of his lifetime when he wrote this. For me, that gives him credibility that can never be matched by a politician (who probably never fought in a war) going on TV and giving reasons for yet another conflict. Read this each time some person on the news states the case for another war and you'll likely see how hollow their words are and how much weight Butler's words carry.

1. Between the World and Me (2015) – I had high expectations for Ta-Nehisi Coates's letter to his son. After only a few pages I was blown away by how poetic the author is. Between the World and Me contains the best and most powerful writing I've read in a long time. By the time I was half the way through this, I was already thinking it was the best book I've read this year. By the time I finished the book I had to adjust my rating to consider it not just the best book of the year but one of my favorites of all time. It is impossible to read this and not feel incredibly saddened by the injustices all around us. My highest possible recommendation to everyone.
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Published on December 28, 2016 06:05 Tags: atwood, best-books-of-2016, coates

November 30, 2016

Cover Reveal: The Faulty Process of Electing a Senior Class President

My next book is coming out on January 19 and I’m excited to share the cover!

Two candidates no one wants to vote for…
An election the students want to forget about…
A story everyone can identify with.


description

The Faulty Process of Electing a Senior Class President is satire based on the recent Presidential election. It combines the extended allegory of Orwell with the black humor of Vonnegut. It is not a partisan book against any one candidate or political party. Rather, it is a call to change a system that keeps offering bad choices. It is also a reminder that no matter how old you are you should expect better from your leaders.
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Published on November 30, 2016 04:25 Tags: cover-reveal, election, new-release, orwell, satire, vonnegut

September 29, 2016

How to Guarantee You Never Have Writer’s Block

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I ever get writer’s block. The answer: Never.

I have way too many ideas floating around in my head. Because of that, I’ll never suffer from a lack of things to write about. The secret to never having writer’s block is simple: Combine two other things you like or that have made an impact on you. When I start out, I envision all of my books as a combination of two other stories. I’m also constantly coming up with new ideas of possible stories to tell based on combining two other books or movies I’ve enjoyed. If I suffer from any problem, it’s that I have too many things to write about and not enough time to write them all. For example,

The Man Who Watched The World End was my version of combining Cormac McCarthy’s The Road with The Diary of Anne Frank.

The Theta Timeline was what resulted when I combined ideas I liked from Orwell’s 1984 and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.

The Green Knight came about from my love of Star Wars and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

This can be done an infinite amount of times, and because you’re adding your personal twist to each story and telling it the way you want, the end product never ends up resembling the two sources you used for inspiration. In fact, what you’ll find is that even if the initial premise starts off a combination of two stories you enjoyed, as your book progresses it moves further away from what inspired you to write it in the first place. The result is a story that winds up being something completely original and unique from the two stories you used as inspiration.

If you’re an aspiring writer looking for the idea for your first book, just think of two other books you love. If you’ve already written other books and are suffering from writer’s block, think of two stories that stuck with you after you read them. It’s that easy!
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Published on September 29, 2016 05:26 Tags: ideas, inspiration, the-green-knight, the-theta-timeline, writer-s-block

September 1, 2016

5 Underrated Science Fiction Movies

I’ve been a huge science fiction fan my entire life, not just in books but also in movies. Movies aren’t just entertaining; a lot can be learned from them in terms of how to tell a story effectively. Through a combination of great acting, amazing special effects, and a spectacular story, some movies still stand out in my mind and offer science fiction authors and readers alike all the inspiration they could ask for. There are some clear classics, such as “Blade Runner’ and ‘E.T.’ and modern day blockbusters like ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Inception,’ but there are also movies that deserve more attention. Here’s my list of ‘5 Underrated Science Fiction Movies’.

5. Time Crimes – A Spanish movie about a man who stumbles upon a murder, then realizes a nearby facility is experimenting with time travel. I can’t keep track of how many movie premises fall apart when you actually think about the flaws in their time travel scenarios. This movie teaches all of those movies a lesson about how time travel paradoxes could play out. Add in great acting and storytelling and you have a science fiction movie everyone should see.


4. Pie (the mathematical symbol) – A genius begins to unravel the power behind the famous mathematical number. This movie excels purely on the directing and the script, both of which are captivating. This is the type of movie that needed to be a low budget independent film rather than a big budget, polished Hollywood summer hit.


3. Primer – A pair of friends build a time travel machine in their garage, then quickly realize the disastrous unintended effects it could have. In recent years, many movies have copied this scenario. Before all of them, this independent movie—made on the budget of the cost of a used car—perfected the subgenre. The script is far superior to the later, bigger budget movies and the storytelling is much more realistic.


2. Dark City – A man begins to suspect the city he lives in isn’t an ordinary city at all. Before ‘The Matrix’ revolutionized the movie-going experience, Dark City was giving viewers a nearly identical premise, delivered through suspense and illusions rather than kung fu and crazy action.


1. Sunshine – A group of astronauts fly toward the sun to try and reignite it and save Earth from another ice age. The entire movie is dark and moody, giving a sense of the atmosphere that made ‘Blade Runner’ so amazing decades earlier. Through a combination of great cinematography, directing, and storytelling, Sunshine reminds viewers of everything that’s good about science fiction.
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Published on September 01, 2016 06:32 Tags: dark-city, movies, science-fiction, sunshine, the-matrix

August 1, 2016

The Great De-evolution... Now on WhisperSync!

As you all know, my three Great De-evolution novels have all been turned into audiobooks by Podium Publishing. The Man Who Watched The World End, A Different Alchemy, and The Hauntings of Playing God can all be purchased at Amazon or Audible. Each sounds truly amazing so you should check them out. But there’s an added feature with the audiobooks that I didn’t even know about until Podium explained it to me.

Each audiobook is set up to be available for Whispersync. If you haven’t tried it before, you definitely should. It will blow you away. Whispersync has two great bonuses for readers/listeners. The first is that when you also purchase the Kindle ebook on Amazon, you’re able to switch back and forth between the written book and the audiobook without ever losing your place. The second is that if you purchase the Kindle version first, the audiobook is reduced to only $2.99, which is an 88% discount off the normal price. What does that mean? You can buy the Kindle version AND the audiobook version, never lose your place, and still save 70% off the regular list price of the audiobook. How great is that?

As a longtime listener of audiobooks myself, this is something I wish they would have created a long time ago. And now, if you also love audiobooks as much as I do, you can listen to three amazing stories for 70% off the normal price.

Haven’t listened to one of my audiobooks yet? Sign up to my newsletter this month and receive a free copy of the audiobook version of my apocalyptic short story, The Last Teacher.
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Published on August 01, 2016 05:46 Tags: apocalypse, audible, audiobook, free, mailing-list

June 28, 2016

5 Underated Dystopian Novels

As you can all probably guess from many of the books I’ve written, I’m a big fan of dystopian fiction. There are some clear classics, such as 1984 and Brave New World, but there are also some that fell by the wayside and deserve more attention. Here’s my list of the ‘5 Most Underrated Dystopian Novels’ I’ve read.

5. Man in the Dark – Paul Auster’s book of two interconnected storylines—one filled with sorrow and the other with a dark future—is the best introduction any reader could have to the great writer that is Auster. His voice is unique, and his writing is always honest.

4. Mockingbird – Walter Tevis’ book is more apocalyptic than dystopian, but I include it here because of how perfectly the story is told. This is one of the few books that I can’t think of a way it could be improved.

3. In the Country of Last Things – Another Auster book. A city has collapsed and there is pure anarchy everywhere. The citizens are trapped and with each passing day life for the citizens gets worse. This is the closest story I can think of that compares to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

2. The Circle – Dave Eggers’ book received very mixed reviews—some loved it, some hated it. I have to admit that after read it I initially focused on two things I didn’t like about the book (i.e., the overly weak main character and the Ayn Rand level of excessive dialogue). After thinking about it more, though, The Circle has become one of my favorite dystopians of all time. It shares many parallels with 1984, except instead of Orwell railing against a totalitarian government, Eggers is writing about the dangers of depending on your online identity for fulfillment. The more I think about this book, the more I love the moral it told and the warning it provides.

1. The Iron Heel – Its says a lot about how timeless Jack London’s dystopian is that it was published in 1907 but is as truthful today as it was then. In the book, there is massive inequality between the rich and the poor, yet the rich control the news and the resources that the poor receive, and so nothing can ever be done to make things better. Incredibly relevant to today’s world.



Author News
In other news, the audiobook of A Different Alchemy, my second post-apocalyptic novel, is now available!. The audiobook of The Hauntings of Playing God, the third and final book set in that post-apocalyptic world, comes out July 19. Everyone I’ve spoken to who listened to the audiobook for The Man Who Watched The World End has raved about how incredible it was. If you enjoy audiobooks, be sure to check them out.
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Published on June 28, 2016 05:07 Tags: auster, dystopian, eggers, london, tevis, the-iron-heel

June 4, 2016

June New Releases: Books and Audiobooks!

June is a huge month for me. All three books in my Space Lore trilogy will be released, as well as my Great De-evolution audiobooks! Whether you love epic space fantasy stories like Star Wars or enjoy listening to incredibly high quality and professionally narrated audiobooks, I’ve got something you’ll enjoy.

Star Wars meets Arthurian Legend
On June 7, the first book in my Space Lore trilogy comes out. The Green Knight is based on the classic, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and retold as an epic space fantasy. I’m trying something unique with the trilogy by incorporating the Netflix ‘crash’ method where they release an entire series all at once. That means that Book 2, The Excalibur, comes out June 8. And Book 3, The Round Table, comes out June 9. All three can be pre-ordered today, and I guarantee they’re going to blow you away.

The Green Knight by Chris Dietzel The Excalibur by Chris Dietzel The Round Table by Chris Dietzel





The Quiet End of Mankind
Also on June 7, my first ever audiobook is going to be released! I’m very excited for this. Podium Publishing, the same company that created the audiobook for 'The Martian' and a bunch of other bestsellers, has produced the audiobooks for my Great De-evolution novels. The first one, The Man Who Watched The World End, is the story of an old man recounting all the ways society changed as mankind slowly faded away. I’ve had a chance to listen to it and the narrator they found to do the voice is insanely talented. If you loved reading these stories, enjoy quality audiobooks, or want to read anything related to the apocalypse, this is a must. The second book, A Different Alchemy, comes out June 28. The third book, The Hauntings of Playing God, comes out July 19.

As with everything else I do, I would love to hear what you think of these stories. If you read my Space Lore trilogy or listen to the Great De-evolution audiobooks, definitely let me know what you think of them.
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Published on June 04, 2016 07:51 Tags: apocalypse, audiobooks, new-releases, star-wars

May 2, 2016

Cover Reveal: the entire Space Lore trilogy

The covers for my upcoming ‘Space Lore’ trilogy are done and I’m excited to share them with everyone.

Where Arthurian Legend meets Star Wars. Epic space fantasy will never be the same.

These books are going to blow you away, and I’m going to be releasing the entire trilogy at the same time!

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Book 1, The Green Knight comes out on June 7.
Book 2, The Excalibur comes out June 8.
And Book 3, The Round Table comes out June 9.

All of them can be pre-ordered today!
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Published on May 02, 2016 05:11 Tags: cover-reveal, epic-space-fantasy, space-lore

April 18, 2016

Cover Reveal: The Green Knight

The first cover of my upcoming ‘Space Lore’ trilogy is done and I’m excited to share it with everyone.

“Where Arthurian Legend meets Star Wars. Epic space fantasy will never be the same.”

The Green Knight is going to blow you away. Just look at how amazing the cover turned out.

Book 1 of the Space Lore trilogy comes out on June 7 and can be pre-ordered today!

description
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Published on April 18, 2016 05:26 Tags: arthurian-legend, cover-reveal, fantasy, new-release, space, star-wars, the-green-knight