1984 in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Dec 06, 2009 William rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, horror, e, dystopia, sociology, read-in-2012

Chilling, Horrifying, Unimaginable. The concept haunts me.....but the book at times read like a sociology text. It is still interesting and I would highly recommend it.

7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 23, 2018 Dave Johnson rated it it was amazing

There are few books as powerful as this.

Usually when people refer to "world building" in a piece of fiction, they are usually referring to the setting, history, and people of the book. Many authors fail at this, but some get it right. But there is the occasional book that goes beyond normal world-building. It captures the thoughts and feelings of the people at that particular moment in time--the zeitgeist--and you immerse yourself in a book that goes beyond just story-telling and works as almos There are few books as powerful as this.

Usually when people refer to "world building" in a piece of fiction, they are usually referring to the setting, history, and people of the book. Many authors fail at this, but some get it right. But there is the occasional book that goes beyond normal world-building. It captures the thoughts and feelings of the people at that particular moment in time--the zeitgeist--and you immerse yourself in a book that goes beyond just story-telling and works as almost another culture and language. Orwell's 1984 is exactly that. Having read many classics, I personally think a good number of them are forgettable and not worth mentioning. Not so with this. This is a book that should be read by every person in every generation.

The power of 1984 comes from many angles. For one, you are already familiar with 1984. You already know about Big Brother and double-think. You already know that it's about totalitarian government. But even with some familiarity, 1984 still holds no punches back. It is a terrifying, shocking, amazing book that is to be respected as is to be feared. This book is sometimes categorized as "dystopia" which is a dreadful misnomer. "Dystopia" implies that something is so bad it probably will never happen, much as "utopia" is something so good it probably doesn't exist. The scariest part of 1984 is that it's not dystopia at all--it's real life for some people, and history for others. Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia have already been there with concentration camps and gulags, and North Korea is there right now. Thankfully, we in the USA are not there yet, and I pray we never will be.

When you read 1984, you read it for the message of totalitarianism, but what really surprised me was just how great the writing of Orwell was here. It's truly a masterful book technically and thematically. This book does not have a happy ending, nor should it. The ending is perfect for the message.

This is one of those books that is so good and so important that I want to evangelize my friends and tell them about the importance of reading this book. It's not a good book or even a great book--it's terrifying. And that is why you have to read it. ...more

Like · see review

Feb 17, 2008 Kimmay rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, dystopia

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like · see review

Aug 06, 2008 Tom rated it really liked it

I'm listening to 1984 on CD during my commute. I am also reading Atlas Shrugged. This one-two combination is fascinating; 1984 paints the most repressive totalitarian non-capitalist society possible, while Atlas Shrugged details the most extreme capitalist/small-to-no government ideals possible. I think of Orwells's Big Brother's society as the nightmare that would eventually swallow the world if Rand's villains could absolutely loot all the intellectual power that Rands's heroes epitomize. The ...more

Like · see review