Dystopia!
Dystopian fiction. Futures where everything has fallen apart. Bleak post-apocalyptic despotism. Totalitatianism reigning in the midst of post-scarcity. Plain ol' regular natural progression from bad to worse. Really: what's the worst that could happen?
"Dystopia!" clarified: Though I mention "post-apocalyptic" in the above, it's just to add some color. There are some important distinctions to be made about "post-apocalyptic" (where something catastrophic has put (almost?) everything to ruin) and "dystopian" (where no singular catastrophe may have occurred but things have somehow still slipped into a horrid state of paranoia and oppression (at least for some)).
"Dystopia!" clarified: Though I mention "post-apocalyptic" in the above, it's just to add some color. There are some important distinctions to be made about "post-apocalyptic" (where something catastrophic has put (almost?) everything to ruin) and "dystopian" (where no singular catastrophe may have occurred but things have somehow still slipped into a horrid state of paranoia and oppression (at least for some)).
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by
Rob
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Aug 20, 2008 08:59AM

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I think there's plenty of crossover, where a book can be classified as both, but the biggest distinguishing factor is the society in the dystopia, and the conflict between the character and that society.
There are a lot of post-apocalyptic novels that either don't have a society featured at all, (The Road is a good example of that, and there are also plenty that don't have any conflict between the character and the society - the survivor is creating the society (Earth Abides), or on a long journey to re/discover knowledge or a coming of age(The Wild Shore Three Californias), or it shows the conflicts between different survivor groups (The Postman.)
And while many dystopias are post-apocalyptic, that is not a requirement. Books with a gradual eroding of personal rights, or a gradual famine/resource shortage, or where corporations run the world, etc. are all examples where you could have a dystopia without the sudden catastrophe of an apocalypse.



Though technically correct, I would think that for most people the distinction is a blurry one. In the spirit of sharing favorites though, I'd say that these collections have a home here.



"
Rob wrote: "It occurs to me that the line gets pretty blurry sometimes between what is "dystopian" and what is "post-apocalyptic"."
WELL, 1984 is not a dystopia , strictly speaking: IT'S A DYSCHRONIA....Eastasia is no better or worse than Oceania, the whole world has evolved into a miserable society, a blend of those bastard children of the Enlightenment: Totalitarian Communism and Fascism. But I'd agree, we don't need to make such distinctions here....Everyone should have a list of 100 Nasties, be they historical periods, off-planet colonies, societies run by aliens, or flying pigs or whatever. Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine was once a demi-paradise, now it's the Barbary Coast.




Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "This has been mentioned before but, after looking the list over, I think some people need to look up dystopia."
OK, looking it up!
OK, looking it up!
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-, "bad, ill", and Ancient Greek: τόπος, "place, landscape"; alternatively cacotopia,[1] or anti-utopia) is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity has been able to evolve. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens.



"Something terrible happened in Salem Village in 1692... but it isn't what you think!"
(Winner of 2010 IPPY Silver Medal for Historical Fiction; available all formats)

The Afflicted Girls

Someone help me and this lady understand this

Someone help me and this lady understand this"
I also would like to know!

Yep, catch 22 would be an anti war novel.


Some of the Stephen King stuff is horror. The Stand and Dark Tower work, but it and Misery don't for sure.

I agree. Who voted for it? Love the book, but it's far from dystopian...

One of the big misconceptions is that there is a difference. You cannot have a Utopia, without it turning into a Dystopia. Read Harrison and Burgeron or Utopia, by Thomas Moore, for further proof.
At some point, people will have differing opinions. They only way to have a Utopia is to enforce it. If even one person is in dissent than it is no longer a Utopia. Take Candid, for instance. Their arrival, in El Dorado, destroyed the Utopia that existed there. The whole sequence was to prove a point about human nature. We will always want something more and we will never all agree, without excising those who disagree.
The idea, of a Utopia, is a fallacy.

I agree. Who voted for it? Love the book, but it's far from dystopian..."
Agreed. Perhaps, someone has an irrational fear of the time period? ;)

Agreed. The themes, of Man vs Society and Man vs Nature, are certainly good indicators. However, it isn't unheard of for them to cross. Sometimes post-apocalyptic can crossover, into Dystopian, depending on whether they are still dealing with the remnants of pre apocalyptic society.
For instance, many might consider World War Z to be post apocalyptic. (zombie apocolypse and all that) But, because it is told from a historical POV, we are still seeing events in real time, which therefore makes it man vs society too.



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yes


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