Divergent question

Oryx and Crake is another Margaret Atwood dystopian novel that is very good.

Brave New World is a dystopian novel that only deals with adults.

While Slaughterhouse-Five is an excellent book (one of my top 10, ever, even), it is NOT a dystopian novel. It is sci-fi, as the main character, Billy, lives on earth, in America (and Europe, during the war), before, during, and after WWII. He even spends time in space, but the idea there is not that the Tralfamadorians have created a perfect political society, but that they have a different view of time/space, which affects Billy and his ability to experience his life in a linear time/space fashion.

There are no implications that the societies are perfect, or even good, and the societies are familiar, in that they are the same as they were during the time period the story is set (Tralfamadore excluded). Dystopian fiction expresses the dangers of a perfect society, and, fundamentally, says that a perfect society cannot exist. There are no such proclamations in Slaughterhouse-Five.

Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy involves both time travel and a utopian society (in 2000). The emphasis is on the utopia as Bellamy imagines it and could be argued to be an argument against capitalism and for socialism (even nationalism). It as highly influential in the early to mid 20th century in utopian/dystopian fiction.

My favorite dystopian literature remains 1984 and Brave New World. I revisit 1984 about once a year.

These are all great! The tripod trilogy is powerful. It's a children's book, BUT (if this isn't the most applicable use of it then I don't know what is) don't judge a book by its cover. :)

I was wondering the same thing! Thanks for posting and for all the recommendations : )

The ones that come to my mind are:

1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Handmaidens Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Long Walk and The Running Man by Stephen King
The Postman by David Brin
The Time Machine by H.G.Wells
Logan's Run by William F. Nolan
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Recently, I have been trying to find some more adult dystopian novels myself. I have just finished Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson and I absolutely loved it! In fact today I purchased Amped in the hopes that it will be just as fantastic a read.

Of course you cannot forget the classics such as 1984, Animal Farm, Fahrenhiet 451. The Host by Stephanie Meyer was good as well but do not expect the same writing style as the Twilight series (if you read them).

Under the Dome by Stephen King (recommended by Meghan) was a great read, however, I do not know if it could really be considered dystopian. Though SK's The Stand could very well hold that distinction.

One of my favourite dystopian (or any novel for that matter) was The Chrysalids by John Wyndham in 1955. The last time I read it was roughly 15 years ago but it will always remain on my list of must reads. Unfortunately, the main characters are teenagers, and I was a teen at the time when I read it, but it has certainly resonated with me. If you have ever felt different you would be able to identify with these characters.

Without wanting to sound harsh, if you want dystopian novels that don't feature teenagers as main characters, you might want to look beyond the YA section of the bookshop. These books feature teenagers because they are YA books, not because that is a usual feature of dystopian novels.

In fact quite the contrary. The dystopian genre stretches far, far beyond the realms of YA books. It has come to prominence within the YA realm recently because of some big hitting (in a sales sense) series that just happen to have a dystopian setting, but dystopian novels themselves have a rich history and is a genre with no shortage of quality titles from both past and present.

In terms of the classics, many of the prominent ones have already been mentioned, such as 1984 and Slaughterhouse 5. Philip Dick is one of the more famous names in sci-fi generally, and wrote a lot of dystopian books.

In terms of more recent books, I am a big fan of The Passage by Justin Cronin, which has already been mentioned. It was hyped up massively when it came out, and many think it fell short of those lofty expectations, but it really sucked me in. The second book in that series comes out this year. My suggestion out of left field would be The End Specialist by Drew Magary. One of the most chillingly real dystopian books I have ever read, and an easier read than many of the 'classics'.

I would read The Host by Stephanie Meyer, The Passage by Justin Cronin or Never Let Me Go. All three dystopian and written for adults.

You might like Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Unfortunately, it is not available for e-readers.

I enjoyed . It was a great zombie book.

Hello? What about the classics of the genre like 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? What about The Handmaid's Tale by Magaret Atwood? (I've read the first two and heard that the second two are intense-definitely adult-but appropriate for older teens and very well-written.)

When She Woke - Hillary Jordan
Robopocalypse - Daniel H. Wilson
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
The Obernewtyn Chronicles - Isobelle Carmody
Earth Abides - George R. Stewart
The Strain Trilogy - Guillermo del Toro
The Host - Stephanie Meyer

Some of these may have young adults or teens in them, but they seemed more like adult books than YA (like Ender's Game.)

The Host by stephenie Myer is suposed to be really good. its got nothing to do with vampires and the main charecters are in there early twnties.

I know this is not dystopian, but it's something that you might enjoy: A Discovery of Witches.
From people I've spoken with about the novel, it seems that the less educated the reader the less they enjoy it. It has a lot of history and science references so that explains that, I guess.

Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are the only ones I can think of at the moment.

I just picked up White Horse from the library yesterday which is an adult dystopia - supposedly first in a trilogy

there is also When She Woke - which is a dystopia with a Scarlet Letter type story

Try looking at William Gibson, he is a staple for Sci/Fi dystopian genre. Or Phillip K Dick...

a brave new world is old school dystopian

The only two on the top of my head I can think of that haven't been mentioned (and that I'd recommend) are: The Handmaid's Tale and Never Let Me Go. The thing is though that with Dystopian lit, if you slide out of the YA section (with older characters) it's going to be a more cerebral read. Not to discount YA (I love me some YA, especially Dystopian), but the same themes that you might enjoy with older characters are probably going to be harder to come up.

Maybe check out older level SciFi and/or a supernatural genre like Zombies (depending on the story, I hear Feed is decent) if you don't find the same fun that you got from YA.

If you can handle a GIGANTIC book, Under the Dome by Stephen King was really awesome. It sucked to carry around a book that amounts to over 1000 pages (wish I would've had it on my Kindle!), but it was well worth it. It has the feel of Michael Grant's Gone series, but geared toward adults.

1984

The Giver has a preteen.

I think that these kinds of book feature teens because the adults don't usually dare to think any different. Same as now, I mean you see these kids coming up with imaginary friends and having so much fun with them and you're standing there saying " awww, she/he is soooo cute!" And I know the whole time I'm thinking. "OMG, what a freak."