Last Book You Read....

[coprolite]

10 hours ago, charger29 said:

 

I thought it was decent. Maybe a little short and didn't fulfil its potential but worth a read. Been meaning to read it again since I read a bit about Huxley supporting eugenics. Having said that it was fairly common to believe in eugenics at the time so perhaps it's not much of a surprise.

Can anyone recommended any other dystopian novels?
Already read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Got Slaughterhouse Five & Station 11 on my "to read list" but was looking for some other suggestions.

 

Margaret Attwood - handmaids tale (classic), Oryx and Crake trilogy (less so, but interesting) 

Anthony Burgess- Clockwork Orange, The Wanting Seed

 

[Co.Down Hibee]

On 10/01/2022 at 11:56, Blootoon87 said:

I gave up on that book, thought he came across as a complete w****r in it. Took credit for everything and blame for nothing.
The bit that stands out most was when he was helping coach a local special needs team in America and went to the chairman to tell him he was chucking it as the bairns weren't playing how he wanted them to.

Aye not the nicest of men it has to be said, I think the fact he wasn't partially liked in general is fairly well known...most of the praise for him when he died tended to revolve around his ability as opposed to his personality which is a tell tale sign...

[NotThePars]

Finished Leviathan Falls, the last book of The Expanse. About as good an end to the series as I could’ve expected. They really hit their stride writing these by the 5th book and the ending was fairly predictable but satisfying as every character got the ending they deserved and the same for the universe. The epilogue could’ve been very cheesy and annoying but I’ll allow it given who it involves.

Hope the TV series gets picked up and gets the ending it equally deserves.

[Paul Kersey]

20 hours ago, charger29 said:

 

I thought it was decent. Maybe a little short and didn't fulfil its potential but worth a read. Been meaning to read it again since I read a bit about Huxley supporting eugenics. Having said that it was fairly common to believe in eugenics at the time so perhaps it's not much of a surprise.

Can anyone recommended any other dystopian novels?
Already read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Got Slaughterhouse Five & Station 11 on my "to read list" but was looking for some other suggestions.

 

John Wyndham - Day of the Triffids.

It's probably more post-apocalyptic than dystopian but if you enjoy stuff like 1984 then you should enjoy this. It's pretty apparent when you read it that it's a massive influence on the likes of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later.

I've got We by Zamyatin on my to read pile but I've never opened it. Supposedly it's a huge influence on 1984.

[Vimto90]

John Wyndham - Day of the Triffids.
It's probably more post-apocalyptic than dystopian but if you enjoy stuff like 1984 then you should enjoy this. It's pretty apparent when you read it that it's a massive influence on the likes of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later.
I've got We by Zamyatin on my to read pile but I've never opened it. Supposedly it's a huge influence on 1984.

Day of the triffids was first book I ever read. Decent read. Never translated well onto screen right enough & a few attempts were made.

[charger29]

John Wyndham - Day of the Triffids.
It's probably more post-apocalyptic than dystopian but if you enjoy stuff like 1984 then you should enjoy this. It's pretty apparent when you read it that it's a massive influence on the likes of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later.
I've got We by Zamyatin on my to read pile but I've never opened it. Supposedly it's a huge influence on 1984.

Thanks. I've heard about We before but didn't think there was an audiobook out there. I guess I was wrong as there seems to be several on Audible just now. Will probably start it in a few weeks when I've finished my current listen.

[Ya Bezzer!]

21 hours ago, charger29 said:

 

I thought it was decent. Maybe a little short and didn't fulfil its potential but worth a read. Been meaning to read it again since I read a bit about Huxley supporting eugenics. Having said that it was fairly common to believe in eugenics at the time so perhaps it's not much of a surprise.

Can anyone recommended any other dystopian novels?
Already read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Got Slaughterhouse Five & Station 11 on my "to read list" but was looking for some other suggestions.

 

I just read 'Kallocain' by Karin Boye and didn't like it much.

I suppose that's more an 'avoid' than a recommendation.

I've not actually read it but isn't 'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin the 'original' dystopian novel?  It seems to be rated quite highly but like I said I've not read it myself.

[charger29]

I just read 'Kallocain' by Karin Boye and didn't like it much.
I suppose that's more an 'avoid' than a recommendation.
I've not actually read it but isn't 'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin the 'original' dystopian novel?  It seems to be rated quite highly but like I said I've not read it myself.

Yeah I've heard that too. Seems very late for the first dystopian novel to be written but maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps earlier books were categorised slightly differently.

[Ya Bezzer!]

18 minutes ago, charger29 said:

 

Yeah I've heard that too. Seems very late for the first dystopian novel to be written but maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps earlier books were categorised slightly differently.

 

'The Sleeper Awakes' by H. G. Well definitely falls into the dystopian category and that was written in the 19th century but again that's a book I really didn't like very much.  In fact I'd say it was uniquely bad as I've enjoyed every other H. G. Wells novel I've read to a lesser or greater extent.

A book I did like was 'The Hopkins Manuscript' by R. C. Sherriff.  Some do but I wouldn't exactly call it a dystopian novel myself, it's about a world set in the 1920/30s that's been destroyed by a meteor.  I'd say it was more sci-fi but it has some elements of dystopian cross over. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Ya Bezzer!

[broon-loon]

On 10/01/2022 at 22:38, charger29 said:

 

Can anyone recommended any other dystopian novels?
Already read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Got Slaughterhouse Five & Station 11 on my "to read list" but was looking for some other suggestions.

 

 Not Dystopian as such but shortly after finishing 1984 I was encouraged by a friend to read The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists. If you haven't already read it there are abridged versions, but I would suggest you read the whole thing. It kinda goes on a bit, but wow, a fantastic book.

I had a go at Catch 22 but never got in to it and gave in early doors. Maybe I should give Farenheit 451 a go sometime soon..?

Edited January 11, 2022 by broon-loon
typo

[NotThePars]

The Parable of the Sower and it’s sequel by Octavia Butler are good books on a near future plausible collapse of the United States.

[Arabdownunder]

10 hours ago, Paul Kersey said:

John Wyndham - Day of the Triffids.

It's probably more post-apocalyptic than dystopian but if you enjoy stuff like 1984 then you should enjoy this. It's pretty apparent when you read it that it's a massive influence on the likes of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later.

I've got We by Zamyatin on my to read pile but I've never opened it. Supposedly it's a huge influence on 1984.

If you're looking for post apocalyptic then The Road by Cormac McCarthy is excellent

[Gnash]

10 hours ago, broon-loon said:

I had a go at Catch 22 but never got in to it and gave in early doors. Maybe I should give Farenheit 451 a go sometime soon..?

Worth reading Fahrenheit 451.  Good but not great I would say.

I really liked Brave New World - a much gentler dystopian novel, and all the more scary for that.

1984 is the best of the lot, one of my favourite books of all time.  It's utterly, irretrievably bleak, unlike any other book I've read.

[broon-loon]

1 hour ago, Gnash said:

Worth reading Fahrenheit 451.  Good but not great I would say.

I really liked Brave New World - a much gentler dystopian novel, and all the more scary for that.

1984 is the best of the lot, one of my favourite books of all time.  It's utterly, irretrievably bleak, unlike any other book I've read.

Thanks for the suggestions. 

I'm not an avid reader (unlike Mrs b-l who reads a number of books at the same time), but 1984 is also one of my favourite reads.

It really makes you think about things in a different way in terms of politics, work (and the politics within your workplace) and of course people in general. I was given a hardback version as a gift from my daughter as she knows how much it liked it. Maybe it's time to re-read?

If you haven't read The Ragged Trouser Philanthropists it's well worth a read?

 

 

[Glennie]

On 10/01/2022 at 22:38, charger29 said:

Can anyone recommended any other dystopian novels?
Already read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Got Slaughterhouse Five & Station 11 on my "to read list" but was looking for some other suggestions.

 

This Perfect Day by Ira Levin

https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Perfect-Day-Introduction-Jonathan/dp/1472111524

[Craig fae the Vale]

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. Pretty good. A bit pretentious, but in an enjoyable way.

[The DA]

On 11/01/2022 at 18:49, Paul Kersey said:

John Wyndham - Day of the Triffids.

It's probably more post-apocalyptic than dystopian but if you enjoy stuff like 1984 then you should enjoy this. It's pretty apparent when you read it that it's a massive influence on the likes of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later.

I've got We by Zamyatin on my to read pile but I've never opened it. Supposedly it's a huge influence on 1984.

Spoiled for me by the twee MAN-woman love story subtext.  Good as an adventure though.

[Duffy_]

Just finished Ant Middleton's first attempt at a fiction novel, 'Cold Justice'. 

Decent enough action/thriller, main character seems to be partly based on Ant himself. Some of the storyline line seemed a bit farfetched but a good, simple read nonetheless. 

[Craig fae the Vale]

Violet by SJI Holliday. Enjoyable psychological thriller that builds really well to a satisfying ending.

[yoda]

I didn't like "Brave New World" at all. It did nothing for me. Relatedly, I much preferred "We" to "Nineteen Eighty Four".

Finished "Bad Blood" the other day. It's the story of Theranos by the WSJ journalist who broke the story about their various frauds. It was a lot more gripping than I expected and is almost unbelievable at points (until you remember who these people are). 

"Dune Messiah" is next on the list.