The 13 Best Dystopian Novels

Ivana Wynn Ranker
Staff 217,719 views 13 items

Dystopias have become a fascinating genre over the last century as disillusioned writers witnessed and reacted against imperialism, two world wars, including the Nazi and Stalin regime and the treacherous Holocaust. These writers played with the darkest sides of humanity, unearthed by war and technology and used satiric irony to present a destructive vision of the future. Dystopian novels are characterized by a lack of individual freedom, heroes that know something is wrong and contain many WTF moments that make you rethink the current status quo and become aware of the constructed nature of our values and standards.

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The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)

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One of the fathers of science fiction, H.G. Wells, coined the term "time machine," which inspired f*ture science fiction writers to let their imagination run free. Many authors have attempted a sequel to the dystopia.

An English scientist and inventor living during the Victorian era travels to the year 802,701 A.D. He meets a group of docile humanoids called Eloi, who live comfortably among large technological buildings and seem to have figured out how to live peacefully and without struggling for survival. When he returns to the site where he left his time machine, it’s gone.

Turns out another group of pale, ape-like creatures called Morlocks who are afraid of light are the ones who operate the technology above ground. At night they come out and hunt Eloi, which means the f*ture is actually a gloomy place where humans have become cannibals. The Time Traveller, Wells’ name for the English gentleman, finds a way to get back to his time machine and return to Victorian England.

The next day he sets out for another journey in time and is never seen again hence, the sequels attempting to figure out just where the Time Traveller ended up.

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what-is-the-what
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 11/25/2012 1:30 AM

yeah that's some dystopian novels, my friend.
Rod Galapon
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 10/06/2012 10:30 AM

this thing is all about dystopian novel, my friend.
Jeffry Dorvil
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 8/26/2012 8:30 AM

That seems like a fair amount about the topic best dystopian novels.
Euler271828
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 4/30/2012 6:04 PM

Wow, did you really censor the word pornography? Wow.
Andrea
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 4/13/2012 5:01 AM

Great list,
one book is missing though:
Never let me go by Ishiguro!
Bookreader
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 4/04/2012 3:09 PM

No mention of WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin? That books was the progenitor to Brave New World and 1984.
Snud
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985) at 3/31/2012 11:28 AM

"humanizes female characters"? What? What does this even mean? You say this as if the female characters in the book needed to rebel in order to be human. Or am I missing your point?
erkin
1984 by George Orwell (1949) at 3/25/2012 10:51 AM

the elite decided rewriting history the way they want it wasn't proactive enough. It's all about making things happen then writing about it. You can autonomously indoctrinate everyone, because let's face it, it's easy convincing a medicated populous.
jjnkj
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 3/07/2012 9:35 AM

great respect for this list.
jphn
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 11/11/2011 2:27 PM

Hello, my name is John and I am a really big fan of fiction. I created Informative Site about Utopia and Dystopia, and I am trying to find readers who love this topic. If you are interested you can check it: Utopia and Dystopia
IGPNicki
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 8/30/2011 5:59 PM

Cool list, although did I miss seeing Children of Men or Brave New World.

http://www.igp-scifi.com/dystopic-novels.html
writer_cas
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 4/27/2011 6:11 PM

Was it Really Love by Clifford Allan Sullivan Synopsis: A f*turistic, dystopian novel (with a 1920s style story). “”This is the story of Scott Breiman and Valorie,”" a love story and much more.”" About The Author: Clifford Allan Sullivan lives in New Brunswick (Canada). He writes screenplays, stageplays and novels. He gains nothing but pleasure from writing fiction. He’s an avid reader, a compulsive writer and a movie buff. Buy the book; enjoy the book. You will find it a pleasure to read… Author’s Website: http://cliffordallansullivan.webstarts.com Available at: lulu.com (paperback edition), amazon.com (kindle edition) and many more…
inthecave
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 4/21/2011 5:03 AM

I appreciate the inclusion of Vonnegut alongside more modern titles, but I honestly read the whole list and finished still antic**ating Ayn Rand's Anthem.
robin.shadowes
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 3/31/2011 11:22 AM

Too bad the list only focuses on novels written in english. Because there is a famous novel from my country titled Kallocain by Karin Boye which came out already in 1940. It might not be the oldest dystopian novel but one of them. I believe it would deserve to be included in such a list but I'm not sure if it has been translated to english though. If it hasn't, it is a shame then. Kallocain is a classic 1940 Swedish dystopian novel which envisions a f*ture of drab terror. Seen through the eyes of idealistic scientist Leo Kall, Kallocain's depiction of a totalitarian world state draws on what novelist Karin Boye observed or sensed about the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany of the 1930s. Its central idea grew from the rumors of truth drugs that ensured the subordination of every citizen to the state. Both Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Boye's Kallocain are drug dystopias, or societies in which pharmacology is used to suppress opposition to authority. However, unlike Brave New World, where a drug is used to suppress the urge to nonconformity generally, in Kallocain a drug is used to detect individual acts and thoughts of rebellion. Kallocain has been translated in to more than 10 languages, and was adapted into a television miniseries in 1981 by Hans Abramson. [edit]Plot The plot centers on Leo Kall, written in diary form. Leo Kall is a scientist who is incredibly loyal to the government and develops the drug, Kallocain, which is a truth drug. It has the effect that anyone who takes it will reveal anything, even things they were not consciously aware of. Major themes include the notion of the self in a totalitarian state, the meaning of life, and the power of love. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallocain
Knossos22
The 13 Best Dystopian Novels at 3/29/2011 9:05 PM

This list is missing We by Yevgeny Zamyatin... Written in 1919 or 1920 predates 1984, Brave New World, etc...

The 13 Best Dystopian Novels

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