Emotions are dangerous; restraint of feeling is necessary for a peaceful society. ~ Book of Eridu Nuclear fallout and and biological warfare have driven the few remaining people underground to try to keep the human race alive in a new society they call Eridu. Several generations later, Eve is entering her final cycle before the […]
dystopia
Review: The Shining Wall, by Melissa Ferguson
LeaderCorp didn’t care about people. Everything was a transaction to them. If the cost exceeded their benefit, there was no point. The Shining Wall, by Melissa Ferguson, imagines a future dystopia that mashes together all the worst possible scenarios from a deeply humanised perspective – climate change, human destruction (increased radiation levels are mentioned), exploitation […]
Could you survive on 100 words a day? Vox, by Christina Dalcher
As someone who loves to talk and write and read, Vox by Christina Dalcher was a nightmare read for me. In a near-future U.S. the alt-right has risen to power and put women in their place – in the home, serving men. Women and girls are fitted with counter bracelets trained to the wearer’s voice. […]
Review: Daughter of Bad Times, by Rohan Wilson
Daughter of Bad Times reads less like dystopian fiction and more like future history. The writing style makes it feel like a slightly dramatised reenactment of entirely plausible events. The only kicker is that these particular events haven’t happened – yet. In 2075 the seas have risen and swallowed up tiny island-based nations like the […]
Review: The Secret Runners of New York, by Matthew Reilly
The Secret Runners of New York is a future dystopian fiction story that’s plain good fun. Well, if you can call the prospect of 99.5% of life on earth being wiped out by a gamma cloud “fun”. This is the very first Matthew Reilly book I’ve ever read. It’s also the very first post-apocalyptic novel […]
Review: The Wall, by John Lanchester
In The Wall, John Lanchester has channelled modern society’s xenophobia and failure to act on climate change into a massive concrete structure surrounding a very different England. In the United Kingdom of the future, Brexit is the least of their worries. To keep out the rest of the world – ‘the Others’ – and the […]
