Dystopian Novels

[Shiny Star]

Which dystopian novels do you guys like? Do you enjoy this genre?

For me, I love reading books like The Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Handmaid’s Tale. I feel like they show a society which often although not plausible makes you think about the struggles that others go through. I love the survival element and the depth of characters.

[slooroo]

I'll admit this is a mix of dystopia, post-apocalypse, and even just traditional sci-fi that hits kinda similar themes to me that dystopian books do (I have read these, not comfortable recommending anything I haven't tried yet):

Brave New World
Roadside Picnic
The Metro series starting with Metro 2033
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Neuromancer
Never Let Me Go
Eumeswil
The Stand
Anthem

Bonus: Games and Visual Novels that are fun dystopians
Valhalla: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
The STALKER franchise
The Fallout franchise

[Shiny Star]

I’ve heard good things about Brave New World but I haven’t heard of the others!

[JHG]

Dislike them intensely. Lost interest in Hunger Games. Thought Christian Nation would flip the tides but even though it has a message needed, it’s mediocre as heck. Grim darkness and cynicism is a repellent.
Plus, I’m sick of the rebels portrayed as heroes. I want more pro establishment narratives!

[Kyng]

Dislike them intensely. Lost interest in Hunger Games. Thought Christian Nation would flip the tides but even though it has a message needed, it’s mediocre as heck. Grim darkness and cynicism is a repellent.
Plus, I’m sick of the rebels portrayed as heroes. I want more pro establishment narratives!

I suspect a large part of the reason for the lack of pro-establishment narratives is because it's just a lot harder to write a compelling one .

"Good rebels vs. bad ruler" is an easy-to-write story that resonates with just about everybody. By contrast, "Bad rebels vs. good ruler" needs a lot more thought to make it work. The rebels still need a convincing reason to rebel in the first place - otherwise, they're just going to look cartoonish and silly, and the story will fall flat. But you need to: a) make their reasons for rebelling believable to the audience, whilst b) still having the audience sympathise with the rulers anyway. That can certainly work if well-done, but it's not an easy balance to strike.

And then, of course, there's "Bad rebels vs. bad ruler" - which is very common in reality (and even more dystopic than either of the above cases!), but even more difficult to turn into a compelling story with emotional resonance .

[JHG]

Dislike them intensely. Lost interest in Hunger Games. Thought Christian Nation would flip the tides but even though it has a message needed, it’s mediocre as heck. Grim darkness and cynicism is a repellent.
Plus, I’m sick of the rebels portrayed as heroes. I want more pro establishment narratives!

I suspect a large part of the reason for the lack of pro-establishment narratives is because it's just a lot harder to write a compelling one .

"Good rebels vs. bad ruler" is an easy-to-write story that resonates with just about everybody. By contrast, "Bad rebels vs. good ruler" needs a lot more thought to make it work. The rebels still need a convincing reason to rebel in the first place - otherwise, they're just going to look cartoonish and silly, and the story will fall flat. But you need to: a) make their reasons for rebelling believable to the audience, whilst b) still having the audience sympathise with the rulers anyway. That can certainly work if well-done, but it's not an easy balance to strike.

And then, of course, there's "Bad rebels vs. bad ruler" - which is very common in reality (and even more dystopic than either of the above cases!), but even more difficult to turn into a compelling story with emotional resonance .

Maybe so but underdog schmunderdog. Rulers are cooler. 
Besides, the Star Wars prequels(which are good to me; Deal with it) did it as did Avatar: The Legend of Korra, HBO Rome, and accurate takes on the American Civil War and Boshin War.

[Kyng]

Dislike them intensely. Lost interest in Hunger Games. Thought Christian Nation would flip the tides but even though it has a message needed, it’s mediocre as heck. Grim darkness and cynicism is a repellent.
Plus, I’m sick of the rebels portrayed as heroes. I want more pro establishment narratives!

I suspect a large part of the reason for the lack of pro-establishment narratives is because it's just a lot harder to write a compelling one .

"Good rebels vs. bad ruler" is an easy-to-write story that resonates with just about everybody. By contrast, "Bad rebels vs. good ruler" needs a lot more thought to make it work. The rebels still need a convincing reason to rebel in the first place - otherwise, they're just going to look cartoonish and silly, and the story will fall flat. But you need to: a) make their reasons for rebelling believable to the audience, whilst b) still having the audience sympathise with the rulers anyway. That can certainly work if well-done, but it's not an easy balance to strike.

And then, of course, there's "Bad rebels vs. bad ruler" - which is very common in reality (and even more dystopic than either of the above cases!), but even more difficult to turn into a compelling story with emotional resonance .

Maybe so but underdog schmunderdog. Rulers are cooler. 
Besides, the Star Wars prequels(which are good to me; Deal with it) did it as did Avatar: The Legend of Korra, HBO Rome, and accurate takes on the American Civil War and Boshin War.

Yep - Legend of Korra is a great example of a series that pulls this off successfully IMO . The Equalists have motives that make sense - but their actions still make them villainous anyway!