Dystopian novels on the horizon

A previous issue of Prometheus covered the rise of young adult dystopian fiction, with the wide popularity of the Hunger Games trilogy. Some other dystopian fiction with planned reviews in Prometheus include the following:

Intrusion, by Ken McLeod. Currently only available as a UK edition (hardback and paperback), a story of medicine and state control.

The Registry, by Shannon Stoker (Morrow, June 2013). Subtitled: “Freedom is the Ultimate Crime”. In a future America where girls are raised to be bought and sold, and boys raised to be soldiers.

Reached, by Ally Condie (Dutton, November 2012). A juvenile futuristic adventure with a heroine, the final book in a trilogy that includes Matched and Crossed about a girl escaping a controlled society.

The Office of Mercy, by Ariel Djanikian (Viking, February 2013). A Huxkley-Orwel inspired story about a high-tech underground settlement where one person starts to question what goes on outside their habitat.

Article 5, by Kristen Simmons (Tor, 2012). New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., are gone. Something called the Moral Statutes has replaced the Bill of Rights. Soldiers have replaced the police, and every crime leads to arrest, trial, and often disappearances.

Breaking Point, by Kristen Simmons (Tor, February 2013). Sequel to Article 5. The protagonists of the previous novel continue their struggle against the government and the Federal Bureau of Reformation.

Son, by Lois Lowry (2013). Set in the same universe as The Giver and other books.

Allegiant, by Veronica Roth (2013). Final book in Divergent trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent).

Many of these have common themes, raise interesting questions about life in difficult circumstances. The number of dystopian books published have risen from one or two a decade to five or more per year. From zombies, to robot networks, the apocalypse is everywhere in fiction and film. Such an environment is ripe for ideas on liberty.