Dystopian tagged posts

Shades of Grey—buy it
by Jasper Fforde—his website
Recommended Ages: 12+

Thanks to an audiobook expertly read by John Lee, I finally found the courage to bite into this woolly, dystopian, world-building type fantasy by the author of the “Thursday Next” novels. I admit, I had held paper copies of the book in my hands a few times, and considered buying or borrowing it, but my heart always failed me. I remembered what heavy going it was, breaking through into The Eyre Affair—an effort that included reading Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre for my first time—though since I did, the rewards have been rich indeed. And now that I’ve successfully penetrated another daringly original world out of Fforde’s imagining, I am glad to find out that this book is also the start of a series. Now that two more novels are projected in what is currently a “Shades of Grey” trilogy, this first book has been retroactively retitled The Road to High Saffron. Or so Wikipedia told me, when I went to check the spe...

The Golem’s Eye—buy it
by Jonathan Stroud—his website
Recommended Ages: 13+

If a boxed set of Harry Potter were to fall through the looking-glass, what came out the other side might be a lot like the “Bartimaeus Trilogy,” of which this is Book 2. The fantasy world in this series is somewhat of a bizarro, backward-land version of Harry’s wizarding world, which forms a secret enclave within the present-day world of us ordinary muggles. In Bartimaeus’ world, the British empire is openly run by magicians, while the majority of the population—dismissively called “commoners”—toils in a condition not far above slavery. The press and the schools feed them a steady diet of pro-magician propaganda. The scales of justice are rigged in favor of the magicians. The security and police forces keep the people too frightened to rise up, including an elite squad of werewolves known as the Night Police—without even the ironic touch of a silent K...

The Cockatrice Boys—buy it
by Joan Aiken—her website
Recommended Age: 12+

From the Wolves series, featuring Dido Twite, I had already come to regard Joan Aiken as a wonderful writer with a flair for colloquial British speech, humor, adventure, and the clash of titanic forces of good and evil. From Diana Wynne Jones’ Deep Secret I had come to regard the Starscape label as being possibly the best-kept secret in young-adult fiction. Both of these impressions are confirmed by The Cockatrice Boys, a Starscape book by the daughter of American poet Conrad Aiken. Besides being a daringly original, funny, scary, and morally instructive book, it also contains one of the strongest statements of the purpose of fantasy stories and fairy tales:

“People need stories…to remind them that reality is not only what we can see or smell or touch. Reality is in as many layers as the globe we live on itself, going inwards to a central core of red-hot mystery, and outwards to unguessable space...

MuggleNet had the pleasure of speaking with Godsent author, Richard Burton, about his book and the upcoming film adaptation. The book, which is a thriller with wild twists & turns that will keep you guessing right through to the very last page. Please note: This interview may contain spoilers.

MuggleNet: What inspired you to write Godsent?

Richard Burton: I have always enjoyed creative writing and really wanted to write a novel about a subject matter that had never been done before. My goal was to create an action-thriller that actually makes you think. Most thrillers are all about the action and explosions. I was inspired to write a story that had real characters, a deep plot and a strong emotional connection while at the same time being suspenseful and action packed.

MN: Do you believe there is a 2nd coming?

RB: I believe it is very possible that there will be a 2nd coming. The World has obviously changed so much since the time of Christ. Godsent deals with the world-wide ramifi...

Release Date: October 4, 2011
Author: Twitter ◆  Website
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336 Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon◆ Barnes & Noble

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her. Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust…and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

You can hardly swing a cat in a library these days without hitting some new YA Dystopian book...