List of dystopian literature

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This is a list of notable works of dystopian literature. A dystopia is an unpleasant (typically repressive) society, often propagandized as being utopian. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction states that dystopian works depict a negative view of "the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction." [1] [2]

Contents

18th century

19th century

20th century

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Fiction

Young adult fiction

21st century

2000s

Fiction

Young adult fiction

2010s

Fiction

Young adult fiction

2020s

Fiction

Young adult fiction

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Stableford, Brian (1993). "Dystopias". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. pp. 360–362. ISBN   1-85723-124-4.
  2. ↑ "Life of chaos, life of hope: Dystopian literature for young adults" . Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ Houston, Chlöe (2007). "Utopia, Dystopia or Anti-utopia? Gulliver's Travels and the Utopian Mode of Discourse". Utopian Studies. 18 (3, Irish Utopian). Penn State University Press: 425–442. doi:10.2307/20719885. JSTOR   20719885.
  4. ↑ Hunt, Eileen M. (December 2023). "Mary Shelley's The Last Man: Existentialism and IR meet the post-apocalyptic pandemic novel". Review of International Studies. 49 (5). London: Cambridge University Press: 832–854. doi: 10.1017/S0260210522000250 . ISSN   1469-9044.
  5. ↑ Kennedy, Randall (2003). Interracial Intimacies. New York: Pantheon Books. p.  134. ISBN   978-0-375-40255-5.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Berger, J.M. (2016). "The Turner Legacy: The Storied Origins and Enduring Impact of White Nationalism's Deadly Bible". International Centre for Counter-Terrorism . 7 (8). The Hague. doi: 10.19165/2016.1.11 .
  7. ↑ Marina Yaguello. Lunatic Lovers of language. Imaginary languages and their inventors. London: Athlone Press, 1991. 0-485-11303-1. p. 31.
  8. ↑ Jean Pfaelzer (1984). The Utopian Novel in America 1886–1896: The Politics of Form. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press; pp. 81–6.
  9. ↑ Lezard, Nicholas. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder by James de Mille". The Guardian. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  10. ↑ Pfaelzer, pp. 120–40.
  11. ↑ Art, Carden (June 28, 2010). "Looking Hard at 'Pictures of the Socialistic Future'". Forbes.
  12. ↑ Barron, Neil (1998). What Do I Read Next?. Detroit: Gale Group. p.  299. ISBN   0-7876-2150-1. "The Repairer of Reputations", which offers a dystopic vision of the future...
  13. ↑ Diefendorf, Elizabeth (2005). The New York Public Library's Books of the Century. Barnes & Noble. ISBN   978-0-7607-7468-7.
  14. ↑ Uniwersytet Jagielloński (1986). Prace historycznoliterackie. Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. p. 70. ISBN   9788301066154 . Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 Mark Bould, Sherryl Vint, (2011) The Routledge Concise History of Science Fiction. Routledge, ISBN   0-415-43571-4 (p.23).
  16. ↑ "Another classic dystopian work, Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (1921) was written at the same time as Zamyatin's work". The Cybernetic Imagination in Science Fiction. Patricia S. Warrick, MIT Press, 1980 ISBN   0-262-73061-8, (p.48).
  17. ↑ "Top 10 Overlooked Dystopian Novels You Should Read – Toptenz.net". toptenz.net. March 9, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  18. ↑ HO, KOON-KI TOMMY (1987). "Cat Country: A Dystopian Satire". Modern Chinese Literature. 3 (1/2): 71–89. ISSN   8755-8963. JSTOR   41492507.
  19. ↑ Cornis-Pope Marcel & John Neubauer (2004). History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Junctures and Disjunctures in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Volume 3. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing, 2004. p. 183. ISBN   90-272-3455-8. ...the dystopic satire Válka s mloky (The War With The Newts)...
  20. ↑ " a feminist novelist called Katherine Burdekin published under a male pseudonym, Murray Constantine, an anti-fascist dystopia with the title Swastika Night.."Alkeline van Lenning, Marrie Bekker, Ine Vanwesenbeeck, (p.88) Feminist Utopias in a Post Modern Era. Tilburg University Press, 1997. ISBN   9036197473
  21. 1 2 3 Tom Moylan; Raffaella Baccolini (2003). Dark horizons: science fiction and the dystopian imagination. Taylor and Francis Books. ISBN   0-415-96613-2 . Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  22. ↑ Booker, M. Keith (2002). The Post-utopian Imagination: American Culture in the Long 1950s . Greenwood Publishing Group. p.  50. ISBN   0-313-32165-5. Invitation also resembles other absurdist dystopias of the 1930s, such as Ruthven Todd's Over the Mountain (1939) and Rex Warner's The Wild Goose Chase.
  23. ↑ Clute, John (1993). "Koestler, Arthur". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 675. ISBN   1-85723-124-4.
  24. ↑ Hickman, John (2009). "When Science Fiction Writers Used Fictional Drugs: Rise and Fall of the Twentieth-Century Drug Dystopia". Utopian Studies. 20 (1). Penn State University Press: 141–170. doi:10.2307/20719933. JSTOR   20719933.
  25. ↑ Clute, John (1993). "Nabokov, Vladimir". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 854. ISBN   1-85723-124-4.
  26. ↑ Clute, John (1993). "Orwell, George". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 896. ISBN   1-85723-124-4.
  27. ↑ Stableford, Brian (1993). "Vonnegut, Kurt Jr.". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 1289. ISBN   1-85723-124-4.
  28. ↑ "The Space Merchants describes an archetypal dystopia, an America choked by the waste products of consumerism..." George Mann, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2012 ISBN   1-78033-704-3 (p. 1983).
  29. 1 2 3 4 "Top 12 Dystopian Novels". March 12, 2008.
  30. ↑ Knud Sørensen (1971) "Language and Society in L. P. Hartley's 'Facial Justice,'" Orbis Litterarum 26 (1), 68–84.
  31. ↑ Lopez, Edward J Archived November 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine . (associate professor, San Jose State University) "Thoughts on "Harrison Bergeron"", April 16, 2007
  32. 1 2 The best dystopias Michael Moorcock, The Guardian, January 22, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Michael Frayn's comedy has more usually taken an anti-utopian turn. He has written one explicitly dystopian novel, A Very Private Life...", "Whitehall Farces" Patrick Parrinder, London Review of Books, October 8, 1992.
  34. ↑ Clute, John (1993). "Levin, Ira". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). Orbit, London. p. 715. ISBN   1-85723-124-4.
  35. ↑ "Ursula Le Guin Q&A | By genre | Guardian Unlimited Books". London: Books.guardian.co.uk. February 9, 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  36. ↑ Peltier, Elian; Kulish, Nicholas (November 22, 2019). "A Racist Book's Malign and Lingering Influence". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  37. ↑ Marr, Virginia W. (June 15, 1975). "The Camp of the Saints". Library Journal . Vol. 100, no. 12. p. 1242. ISSN   0360-3113.
  38. ↑ Jarvis, G. E. (October 1, 2021). "Raspail, racism, and migration: Implications for radicalization in a polarizing world". Transcultural Psychiatry . 58 (5): 616–631. doi:10.1177/1363461520930921. ISSN   1363-4615. PMID   32615914.
  39. ↑ Survey of Science Fiction Literature
  40. 1 2 Downing, David C. (September 1, 1995). Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 157. ISBN   0-87023-997-X.
  41. ↑ Walter, Damien (December 17, 2012). "Darkness in literature: Philip K Dick's A Scanner Darkly". The Guardian. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  42. ↑ Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 1979.
  43. ↑ Mullan, John (November 12, 2010). "Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  44. ↑ Riddley Walker: a Novel. WorldCat. OCLC   6916115.
  45. ↑ "The hero migrates from "real" Glasgow to Unthank, an underground dystopia". John Clute, Science Fiction: A Visual Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley, 1995 (p. 231).
  46. ↑ Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 1984.
  47. ↑ Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 1986
  48. ↑ "BOOKS OF THE TIMES". The New York Times. June 2, 1987.
  49. ↑ Demerjian, Louisa MacKay (February 29, 2016). The Age of Dystopia: One Genre, Our Fears and Our Future. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4438-8975-9.
  50. ↑ Characterized as such by author himself, see Chapter 1
  51. ↑ "Averting war in 2020".
  52. ↑ Hill, Matthew B. (September 13, 2022). Dystopian States of America: Apocalyptic Visions and Warnings in Literature and Film. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   978-1-4408-7339-3.
  53. ↑ Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 1992.
  54. ↑ Evans, Leighton; Frith, Jordan; Saker, Michael (October 12, 2022). From Microverse to Metaverse: Modelling the Future through Today’s Virtual Worlds. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN   978-1-80455-021-2.
  55. ↑ Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 1994.
  56. ↑ Phil Daoust (September 1, 2001). "A kangaroo in a dinner jacket". London: Books.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  57. ↑ Koehler, Robert (January 23, 2001). "Battle Royale film review (mentions book)". Variety Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  58. ↑ Natalie Babbitt, "The Hidden Cost of Contentment", Washington Post May 9, 1993, p. X15.
  59. ↑ Hanson, Carter F. (June 9, 2020). Memory and Utopian Agency in Utopian/Dystopian Literature: Memory of the Future. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-16595-1.
  60. ↑ Brian Bethune (April 28, 2003). "Book Review: Atwood's Oryx and Crake". Maclean's Magazine.
  61. ↑ Kloszewski, M. (June 15, 2004). Library Journal, 129(11): 56.
  62. 1 2 D. J. Taylor: "Anima Attraction", The Guardian (April 16, 2005).
  63. ↑ Cristofaro, Diletta De (December 26, 2019). The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel: Critical Temporalities and the End Times. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-350-08578-7.
  64. ↑ Kotkin, Stephen (March 11, 2011). "A Dystopian Tale of Russia's Future". The New York Times.
  65. ↑ "Liberty Publishing House — Nontraditional Love (English)". Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  66. ↑ "LGBT themes in speculative fiction". www.general-books.net. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  67. ↑ Kuźnicki, Sławomir (May 11, 2017). Margaret Atwood's Dystopian Fiction: Fire Is Being Eaten. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4438-9269-8.
  68. ↑ Rivieccio, Genna (February 12, 2017). "Poena Damni Z213: Exit by Dimitris Lyacos Gets Worthy Translation from Shorsha Sullivan". theopiatemagazine.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  69. ↑ Nikolajeva, Maria (September 10, 2009). Power, Voice and Subjectivity in Literature for Young Readers. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-135-23823-0.
  70. ↑ Hahn, Daniel; Morpurgo, Michael (2015). The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-969514-0.
  71. ↑ My Top Five...Dystopian Novels for Teens The Guardian, August 4, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  72. ↑ "REVIEW: Genesis by Bernard Beckett". SF Signal. May 12, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  73. ↑ Singhvi, Rimika; Patni, Gunja (September 13, 2024). Critical Coalitions: Literary Aesthetics and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   978-1-0364-0765-0.
  74. ↑ Brozo, William G. (April 6, 2017). Disciplinary and Content Literacy for Today's Adolescents: Honoring Diversity and Building Competence. Guilford Publications. ISBN   978-1-4625-3010-6.
  75. ↑ Brozo, William G. (April 6, 2017). Disciplinary and Content Literacy for Today's Adolescents: Honoring Diversity and Building Competence. Guilford Publications. ISBN   978-1-4625-3010-6.
  76. ↑ Karen Brooks-Reese: "Zombies Rise in Teen Lit", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , May 26, 2009
  77. ↑ Dempsey, Joe (October 28, 2015). "The Sex-Obsessed Cyberpunk Dystopia of Shimoneta". Anime News Network . Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  78. ↑ Orr, Cynthia (December 5, 2014). Crash Course in Readers' Advisory. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   979-8-216-06725-2.
  79. ↑ Kakutani, Michiko (October 3, 2013). "Inside the World of Big Data: 'The Circle,' Dave Eggers's New Novel". nytimes.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  80. ↑ Newitz, Annalee (September 13, 2013). "Atwood Imagines Humanity's Next Iteration In 'MaddAddam'". npr.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  81. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: The Office of Mercy by Ariel Djanikian. Viking, $26.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-670-02586-2". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  82. ↑ "Wool", a dystopian series about a group of underground people who get all of their information about the outside world through a single, digital screen..." "Self-published e-book author: 'Most of my months are six-figure months'". CNN. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  83. ↑ Hunter, J. Michael (December 5, 2012). Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   979-8-216-11944-9.
  84. ↑ Carpenter, Susan (August 23, 2010). "Book review: 'Mockingjay'". Los Angeles Times. Fans aren't likely to be disappointed
  85. ↑ Maziarczyk, Grzegorz; Teske, Joanna Klara (July 20, 2017). Explorations of Consciousness in Contemporary Fiction. BRILL. ISBN   978-90-04-34785-4.
  86. ↑ "Rossi's YA Dystopian Romance Lands at Warner Brothers". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  87. ↑ "The Merge by Grace Walker". Kirkus Reviews . Vol. XCIII, no. 20. October 15, 2025. ISSN   1948-7428. ProQuest   3259987338 . Retrieved June 22, 2026.
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