Monday, April 16, 2012

Dystopia - What Next?!

Wizards and vamps are out.


Dystopian fiction is in.


With the recent success of The Hunger Games, many people have been coming to me asking...what next? Fantasy and dystopia novels are my absolute favourite though it's hard to come by good ones. But I've found the best that I like so, here I am to give you my favourite things to read that are similar to Hunger Games


Scott Westerfeld - Uglies Series

This series is good for the younger readers. It's about a world where children are said to be ugly until they have undergone a massive surgery to enhance their features at the age of 16. Until this happens you're an Ugly. Afterwards you're a Pretty. However there's something a bit weird about the Pretties in how they act and the main character, Tally wonders what else can be out in the world so she doesn't have to be a Pretty.
It's a great book series to teach young girls about inner beauty as well as strength and personality. As an older reader it's not one of my faves because it's too much easy reading for me that doesn't get my brain thinking hard enough but for a quick and easy read this could be the one for you.


James Dashner - Maze Runner Series


This I think is the series most like the Hunger Games in that there is an arena type setting and it's based around children in the aftermath of the apocalypse. It still has many differences though and although this was hard to get into (it took me until page 100ish and the introduction of a different character-Minho) come the end I was really enjoying it. It was annoying at first because Dashner gave away so little information for such a long time. So many times I was ready to give up and not bother with the rest but I just had to find out! I haven't read the second or third books yet, but I don't feel like I need to rush out and grab them like I did with THG. I still enjoyed it though!










Terry Brooks - Genesis of Shannara
You have not read fantasy until you have read a Terry Brooks novel. He's a great author who has been writing for years and years and there's not one books of his that I haven't loved. This series is a mix of post apocalypse, dark fiction and ultimate survival. I was engaged very early on and is one of those series that I just had to run down to the bookstore to grab the second and third books after being in a trance reading the fist. It's a hard story to try to explain without giving away the good parts but if you're really into the dark side of fiction then this one is perfect.










Michael Grant - Gone Series


The Gone series is very popular particularly amongst teen boys. It's centred around a town in California which is encased in a big bubble and everyone over the age of 15 disappears and everything living thing left inside the bubble starts developing supernatural powers. Book 6, Light isn't out yet but I'm very much looking forward to it. It's a great series, dark, violent and deliciously horrific. Though it has received a lot of criticism from older and more advanced readers, for the likes of teenagers (aka its intended demographic!) It got a lot of praise.




One of these series should sate your thirst for something dystopia or fantasy. They're just a few of the best that popped into my head first but there's tonnes more out there if you look hard enough. Happy reading!

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