Comments on: Not Even a Nice Place to Visit

By: Jennifer C

Jennifer C — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:04:24 +0000

I am really into young adult fiction and my three favorites in this genre are: The Hunger Games, the Maze Runner and The Knife of Never Letting Go. I am getting chills thinking of them now!

By: Robin Sinn

Robin Sinn — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:24:08 +0000

I’m adding The Passage to my list. The Handmaid’s Tale actually gave me nightmares when I first read it; so I don’t recommend it to others.

By: Rich

Rich — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:57:44 +0000

Sorry for this late addition, but how could I forget the co-winner of the Hugo Award this year and my favorite book of 2010, Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl? An instant classic. Bacigalupi writes with a delicious cynicism for one so young (it’s his first novel).

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 18:26:10 +0000

Okay, here’s one with only people The Postman by David Brin – good book (not so great movie).

And…drawing from a previous post which mentioned Octavia Butler – Parable of the Sower (in which I learned to love the writing of Ms. Butler).

By: Sue Vazakas

Sue Vazakas — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:23:15 +0000

Isabelle, I *loved* Stepford Wives, and the first movie, and loathed the remake. And Rich, I’m dying to read The Passage!

The others you recommend sound great, too. But note that all of my suggestions, in the main post and in my other comment, don’t have creatures (even though I like those, too) — in my opinion, the scariest element of a dystopia is that one person or one group of human beings is acting coldly and completely inhumane.

By: Isabelle Kargon

Isabelle Kargon — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:50:43 +0000

Thanks for posting, Sue! I have not read Kazuro Ishiguro yet but will try it. I like the other authors you mentioned very much–Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a favorite. And Ira Levin also wrote The Stepford Wives, a very good read. The first movie adapted from the book (in the 70s) is worth comparing to the recent remake, by the way: the remake conveys a totally opposite message to that of the book.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:35:06 +0000

This years best seller, The Passage, by Justin Cronin, was a real page-turner. In which the our current civilization is wiped out by scientists (not Hopkins scientists, LOL) who, oops, create a band of vampire-like monsters. A very scary book.

Also like the books by China Mieville set in “Bas-Lag”, esp. Perdido Street Station, populated by weird, weird creatures. Setting is fantasy, but one can picture a world like this as a result of a mass scale disaster or war.

By: Sue Vazakas

Sue Vazakas — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:52:02 +0000

Two of the most outstanding books in this genre are “A Gift Upon the Shore” by M.K. Wren, and “Gate to Women’s Country” by Sheri Tepper.

I didn’t mention them in the main post because we don’t own them, but please treat yourself and read them – you’ll never, ever forget them.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:30:19 +0000

I am a fan of young adult fiction, and found "The Giver" by Lois Lowry an excellent read.