Recently, I read the newest Hunger Games book, Sunrise on the Reaping. I’m a big Hunger Games fan and reading it made me remember my love of the dystopian genre. Dystopia captures all the best parts of sci-fi, fantasy, and realistic fiction—I think some people have a negative opinion of the genre because it was so over-saturated in the 2010s that a lot of people got tired of it. Not enough people now appreciate the genre for what it is—all literature is inherently political regardless of if we perceive, books are some of the most powerful tools we have. The ability to read is the ability to have independent thought is the ability to demand change, that is the spirit of the dystopian genre—contrary to popular belief, dystopia does not predict the future, it critiques the present. We all know the big boy dystopian books—The Hunger Games, 1984, a Handmaid’s Tale—and they’re genre-staples for good reason, but this week I’d like to recommend some underappreciated dystopian fiction

(In no particular order)

• The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow: When humans created an AI to solve world peace, they never expected it to overpower them and run the world by itself, but here we are. Talis’ directive is world peace, and it’s come up with a simple solution—if you’re a king, queen, president, basically anyone who controls explosives, you must offer a child of peace—go to war, your kid dies, simple as that. This book focuses on Greta, a princess and child of peace. She lives at the precepture with the other children of peace. If she can just make it a little longer, she’ll age out and be home free—until of course, she’ll have to surrender a child of her own. Greta has been raised to understand that her position is one of dignity, it is her life on the line that keeps the world at peace; that is until a new child, Elián arrives, he refuses to conform neatly to the system and Greta begins to wonder if she should either.
• Tender is The Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica: What would you do if a mysterious disease made all animal products inedible? Some may say they would convert to veganism but for the inhabitants of the world in Bazterica’s bone-chilling novel, they find other ways to get their fix. Imagine with me, a subsection of humans raised as livestock, no education, no rights, no quality of life, this is the picture Tender is the Flesh paints. We follow Marcos, a worker in one of these human livestock plants, a man who remembers the before and sometimes questions the now—but he does not voice such thoughts, it is very frowned upon to question or disapprove of the consumption of this “special meat”. It is a grueling book with a valuable lesson on what can occur when our own wants outweigh human lives. This book is the phrase “cannibal capitalism” taken literally.
• Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White: If you’ve made a habit of reading my book recommendations, you probably know by now that I love anything by Andrew Joseph White—his debut novel, Hell Followed With Us is fantastic YA dystopia. We follow Benji, a young transgender man fleeing his family of cultists during the apocalypse—an apocalypse caused by aforementioned cultists. Problem is, Benji is no normal teenage boy, he’s been genetically modified, and soon he will become a monster. Still, Benji does not give up, he escapes and befriends Nick, an autistic straggler and leader of a ragtag crew of queer teens. Benji finds safety in Nick and a family within his crew, all that’s left for him to do is learn to trust Nick, fight to control his inner beast, and try not to end the world while he’s at it. If you like books tackling religious extremism, environmentalism, and body horror, you’ll like this book.
• The Darkness Outside Us Eliot Schrefer: I’ve recommended this book before, twice, but I’m doing it again—I don’t apologize, it’s one of my favorite books of all time, everyone should read it. This book about two boys alone in space owns the term plot twist. We follow Ambrose and Kodiak on their journey to rescue Ambrose’s sister, Minerva, where she’s stranded on the moon Titan. At first the two spacefarers are at odds but they’re forced to band together when they realize that things on this ship are not exactly what they seem—the ship’s operating system is hiding secrets, and so are they. The cover may lead you to think that this book is simple and heartwarming sci-fi romance but looks can be deceiving. When I first read this book, I found the first half cute, albeit trope-filled, but by the end I was truly left questioning the nature of existence and my own approach to life. This book has everything, romance, sci-fi, world building, and existential themes that will keep you up at night!

Dystopian fiction, in my totally correct opinion, is one of the greatest genres purely for its possibilities—it can be so many different things all at once. The past few months have been great for dystopian fans, we got a new Hunger Games book and a new season of Black Mirror—excuse me while I disappear for two days to binge that. Hope y’all enjoy my recs, keep reading, TC!