Hi everyone,
I’m in the mood for some **interesting sci-fi or dystopian stories where really weird shit happens** and it’s not just “two parties argue all the time in boring conferences about abstract concepts” or “people shoot each other and die” but lots of wacky worldbuilding.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was a book I really enjoyed, because the society in that book is so unique and different from ours and yet it makes you think about what parallels can be drawn.
Time Out Of Joint by Philip K. Dick was another good one, especially with the unsettling element where it was unclear what was real and what was an illusion. It had Truman Show vibes, which is objectively the best movie.
(But it doesn’t have to be old books, these two were actually exceptions for me because I usually only read modern literature.)
I’m looking for **short and medium-length books**, anything beyond 400 pages is unrealistic because I need to be carrying it round everywhere in my little handbag, I’m that kind of person. Short chapters are cool too, keeps me motivated.
I’m also **not into fantasy.** Magical realism elements are cool, but I prefer the story to be rooted in a realistic human society, even if it’s a colony on Mars or something.
by rubbish_fairy
9 Comments
Red Rising (might be too unrealistic?)
Recursion
You might dig The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It’s dysptopian and told from the perspective of a “Security Unit” – they’re all very short. First book is All Systems Red.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
How about *The Postman* by David Brin? It’s not’wacky world building’ but it’s an interesting and unique way to take you through/build a post-apocalyptic world.
The *Silo* trilogy might be another good option, because it’s also a bit of a mystery and the author does a great job of feeding information to you throughout.
Neuromancer(Gibson)
Snow Crash(Stephenson)
The Parable of the Sower
*Marrow* by Robert Reed. Great novel about humans discovering an empty spaceship bigger than a planet and journeying on it through space with other species, over a period of thousands of years. Really unique story.
I hated munmun, but it’s unique. A world where people’s physical size is determined by how much money they have
Arc of the Scythe trilogy