Dystopian Digest Issue #2

Challenge news:

Parajunkee is hosting a 2010 Dystopian Reading Challenge: "I've placed this challenge upon myself, so I decided to share it with the blogoverse. I enjoyed books such as The Hunger Games and Uglies so much that I planned on revisiting them this year, along with others in this category for comparison purposes. Therefor why not a challenge?" Click here* to join the tour of find the rules. *blog contributors feel free to post your challenge list on this blog as well.

Reviews:

Reviews for The Sky Inside and The Walls Have Eyes by Clare B. Dunkle at Stilleto Storytime: "I felt the premise while done before was done beautifully and given new insights and ideas. Readers who like science fiction and dystopian settings will be delighted. I really enjoyed both works. While somewhat predictable at times, one has to remind oneself that for this reading level it might not be predictable at all. I highly recommend the series and am hoping that it will be followed with a third installation at some point. It would be a great pick for reluctant readers especially boys. "

Review of The Ask and The Answer at Rhapsody in Books: "The author takes what is basically a one-note idea and creates a dark fugue of complex characterization and surprising plot turns. There are such moments of deep tenderness and poignancy intermixed with visceral cruelty that it can take your breath away. This is an exciting, edge-of-your-seat book that repeatedly impresses you by

the author’s skill for conjuring up the unexpected."

CarrieK of Books and Movies reviewed Gone by Michael Grant: "This book is extremely well-written, with the right amount of description to put the reader right into the action – smelling the smells, seeing the sights, feeling the fear and anxiety – but not to slow the pace. It kept me turning page after page. And I will definitely be picking up book two in the series to see what happens next. Don’t let the YA label keep any of you grown-ups from picking this up! If you love a good story, this book delivers."

Zella Kate reviewed Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: " Rather than fashioning atotalitarian communistic society, like so many other dystopianwriters, Bradbury's futuristic world bears a disturbing resemblance to modern-day America, with its rejection of knowledge and culture in favor of superficial pursuits. This book is often championed as a criticism of book censorship and it is. But the real target of Bradbury's anger is obsession with televison and superficiality in general.

Articles:

Joni of The Spectacle writes: "What defines a dystopian novel for you? What are some of your favorite examples… and any alleged dystopias that may not fit the label? Or is “dystopian” just a marketing word without meaning?" and "Are dystopian books science fiction, fantasy, or not even speculative?"

Bill Gates Warns of a Dystopian Future: “If we project what the world will be like 10 years from now without innovation in health, education, energy, or food, the picture is quite bleak,” said Gates, in his annual letter from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, published earlier this week."

A very thoguht provoking cartoon titled Amusing Ourselves to Death can be found here. Aldous Huxley vs. George Orwell: who had the right idea?