Dystopian Digest Issue #3

Dystopian reviews:

Nicholas Morine reviewed Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood: 'Bound tightly together by a cast of intelligently written characters led by an empathetic and tragic protagonist, Atwood's intrepid and touching story stands shoulder to shoulder with literary giants within the canon of dystopic literature."

Lizzy of Cornucopia of Reviews reviewed The Line by Teri Hall: "The Line was an intriguing, and suspenseful book focusing on the dystopian society that was once the U.S. (the Unified States). After winning a nuclear war, borders aren't to be crossed, and the government bears down on citizens by enforcing harsh laws."

Lenore of Presenting Lenore reviewed The Resistance by Gemma Malley: "
While these are certainly interesting ideas to explore, the execution is very uneven. Every adult not in the resistance (with one notable exception) is portrayed as irredeemably selfish and heartless."

Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell reviewed The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness:" What can I say, if you liked the Hunger Games then I am sure you will like this one too. Anyone can read and and enjoy it. And it sure has some suspense, and the secrets, oh the secrets. For fans of dystopian like fiction, read this."

Dystopian news and articles:

BIG NEWS: Will there be an Uglies series movie? Read the full article here.

Two big book covers were revealed this week. One for Zombies vs. Unicorns and the other for the third Hunger Games book:


While you're at it go to that Zombies vs. Unicorn site and vote for zombies!

Lauren Oliver announced the title of her second book "a dystopian Romeo-and-Juliet story."

Carrie Ryan blogged about how to get autographed copies of her book The Dead Tossed Waves: "Hey y'all! I've had a few people ask about how to get an autographed copy of The Dead-Tossed Waves when it comes out March 9, 2010 (yay so soon!). Here are three ways!"

Dystopian contests:

Lenore is giving away The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness.

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?

Dystopian Digest Issue #1

Welcome to the very first issue of Dystopian Digest. Dystopian Digest is a weekly feature showcasing some of the latest dystopian links in the blogosphere. My inspiration for DD came from The Story Siren's YA Connection feature.

Dystopian book reviews:

Mr. Maurer of Coffee for the Brain posted a review of The Maze Runner by James Dashner: "If you are looking for a book to quench your thirst of a novel like Hunger Games, then this is a must read. Actually, this is a must read if you just plain enjoy reading books that have the dystopian feel."

A review of The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood at The Last Word Blog: "Atwood’s writing is confident and taut, something I rarely expect from a female writer. There is so much going on in terms of plot, pace and subtext, that you find yourself marvelling at this woman’s talent. "

Kate at The Neverending Shelf recommends Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey to all of her readers: "This book is always on the top of my recommendation list. It is an amazingly vivid novel that sucks readers into its pages. To be honest, this is book remains the grittiest novel that I have ever read. "

Bermuda Onion reviewed one of my favorite dystopian novels this week, Battle Royale by Koushun Takami: "While the overall plot of this book was good, I struggled to finish it. At over 600 pages, I felt that it was too long, and at times, there was too much detail. Several pages would be devoted to a student’s background just to lead up to their death. "

Beth of Beth Fish Reads reviewed Genesis by Bernard Beckett: "Unfortunately, I have no way of discussing this book without ruining the entire experience. Just take my word for it, this is a book worth reading and worth owning, so you can reread it—maybe even moments after you finish the first time."

Dystopian movie and Televesion reviews:

Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon reviewed the new movie Daybreakers: "There's some fun to be had and it feels unique, but Daybreakers lacks an overall "wow" factor making it hard to suggest it as a necessary theatrical viewing."

Greg Victor of Parcbench.com reviewed the new movie The Book of Eli: "No matter how much I wanted to like this movie (and I did want to like this movie), I have to report that I had absolutely no idea how I felt about it as I walked out of the theater. Was it a great action flick/morality tale or just a ridiculously hyper-violent missed opportunity? Alas, if that question has to be asked, then we know the answer. "

Other articles and posts:

The Top 9 Signs You Are Reading a Bad Dystopian Novel at littlefivers:

"9>This author’s idea of a bleak, grim, and hopelessly angst-making future seems to revolve around not having a Starbucks on the corner." Click here to read the rest of the list.

One of our very own contributors, Gail when to the ALA this past week. Check out the recap on her blog to see what cool dystopian titles she got: "On the day of the ALA I decided to drive into Boston and thanks to my handy dandy GPS I made it to the convention center no problem, parked in their ample parking lot and before I knew it I was all registered and getting my first site of the floor."

Lusty Reader asks: Are apocalypse and dystopian stories now less appealing: "The pictures and news of the earthquake in Haiti is a true post-apocalyptic world. As I scrolled through these images were burned in my brain and merged with all the imaginary images from the books I had been reading. The ash that the characters in The Road had to breathe through and that covered the land is too eerily similar to the concrete dust that coats the faces and streets of Port-au-Prince."

Philip Reeve wrote a thought provoking post titled Apocalypse, schmapocalyspe: "The truth is, we never get tired of seeing the world destroyed. I suspect on some deep level most people secretly look forward to armageddon. We feel we deserve it. "

Dystopian giveaways:

1. Win a copy of Veracity by Laura Bynum at The Bibliophilic Book Blog. Open until 2/5
2. Win a copy of The Passage by Justin Cronin at The Boston Bibliophile. Open unitl 1/31

If you know of any dystopian giveaways that I missed, please link to them in the comments.