Futuristic Novels

[Amber]

What are your opinions on novels set in the future?

I think some of them are really far-fetched, and some of them are actually believeable. Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and soon to be Extras by Scott Westerfeld, are all set in the future, and are very believeable, in my opinion. I haven't read many stories that are set in the future, but I do know that some are all "It's 50 years in the future, and our cars can fly!". Yeah, right. They said that in 1950 (I think) , and look where we are now.

[shred]

I don't mind novels set in the future. I think it's pretty interesting to read them as a lot of the authors have great and creative take on the future. I've read Uglies, Pretties, Specials and I love them. He has such a great look on the future that it's very refreshing. I can't wait for Extras to come out.

At the moment, I'm reading Storm Thief by Chris Wooding and it's also a futuristic novel. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Here's a bit about Storm Thief.

SPOILER: Click to show

Almost no one comes to the gray, manmade island of Orokos in the middle of the sea, and even fewer leave it: "skimmers," mechanisms of an ancient and forgotten technology, ruthlessly destroy would-be emigrants. Officially and effectively, there is no world outside Orokos -- leaving the poor, tattooed by the government into a nasty, short and brutish existence in the city's ghettoes, with no means of escape. But even the wealthy and powerful are subject to the city's "probability storms" in which whole districts move, people wake up with six fingers instead of five, and Revenants, ghostly beings whose touch is death to humans, are created. Fancifully attributed to a mythical, ambiguous figure called the Storm Thief, these reality shifts only contribute to the uncertainty of life on Orokos, especially for the poor.

Enter teenaged protagonists Rail and Moa. Having lost his ability to breathe in a probability storm, Rail now depends on a disfiguring metal respirator. Moa's mother was taken by the government, and her father died trying to escape the island. Out of necessity, the two are thieves, scraping an existence in the ghettoes -- until they steal an ancient piece of technology with remarkable capabilities. In their ensuing flight from the people who want it, they come across a fellow fugitive called Vago -- a half-human, half-machine winged golem with the curiosity of a 5-year-old and the instincts of a killer. Life suddenly gets very interesting and very complicated for Rail, Moa and Vago. Not just their lives are at stake, but their friendships, their freedom -- and perhaps even the city of Orokos itself.

And that's just the beginning of a mad dash through Orokos, from the steaming blackmarket of the ghettoes to a deserted district overrun with Revenants, to a secret cliffside society with an impossible goal and to the impenetrable Null Spire itself, which houses within it the Chaos Engine responsible for the skimmers, the Revenants and the probability storms. Wooding's imagination is fully evidenced in this strange island. Strikingly beautiful images -- a girl stolen by the Storm Thief who now lives only in paintings throughout the city, the bright colors of a probability storm -- offer sharp contrast to the grim realities of hunger and betrayal.

[Allan]

That sounds interesting, Irene.

I don't mind books set in the future, regardless of how believable they are. If the book is good enough to get me to suspend disbelief, I'm there. I think discounting a book because it's a far fetched take on the future is akin to discounting Lord of the Rings because hobbits, elves and wizards don't exist.

That said, I am always a sucker for stories set in an Orwellian future, with the whole "big brother is watching" thing. It's quite interesting to see how much of the stuff written fifty odd years ago is reflecting current society, as well.

[Allan]

Does anybody have any favourite authors who write stories about the future?

Isaac Asimov has written some very interesting stories, though I've only read some of his short story collections, rather than his novels. Same with Philip K Dick, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (otherwise known as Blade Runner for those of you who just saw the movie) is an all-time favourite of mine.

[shred]

I'm a big fan of futuristic/dystopia books. It's probably the only type of sci-fi books I don't mind reading.

May 4, 2008 14:23:28 GMT 10 Allan said:

Does anybody have any favourite authors who write stories about the future?

My favourite author would have to be Scott Westerfeld who wrote the Uglies series. Loved his other books as well.

[spoonerism]

I'm also a huge fan of the futuristic/dystopia genre.

Of my favorites in the YA genre include the Uglies trilogy, The Hunger Games trilogy, The Host, and The Maze Runner trilogy.

Of the classics, Brave New World and 1984 are the best.

[shred]

The Maze Runner trilogy is next on my list! ;D

[spoonerism]

Yeah, it's pretty good. I couldn't stop reading it! A lot of my friends found it predictable, but I still found it highly entertaining.

[Nico]

I Could not get into the Uglies trilogy at all. I did however enjoy the Maze runner books

[shred]

I enjoyed The Maze Runner. I started on the second book but stopped after the first two chapters when I decided to read my library books first.

The third book is out I think. Will get that soon. ;D

[Nico]

Maze runner is awesome. I believe I have read my way threw most futuristic books worthwhile. I might have to scour Amazon for a new one.

[shred]

I'm currently reading Blood Red Road. So far it's ok. It's the writing that is annoying and hard to get use to.

I've got Bumped in my to-read list. Have you read that one, Nico? It has a similar cover as Crossed/Matched series. But from the synopsis, it's very much like Delirium and Wither.

[Nico]

I haven't heard of bump I will have a look for it, what is it about?