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Becs (244 KP) rated 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four in Books
Oct 2, 2019
1984 by George Orwell, one of my favorite literary classic novels to this date! This was a monster to get through but once I finished, I was able to take the novel as a whole and learn from it. And man, what a loaded punch it throws at you. George Orwell is a favorite of mine and his writing style is just exactly what I expect from an author from his era.
1984 is about a government that controls everything a citizen of Oceania does, says, etc. If you rebel, you get kidnapped, tortured and then broken down to the point where they are able to rebuild you into the ideal citizen. That’s pretty much exactly what happens in this 328-page novel. But trust me when I say, this is worth a read through!
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Literary Classic
Reading Level: High School +
Interests: Dystopian worlds, politics, science fiction, totalitarian systems.
Difficulty Reading: Like putting butter on a soft piece of bread. Not kidding, 1984 was difficult to read but the meaning behind it is what counts.
Promise: Dystopian, Sci-Fi world with a totalitarian system that runs your life until you are no longer a rebellious individual and instead under their complete control. A bit like being a slave.
Favorite Quotes: “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
What Will You Gain: Knowledge on what the world could turn into when the government decides to rule over all a certain way. Where everything you do is controlled and if you do anything differently or that goes against what the government says, you end up dead.
Aesthetics: The entirety of the novel. The cover. How Orwell pretty much has the real world mixed in with a fantasy world. I mean, you just have to read it to know.
“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”
1984 is about a government that controls everything a citizen of Oceania does, says, etc. If you rebel, you get kidnapped, tortured and then broken down to the point where they are able to rebuild you into the ideal citizen. That’s pretty much exactly what happens in this 328-page novel. But trust me when I say, this is worth a read through!
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Literary Classic
Reading Level: High School +
Interests: Dystopian worlds, politics, science fiction, totalitarian systems.
Difficulty Reading: Like putting butter on a soft piece of bread. Not kidding, 1984 was difficult to read but the meaning behind it is what counts.
Promise: Dystopian, Sci-Fi world with a totalitarian system that runs your life until you are no longer a rebellious individual and instead under their complete control. A bit like being a slave.
Favorite Quotes: “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
What Will You Gain: Knowledge on what the world could turn into when the government decides to rule over all a certain way. Where everything you do is controlled and if you do anything differently or that goes against what the government says, you end up dead.
Aesthetics: The entirety of the novel. The cover. How Orwell pretty much has the real world mixed in with a fantasy world. I mean, you just have to read it to know.
“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”

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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The List in Books
Nov 9, 2017 (Updated Nov 9, 2017)
Quite a few plot holes, not very developed writing style
I enjoyed the concept of mixing both an apocalyptic scenario with a dystopian fiction, such as a cross between the Hunger Games and High Rise, however, I thought it fell short in many ways. The context was not particularly developed as we had little understanding of what really happened before and after the Melting. The idea of language as a weapon pre-apocalypse was also not very clear. There was a wild amount of movement and action that was also not fully formed, so it made it difficult to envisage the characters travelling from A to B. Overall, a great, relevant and contemporary topic with a few descriptive flaws.

LissaBeth21 (6 KP) rated The Years of Rice and Salt in Books
Jan 8, 2018
What a stunning, epic tale. A collection of lives, a group of souls described as a jati, wending their way across the centuries of an alternate history.
What if the western / European world was wiped out completely in the 14th century instead of only 1/3rd of the population? Kim Stanley Robinson vividly imagines the stages of life and consequences to the world. The rise and spread of Islam instead of Christianity. The different minds who would awaken to the natural sciences. The empire building of China into the New World. The continuation of Native American cultures through their cooperation and shared values.
Dystopian historical science fiction with serious questions of religion, philosophy, and sociopolitical theories expertly woven together.
What if the western / European world was wiped out completely in the 14th century instead of only 1/3rd of the population? Kim Stanley Robinson vividly imagines the stages of life and consequences to the world. The rise and spread of Islam instead of Christianity. The different minds who would awaken to the natural sciences. The empire building of China into the New World. The continuation of Native American cultures through their cooperation and shared values.
Dystopian historical science fiction with serious questions of religion, philosophy, and sociopolitical theories expertly woven together.

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Hunger Games (2012) in Movies
Aug 15, 2017
Not an original concept, but enjoyable watch
To be fair, I had never heard of the Hunger Games series before the film came out. So when I watched it my first reaction was - this is a rip off Battle Royale! Obviously that changed after the other films came out. However, I enjoyed the concept - because I loved BR. And I especially liked Jennifer Lawrence who always plays such fabulously gritty characters such as in The Winter's Bone. It's not a film you can watch repeatedly though because it is rather dark, and there are zero comedy elements in this dystopian fantasy (obviously). That being said, great acting all round.

Anna Steele (111 KP) rated Ones and Zeroes in Books
Jun 27, 2018
Binary is cool!
This is the sequel to Bluescreen and it definitely adresses some of my qualms with the first. There is a lot more action in the game in this sequel, the Cherry Dogs get into a tourny and it is the main focus of the novel. I love the group effort that present throughout this book, unlike many dystopian society novels where the main character can barely trust anyone and they feel like they have to save the world all by themselves and keep secrets and feel personally responsible for every death their stupid plan caused, this is a breath of fresh air. Everyone plays a part and Marisa definitely couldn’t have done it alone.

Karlaalyy (10 KP) rated The Selection in Books
Jul 14, 2018
Character development (2 more)
Romance
Not your average heroine
Dystopian fantasy
Contains spoilers, click to show
The story follows America, an unlikely heroine, in a futuristic USA where presidency has been overthrown and monarchy rules. In order to stop riots and rebellions across the country the monarchy organises a selection of women from different social classes (ordered by number) to compete to marry the crown prince. America is a singer, a woman of a lower class above only manual labourers, slaves and the homeless. Her large heart, rebellious spirit and social class endear her to both the prince and the people however the king sees her as a threat and will do everything in his power to get rid of her.

AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated The Handmaid's Tale in Books
Oct 18, 2019
The Republic of Gilead allows Offred to serve for only one purpose, and that is to breed. If this does not happen she runs the risk of being hanged, or being sent away to die slowly and painfully of radiation sickness.
This tale of a dystopian future, where many practices such as reading are illegal, and the struggle to create new life, brings in a class structure that rivals history was beautifully written. Atwoods use of language and descriptive imagery allows for you to immerse yourself in how it would feel for Offred.
I’m not normally a reader of these type of stories (hence the lower rating) but I enjoyed this and would certainly be reading the next instalment.
This tale of a dystopian future, where many practices such as reading are illegal, and the struggle to create new life, brings in a class structure that rivals history was beautifully written. Atwoods use of language and descriptive imagery allows for you to immerse yourself in how it would feel for Offred.
I’m not normally a reader of these type of stories (hence the lower rating) but I enjoyed this and would certainly be reading the next instalment.

Danielle Chaplin (81 KP) rated The Hunger Games in Books
Jul 30, 2019
Incredible book
This was the first proper dystopian teen book I had read (well before the film's) and I really enjoyed the complexity and reality the author gave to the story, how the mother struggled with her husband's death and what this meant to a family living in such a cut throat world. I loved how you could see why she was doing what she did, that she never planned to get out alive when she saw who was going in with her and how she wasn't the 'darling' of the book nor a 'princess' to be looked after.
The ending of the series was a let down but this book is great to get your teeth into
The ending of the series was a let down but this book is great to get your teeth into