Dystopias, Sci-Fi, and other Futuristic Genres

Hey guys, today on my blog I talked about the genres of the future (which sounds a lot more glamorous than it is). It raised a lot of questions for me, and I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Here's the link: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Then come back here and report!

I'll give cookies!

*is very interested*

Yay! Cookies! I actually saw your link for it on twitter before this so I read it then It was good! Since I don't write those genres I only had a vague idea of what they all were and now I feel all smart and knowledgeable I think out of those three genres Dystopia is my favorite

Cookies! *claps excitedly*

I think my favorites are dystopian and post-apocalyptic, done well. I probably don't need to tack on the 'done well' bit--I don't really like anything not done well, haha. I can sometimes get into soft scifi, but it's more of a stretch for me. Dragon & Thief (by Timothy Zahn), after the first chapter, is a good example of scifi I can read. But I'd suggest skipping that first chapter. I almost stopped reading because of it, but it got quite good afterward, so I'm glad I didn't.

What's weird is that I usually really like scifi movies and tv shows--Stargate SG1, for example(until the last few seasons...blech). And the Star Trek movie, and the Enterprise series(don't judge me if this is bad, I watched it in elementary school, lol). It's just one of those things I'd much rather have in a visual medium. The same thing goes for other genres--I really don't like reading crime/police-type novels, but I LOVE The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Monk, and Psych. It's all about the medium.

Glad I could help, Sarah And yeah, Amanda, I see what you mean. Sometimes if you aren't a science-y person, your mind can't wrap itself around the visual a sci-fi book is giving, and it's easier to see it in a visual medium. Or at least, I think that may be it!

Thanks guys. Lauren Destefano actually tweeted me and said she didn't pitch Wither as dystopian . . . interesting.

Really? I've never read the book but the description of it sounds dystopian.

I just clicked into my English class and guess what we're learning about? Dystopian genre. lol

Yeah, unless the author has some really cool science behind it that might actually work, I kind of just want to see it and be briefly told what it does. Which works a lot better in tv, because you can see it. In much of what I've read in the scifi genre(not much, & this is why), the author will try to get the same effect by describing the object in great detail. But a glance is a glance, and a whole page of description is not a glance. It's a stare, and that's rude.

*nods* That was good! I like your question, too. I actually have wondered the same thing, where the line is and if we need a new genre. ;P Your definitions were great! I've been asked twice since Write On! started what "dystopian" is -- that's the best definition I've read so far. Thank you for this!

And thanks for posting it here too, LOL. I follow blogs but I never read them. I need to be reminded.

@Sarah: Wow, I'm really jealous of your English class! We never talked about dystopians! The closest we got was reading Animal Farm, since Orwell also wrote 1984.

@Amanda: LOL about the stare! Yeah I have this almost instantaneous travel thing, but I have no idea how the science works, so I left it vague.

@Lizzy: Glad to help! I like my blog. Blogging is addictive I especially like when others like it, and when people leave comments, well, it's kinda like my birthday. Except not really because then I would be like 200, and that would suck, cuz I'd prolly be dead.

@Taryn Awwww, now I totally am going to comment on your blog every time! xD

Taryn wrote:@Sarah: Wow, I'm really jealous of your English class! We never talked about dystopians! The closest we got was reading Animal Farm, since Orwell also wrote 1984.

My English class can be really good at times. Thankfully we never had to read Animal Farm but we read this short story that was a really interesting dystopia so in the lesson today it went through and used two slides to define and explain dystopia and utopia. It was pretty cool

Sarah wrote:My English class can be really good at times. Thankfully we never had to read Animal Farm but we read this short story that was a really interesting dystopia so in the lesson today it went through and used two slides to define and explain dystopia and utopia. It was pretty cool

...I liked Animal Farm. *bursts into sobs*

And 1984. Well, mainly 1984, but I did like Animal Farm. And Anthem, by Ayn Rand. Cry, the Beloved Country...The Good Earth... Does that make me the weird kid in English class that everyone dislikes?

Haha, Amanda. No, I liked Animal Farm (which we read for class) and 1984 (which I read for fun), though I loved the latter much, much more. (Probably because I read it for fun.)

@Amanda lol! Nope, it doesn't. My english class made us read almost all of Jane Austens's books and I loved them I've never read any of those books though, actually except for Animal Farm I've never heard about any of those books haha are they really good? My mom said Animal Farm was kinda creepy.

It depends on what you like. Cry, The Beloved Country and The Good Earth are world lit pieces that can get pretty dry and/or dark in places. Anthem is a dystopian, so I really liked it--very short, also, so no dry parts. In class, each group was assigned a chapter, and that was all you had to read, but I read the whole thing, lol. So I'd say, if you're going to read one of the books I listed, it should be Anthem.

Along with Cry, The Beloved Country, we read Things Fall Apart, as part of the African unit. I didn't list it earlier, even though it's much easier reading, b/c I didn't like it. I enjoyed the depiction of African culture before European influence, but some of their practices made me sick. If you ever read it, you'll see what I mean.

I, thankfully, haven't had to do that read one chapter thing since 4th grade. I hated it because you got really into the book and then the teacher made us all give a summary of our chapters to the class so after that the book was ruined for me :/ I'll look for Anthem next time I'm at the library . The only book I've read that's dystopia is the Uglies series (which I loved) so if any of the books are even a little bit like that then I'm sure I'll like it. Thanks for the suggestions

Sarah wrote:The only book I've read that's dystopia is the Uglies series

YOU HAVEN'T READ THE HUNGER GAMES??????????????????????????????????????????????????

Haha, nope. After I saw the reviews for the last one I decided not to read any of them. I don't like it when the series ends with me being mad.

Sigh. Shoot yourself in the foot, if you so choose. *is disappointed*

Lol *ducks and hides* If the book isn't all that great then why read it? *hides again*

Huh? Isn't all that great?

I've never heard anyone complain about Hunger Games or Catching Fire. The main complaint I heard on Mockingjay was the lack of happy ending. Instead of happy, it was realistic. There's no denying that the trilogy was incredible, gut-punching, and well-done. Readers only complain that it was too bleak, too unfulfilling. But really, I don't think I could have believed it, had it ended another way.

I liked Mockingjay--I had one complaint, but it was just because I loved the character and didn't want (him/her) to perish. But they did. And it was sad. But it's much better than if the author had made it all rainbows and sunshine and happy happy joy joy. Because that wouldn't have made any sense! READ THEM. DO IT NOW. After you finish your essays.

Lol! Okay, okay, I will! Haha I'll try to find it at my library

Good.