YA books are great but I want something more complex. Maybe something that truly dives into the horror of the situation.
Yes, the horror of sending kids to kill each other as entertainment on live tv is explored in the books, but not on a deeper level. When I revisited this series as an adult I found myself truly appreciating the extent of the absolutely sick Capitol society's awful actions and the implications of those actions.
I need a good adult book that has a society, dystopian or otherwise, with some really sick and horrifying practices like in The Hunger Games. But, deeper, more horrifying, etc.
Thank you.
by 8yearsfornothing
12 Comments
Run, don’t walk, to _Tender Is The Flesh_ by Agustina Bazterrica.
I feel like this is going to be thrown out a lot, but Battle Royale by Koushun Takami is really good.
**The Running Man**, by Stephen King (under the pen name Richard Bachmann). There’s a reality show, of a sort. It’s…a lot, and we’re in the head of a contestant.
**The Long Walk**, also by him**,** fits this concept as well. 100 young men are chosen every year to compete in an endurance event – a simple walk, along a prearranged route. There won’t be a hundred of them for long
Dungeon Crawler Carl is absolutely perfect for this. Best on audiobook, but amazing either way.
Handmaid’s Tale or The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood. THGL is less religious fundamentalism and more about ordinary people being sucked into a horrific system that they don’t understand.
Battle Royale, The Long Walk, Running Man, Dungeon Crawler Carl, and top tier would be The Handmaid’s Tale.
Red Rising could work here
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Not quite the same tone, but you might look at The Centre or The Ferryman
Pretty sure Hunger Games was based on Battle Royale which is more adult and heavier
The Book Of The Unnamed Midwife
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley