I love science fiction that explores harrowing new cultural realities in our world if certain scientific or technological advancements are made. Examples of books I’ve loved are Annie Bot by Sierra Greer and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Can you please recommend other books like these?
by dont_be_all_uncool__
14 Comments
Have you ever read the giver? I love this theme. I have mostly seen movies and tv shows with this theme but I have read some good books like this too. You’re looking for dystopian books for reference!
Have never come across the to books you mentioned but will add them to my list. My recommendation, nonetheless, would be a book called An Absolutely Remarkable Thing followed by A Beautifully Foolish Endeavour. Both are by Hank Green and absolutely loved the books. Couldn’t put them down till I was done with it in 10 days!
We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
Trouble With Lichen by John Wyndham
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman
The short fiction of Ted Chiang
Three Body Problem kind of inversely fits this, but thought I’d mention it anyway. It was a really good read and makes you wanna read the rest of the trilogy. It’s actually about problems the world faces with the inability to make scientific advances bc of an alien civilization.
“Oryx and Crake,” “The Year of the Flood,” and “Maddaddam” by Margaret Atwood.
“The Anomaly” by Hervé Le Tellier.
I love this type of book as well! You might like The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Firestar series by Michael Flynn
Well it technically isn’t set on Earth, but I think The Moon is a Harsh Mistress would meet the vibe you’re looking for. It deals with the moon colony breaking away from Earth.
h{{the merge by grace walker}}
h{{the measure by Nikki erlick}}
Also look until John Marrs books. I liked the series that was h{{the one by John Marrs}} h{{ the passengers by John Marrs}} h{{the minders by John Marrs}} h{{the marriage act by John Marrs}} and h{{the family experiment by John Marrs}} which are all exactly the type is books you are looking for and fun reads
Here are a few where I REALLY hope the author is wrong.
Zelazny – Damnation Alley
Sterling Lanier – his “Hiero Desteen” novels.
I’m currently reading *The Dream Hotel* by Laila Lalimi. It’s set in a near future where social media profiles, records, cameras, and sleep/dream implants (which people get to function better with less sleep) are all used to build a profile and risk score that someone will commit a crime, and all of it was turned over to for-profit companies.
*Cloud Cuckoo Land* by Anthony Doerr is about how a single story (and libraries) impact people from the fifteenth century to the future. Sci-fi elements include a space ship with an AI, and an interactive world atlas.
*The Candy House* by Jennifer Egan, partly a follow-up to *A Visit from the Goon Squad*, has a character who develops a way to externally record, save, and share memories.
*Orbital* by Samantha Harvey is set in the space station in the near future. I don’t think there are too many sci-fi elements that don’t exist today, but the earth is further along in the climate crisis. It’s not a traditional narrative, though, and is akin to Virginia Woolf’s *The Wave*s but in space.
Ditto Ishiguro’s *Klara and the Sun*, Butler’s *Parable of the Sower*, and Chiang’s two collections of short stories.
Short story, not a book: Saying Goodbye to Yang by Alexander Weinstein. Haven’t read it yet, but the movie was incredible.
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler — pretty prescient considering the current advancements in AI systems.