What sci fi / dystopian book written in the past amazed you with its ability to predict things that are happening now?
For example, I have been amazed for the past few years how much Ender’s Game plot theme about Demosthenes and Locke predicted the manipulation of social media for political purposes. I read it 30 or 40 years ago, and as I have been watching the information wars in the US and other countries, I am amazed that Card was able to suss this all out before we all even had reliable internet service, or even email. I read it again recently and was amazed at the way ender’s education mirrored the asynchronous online classes that I teach.
Another book that predicted some things very accurately, was World War Z. As throngs started to heat up in the Ukraine and with Covid, an old friend of mine texted me and said, “WWZ is coming true. Look out for the zombies next!”
by Novel_Positive7156
6 Comments
Dune comes true every 4 years in America.
Snow Crash is ridiculously over the top but it’s also the one cyberpunk novel that seems to be coming true more year by year.
I would say practically all of cyberpunk became true except for the cool aesthetic.
1984 Orwell with phrases like.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command”.
Reminds me a lot of the Narratives our own Government spins through media
I’m gonna make the slightly rude take: almost all of them, because they’re not predictive. They’re descriptive. Sci fi and dystopia are settings used to critique current events in their own time. They’re “predicting” the present, so of course they come true.
*Manufacturing Consent* was published in 1988 for example. The use of media to manipulate truth that you’re talking about was something already known and discussed at the time. It didn’t *become* relevant. It *remained* relevant.
The Handmaid’s Tale is entirely based on a collection of policies and practices that have happened somewhere at some time in history. Margaret Atwood said she didn’t want any one to ever said “This could never happen” because it already has.