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Recommend some books for me?

L

Latsi

New Member
So I have been doing a ton of reading for enjoyment recently and I decided I really like a few key plot points in books. These points are:
  • A different society, any world that does things differently than we currently do. Such as where in the hunger games they live in the twelve districts and have this special event, that is very interesting to me. For this I also like it to be fiction, instead of just reading about someone in a third world country or something like that.
  • I like drama and romance, this is kinda vague about what exactly I like about it, but I enjoy there being relationships and conflicts with them.
  • I've enjoyed books that take place all over time, though I do find myself enjoying futuristic, post-apocalyptic books the most.
  • I like a plot line that expands in more than one book.
  • The main character(s) become part of something bigger than themselves, such as being in a war or something like that.
The two best example I can give that fit these characteristics have been the last two trilogies I have been reading, The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin (Only the first two books as the last one isn't releasing until October), and more recently the Divergent trilogy.

In The Passage they are living in a vampire apocalypse and the book goes through how it all started, and then it goes to what the people were living in. It had a really cool setup with a small community who have been self-sufficient for 100 years. (This is the different society.) There is a good selection of characters, many of which end up in a relationship.

In the Divergent trilogy it focuses on a self-sufficient community, a lot like the Passage. Their community is divided up into five factions with different values. (This is the different society.) I really liked the first book where you got to feel a large part of what it is like to live in that world, and what it is like to be part of a big faction with different values. There is a lot of romance in the book which I really did like, and even more in the second one.

So, any recommendations would be much appreciated as I'm going to need a new book to get lost in very soon, otherwise I will most likely find myself bored and depressed. :)
 
The Windup Girl (linky) was recommended to me as a good read, which it is in my opinion. It also approaches a distopian near future that is entirely in the realm of possibility and, more importantly to your query, is written from a non-western viewpoint. I found that refreshing.
 
Hi Latsi, two suggestions that immediately come to mind are Margaret Atwood's dystopian trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam) and Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy that begins with one of this year's hottest thrillers, Annihilation. VanderMeer's second book will be out later this summer.
 
Sneezy said:
The Windup Girl (linky) was recommended to me as a good read, which it is in my opinion. It also approaches a distopian near future that is entirely in the realm of possibility and, more importantly to your query, is written from a non-western viewpoint. I found that refreshing.
Click to expand...

I checked it out and read a few summaries of it, I think I will end up giving it a shot, thanks for the suggestion.

Reads to Sleep said:
Hi Latsi, two suggestions that immediately come to mind are Margaret Atwood's dystopian trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam) and Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy that begins with one of this year's hottest thrillers, Annihilation. VanderMeer's second book will be out later this summer.
Click to expand...

I looked at the first one in the dystopian trilogy and I was very interested by the fact that it is a very different society. I feel like I will either end up loving it or it may just end up on the shelf, as it seems to have an interesting plot line but I'm unsure of how much I will like it.

And the Southern Reach trilogy seems to have another thing I really enjoyed about the Passage trilogy, where a small group of people end up going through a large part of the world with many different occurrences happening on their journey. I think I'll end up getting this one for sure.

Thanks for the suggestions. :)
 
:welcome Welcome, Latsi! I'll try and get you some more suggestions tomorrow. I like reading books with alternate societies as well!
 
Latsi, we're happy to help. Have you read Stephen King's The Stand, in which the Superflu has wiped out all but a tiny percent of the U.S. population, and the small group of survivors choose sides between good and evil? It's only one book, but it's a behemoth.

You might like On Such a Full Sea, Chang-rae Lee's vision of a class-stratified dystopian United States. Fan, a fish-tank diver, leaves the safety of B-Mor (formerly known as Baltimore), to search for her lover, who has disappeared.

Although I haven't read it, one of my friends enjoyed Julianna Baggott's dystopian trilogy (Pure, Fuse, Burn). Here's the Library Journal Express Review of Pure:

"Baggott has written fiction, poetry, and children's books, but nothing she has done can prepare readers for the power and sheer inventiveness that burns straight through this first volume in a dystopian trilogy. The Detonations have left an inhospitable landscape and a group of survivors fused with whatever they were near at the time-animals, friends, children, a fan, the very dust of the earth. At age 16, all survivors must turn themselves in to become either soldiers or live targets for those in charge of this dark and frightening world. Just 16 and fleeing her fate, doll-fisted Pressia encounters Partridge, one of the Pures who were (suspiciously) safe inside the Dome when the Detonations hit. Pressia and her rebellious, bird-backed friend Bradwell help Partridge as he looks for his mother, who he has just learned might still be alive. What they find is a whole lot more surprising. Verdict: Not just for fans of fantasy, dystopian fiction, or coming-of-age tales; highly recommended for anyone who wants an absorbing read."
 
Perhaps something like The Road by Cormac McCarthy
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395849473&sr=1-1&keywords=the+road+by+cormac+McCarthy
or
World War Z by Max Brooks, which is not your typical zombie book, by any means. Done in documentary/newspaper article style.
http://www.amazon.com/World-Mass-Market-Movie-Tie-/dp/0770437400/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395849549&sr=1-1&keywords=world war z

I've read and enjoyed both very much.

I've read the first two of The Passage trilogy too, loved them. :)
 
pontalba said:
Perhaps something like The Road by Cormac McCarthy
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395849473&sr=1-1&keywords=the+road+by+cormac+McCarthy
or
World War Z by Max Brooks, which is not your typical zombie book, by any means. Done in documentary/newspaper article style.
http://www.amazon.com/World-Mass-Market-Movie-Tie-/dp/0770437400/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395849549&sr=1-1&keywords=world war z

I've read and enjoyed both very much.

I've read the first two of The Passage trilogy too, loved them. :)
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I second The Road, really bleak and beautiful, and World War Z, a great mockumentary.
 
I really enjoyed (am still enjoying, seeing as I haven't finished the series yet...) the Obernewton Chronicles series by Isobelle Carmody. Its dystopian and the entire plot is so extensive its amazing. If you like books where the characters are involved in something bigger than themselves then you can't look past this series. Seriously, it's kinda mind-blowing!
Anyway, I think there are seven books to the series (I myself am only up to book four) and at the end of each novel you think it can't possibly get any better and that there are no plot twists that can possibly surprise you after what you just read, but believe me IT GETS BETTER!!!!!
The series is really a cross-genre with elements of fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, romance and adventure (I'm sure I could have thrown a few more in there). So it covers just about everything with out being a mashed up mess.
So, yeah, It's a really fantasic series.
 
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