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Why I Write Dystopian

4/2/2013

4 Comments

 
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A few days ago, as I was watching the critically acclaimed show, The Walking Dead, I had a thought. Just as Andrea was about to stab a screwdriver into a zombie's eye socket, I wondered what exactly was wrong with me. Just an hour before I was listening to Justin Cronin's The Twelve, an equally brutal look at possible human annihilation by vampires. Prior to that I was on the treadmill reading Fuse, Julianna Baggot's masterpiece about survivors of an atomic blast that left them fused to the objects, animals or people they were touching when it detonated. Looking back on my day, I realized there might be something really psychologically wrong with me. Why would I spend copious amounts of time amerced in human destruction? Why would I be draw to stories that start with the basis that everything we love and value has been destroyed? Conclusion: I need a good therapist. 

Yet, I am not alone. I know that if you have picked up The Breeders and liked it, you might be a little sick in the head like me. The third season finale of The Walking Dead pulled in a whopping 12.8 million viewers. Hunger Games books were on the New York Times Best Seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. That's a lot of us crazies walking around out there. So, humanity is fascinated with its own demise. But why? Folks, I have a theory.

In general many of us read for entertainment and escape, but those of us who read dystopian also read for a third purpose, to prepare. Do we all think we'll die soon by a North Korean missile and build bomb shelters in our basements? No. But, many of us might wonder, late at night, how we would act if society suddenly came to a halt. Would we be those that took up arms, marched to the aid of others and rallied those left to a new America? Or would we be zombie food? We read to ponder the multitude of ways it could go down. We read to quantify those qualities it takes to overcome. And when and if that bomb drops, we'll be the first to roll out our super secret Zombie survival plan. (Mine includes a visit to my local Outdoor World.)

There's one more reason I believe people read dystopian. There's something so magical about basic human survival. When all this commercial garbage is stripped bare, the human soul and its capacity to overcome is astounding. We know that about our race, that we never go down without a fight. There's a scene in episode two of season two of The Walking Dead where Hershel, the veterinarian turned surgeon, is speaking to Rick. Rick is destraught, wondering what's the point? Why go on in such a broken world? Hershel turns to him and says (I'm paraphrasing here, so don't get mad at me Walking Dead fans). "This is just a bump in the road. It's just nature's way of resetting itself. That's the beauty of humanity, we always overcome." Well said Hershel. 

So, my lovely dystopian readers, if you need some recommendations here are some of my recent favorites. Happy reading. 

Fuse and Pure by Julianna Baggot
Wool by Hugh Howey
A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Scourge by A.G. Henley
Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The World of Shell and Bone by Adriana Ryan
 

4 Comments
H.S. Stone link
4/2/2013 01:56:46 pm

Hi, my name is H.S., and I'm a fan of dystopian. :-)

Those are pretty good reasons why people like us like dystopian stories. While I may not learn much about preparing for the end of the world (although I'll never forget the double tap when it comes to disposing of zombies), I agree with your last point. The stakes don't get much higher than when the world as we know it ends. Not only are the dangers magnified, but protagonists rise to the occasion in dystopian stories like no other genre. Dystopian is also an effective genre for commenting on society today by showing what horrible things can happen if we continue on our present course.

I recently bought The Scourge, and A Handmaid's Tale is on my TBR list. Fuse and Pure sound interesting -- I'll have to check them out. Blood Red Road by Moira Young is another dystopian novel that I recently read and recommend. If you like zombies, check out the Rot & Ruin series by Jonathan Maberry or the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant.

Reply
Katie French
4/4/2013 08:23:33 am

I really liked Blood Red Road. It was so similar to The Breeders I almost peed myself when I saw what the premise was. I'm glad you agree with me H.S. I was hoping I was not alone ;0)

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    Katie French is the author of The Breeders, a Young Adult dystopian adventure and Eyes Ever to the Sky, a sci fi romance. Nessa: A Breeders Story, a prequel novelette is available on Amazon for FREE. Sign up for notifications, or like her on Facebook. 

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