3.01.2011

Discussion: Why Dystopians will never get old

I, personally, love dystopians. I love being able to dive into a book where either government or economy has stripped us from the freedoms we have today. Whether it's horribly gut-wrenching like The Hunger Games or heart-breaking like Delirium, dystopians are never gonna get old. And here's why:

We never know what the futures gonna hold.

I think it's that fear of not knowing what's gonna happen in a few years that aways gives us that pull to keep reading dystopians. Will we be controlled? Or a better world? Or will we starve, or die out, or be forced into hiding from outside sources? Our answer is by reading. And while we're reading, we're imaging what it would be like to live in a world like that, since we can never know if such a thing could even happen to us. And most of the time, praying that it can't.

That's one reason why Historical Fiction will never get as crazy popular. Whether it's the French Revolution, or the Greek Myths, we know how those are gonna end. However great the story (and man, I love historical fiction); we know that Marie Antoinette will be beheaded, Athens will win against Troy, and Persephone will bit into the fruit that'll leave her stuck in the underworld. And while no matter how many dystopians we read and write, we'll never really know what's gonna happen. But we're human, so we keep on trying!

On a second note: I love how in dystopians, much like High Fantasy, every story is unique. Paranormal Romance kind of gets me with that,the predictability of the situations. Vamp, fey, werewolf. You know what the conflict is gonna be, and in most occasions, it's a similar story-line (of course, there are magical and fabulous exceptions).

But in dystopians? You can be forced to marry young to reproduce in time before your passing (Wither by Lauren Destefano), brainwashed by the government to do it their way (Possession by Elana Johnson), or forced to live underground (Enclave by Ann Aguirre)

Now the question for you is: Why do you love reading dystopians? And go ahead and recommend something if you think I haven't read it!

Happy Reading!
-Harmony

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