Looking for another series to pick up/Weird book trend?

Hey folks, so I just finished reading Divergent, which was actually pretty good, and I need to move on towards a different series. I'm deployed right now, so I have a lot of time on my hands and I'm burning through books quicker than I can find them.

Here's the thing, I can be sort of picky. I'm having real trouble finding a series that appeals to me. I like Steven Brusts Dragaera series, Starship Troopers, I actually enjoyed Hunger Games and Divergent, but I'm just not that big on fantasy anymore. I like science fiction, but I haven't been in much of a space mood lately. Dystopian or near-future settings really appeal to me right now.

I've been noticing a bit of a trend lately. Google Books recommended The Mortal Instruments and Legend, I skimmed a bit of a synopsis, and it seems like there are even more hunger games clones out there. I'm not saying they are bad literature at all, but it seems like the only books out there which are fitting the mold I'm looking for all have protagonists who are "Strong willed and stubborn, constantly throwing themselves into dangerous situations and then randomly having crying fits all the time over the outcome of those choices."

Just a bit of a parallel I noticed. Still decent books, still better role models for teenage female readers than Miley Cyrus or Ke$ha, and at least it'll help produce more female geeks.

Considering trying Honor Harrington.

edited 27th May '14 2:32:28 AM by Barkey

Dystopian or near future? Hm...

• Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson features a dystopian setting in the near future, with a world under the thrall of "Epics" (humans with superpowers, which cause corrupting effects). Only the first book has been released so far. His Mistborn series features a dystopia, but is more fantasy-oriented and not a future setting.
• Young adult, but Isobelle Carmody's The Obernewtyn Chronicles has a post-apocalyptic dystopian setting.
• Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, for a fascinating and rather unpleasant (to live in) setting.
• Shades Of Grey by Jasper Fforde is a rather unique comic dystopia based on colour vision. It's fantastic.
• If you don't mind cyberpunk, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are excellent reads. Anathem is also good, but less dystopic.
• Battle Royale, since you've read The Hunger Games clones - might as well go back to an oldie.
• Philip K. Dick has written a lot of dystopic, near-future sci-fi. Have a look at his oeuvre.

"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj

Shades of Grey has kind of an interesting concept, what did you think of it?

Obernewtyn Chronicles is great. I thought the last book was getting a little bloated, and it's been a very long time in the writing, but nonetheless great.

You might like some stuff by Scott Westerfield. He has a dystopian trilogy called Uglies, and also one with a nonstandard take on modern vampires called Peeps.

Be not afraid...

I'd recommend Red Rising (should create a page on it someday). It is basically what you'd get if you threw Hunger Games and Enders Game in a blender and it was written by Heinlein at the top of his juvenile game.

Edit, edit, edit, edit the wiki

Those That Wake and its sequel!

The Protomen enhanced my life.

I really loved it. Jasper Fforde has an odd plotting style, where the first half of the book just seems to be a bunch of random crap that happens with no rhyme or reason. But when you start getting the answers to the various mysteries, it becomes clear that everything happened for a reason. I found myself saying "Oh Mr Fforde, how did I ever doubt you?" a lot.

I was sceptical about Shades of Grey at first (comic dystopia? on such a weird basis?), but it proved really enjoyable. The setting and how it's revealed bit by bit is fascinating - one of the most unique dystopian settings I've read. The storyline is quite engaging as well, due to all the mysteries. It's one of those books where things fall into place perfectly.

My main problem with it was that not everything is answered, as it's the first book in an unfinished series. So many questions!

"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj

Why not have a stab at the 1632 series by Eric Flint and others, instead of stumbling into another Hunger Games/Divergent clone? Just a thought.

Shades of Grey is great, yes. It's a pity it's so easily mistaken for that other book with a similar name.

Near-future ... have you tried "A Brother's Price"? It never says it is about the future, but with about one boy born for every ten girls, and a lot of stillbirths, it could be a "we ruined the environment, had to adapt to the new situation, and lost much of our technology in the process" kind of setting.

Unwind is a reasonable dystopia. It is very disconcerting, but it isn't so disconcerting that it is unrealistic.

Unwind was pretty good, I liked it, but haven't looked at the sequels yet. I've heard good/great/amazing/"ello why haven't you read this yet" things about Lois Mc Master Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.

most of what I read tends to be YA fantasy, so sorry I'm not much help.

Got a degree in Emotional trauma via fictional characters aka creative writing. hosting S'mores party in Hell for fellow (evil) writers

"Dystopian or near-future settings really appeal to me right now."

I don't know how easily obtained they are in the US, but I'd recommend having a look at Jon Courtenay Grimwood's earlier series; neoAddix, Lucifer's Dragon, ReMix and RedRobe are, if you can get past the CamelCase titles, cyberpunk/noir/thrillers in a world where the Second French Empire never collapsed, where the axis of world power is more old-world than is usual in cyberpunk (the various locations across the four novels are Paris, North Africa, an artificial island in the Pacific, a lunar colony and a UN refugee camp on an orbital space habitat).

His subsequent Arabesk series is set in a near-future Alexandria. From the author's website at http://j-cg.co.uk/books/arabesk/index.html:

" Arabesk

pashazade

With its face to the sea and its back to the desert, El Iskandryia is North Africa's most urbane city. A metropolis where cultures meet and clash, where money can buy you everything but safety. On the run from a Seattle prison, Ashraf Bey finds himself main suspect in an Iskandryian murder, hated by the woman he was supposed to marry and responsible for the welfare of his nine-year-old cousin . . . all in a world where Germany won the First World War. In a Middle East where the Ottoman empire still dominates . . .

effendi Ashraf Bey is a fugitive from the US justice system, definitely; son the of Emir of Tunis, possibly; and Chief of Detectives in the El Iskandryian police force, apparently . . . Small wonder he's a little confused. Raf's ex-fiancee Zara doesn't want to see him. His nine-year old niece is busy doing things with computers that are strictly illegal. And when the city starts to fall apart, Zara's father is accused of mass murder and Raf begins to learn the true cost of loyalty . . .

felaheen Detective. Diplomat. Uncle. Killer . . . Ashraf Bey has been many things since arriving in El Iskandryia but not, as yet, a son to Moncef, Emir of Tunis. And now it may be too late; Moncef is either already asassinated, or hovering on the edge of death. And despite refusing Emir's chief of security's plea for help, Raf still finds himself being drawn towards Tunis . . ."

edited 10th Mar '15 4:34:35 AM by AndrewGPaul