With my growing interest in dystopian books, I've been thinking about the development of the genre and how we might see a rise in the popularity of dystopian books in 2025.
So I thought I'd pull my thoughts together about the evolution of dystopian fiction. How have we got from 1984 to the concepts presented in Black Mirror? How did Brave New World become The Hunger Games?
It began: a warning against totalitarianism
Dystopian fiction started in the early 20th century with the publication of We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Followed closely by Huxley's Brave New World and then George Orwell's 1984, We introduced the concept of a authoritarian state that suppresses individuality (where all the buildings are made of glass). Its exploration of surveillance, conformity and rebellion influenced these later works and established some key dystopian tropes including an oppressive regime and a questioning protagonist such as Julia in 1984.
These authors warned readers how a centralised system that required full obedience to the state was something to be questioned. It's no surprise that these books have been banned in several countries and that indicates, to me, that they have something important to say. Thus, the dystopian genre was born!
It developed: nuclear warfare and environmental collapse
Closely related to the dystopian genre, the mid-20th century gave raise to a different branch of science fiction - post-apocalyptic novels. Driven by fears of global catastrophe, particularly during the Cold War, these books explored how humanity survives and adapts despite devastating events that fundamentally alter the world as we know it.
Works like Nevil Shute’s On the Beach (1957) reflected fears of global annihilation due to atomic warfare, portraying a slow extinction after fallout. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) and concerns about overpopulation and resource depletion inspired dystopias like John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up (1972).
But the post-apocalyptic genre never slowed down; I am still enjoying more recent works like Butler's The Parable of the Sower (1993) and Station Eleven (2014). Not to mention games and TV shows like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead.
It changed: the rise of YA dystopias
Yet it's worth noting that there was a definite shift in the dystopian genre at the end of the 20th century. It became a young adult's game. With the publication of The Giver in 1993, we see the dystopian genre follow the life of a young person. Rather than a warning, The Giver positioned dystopia as a way of remembering and living life fully. It is after this time that dystopian books started to boom and become popular through other young adult series such as The Hunger Games and Divergent.
Now book lovers can't go down an Amazon search listing without bumping into a YA dystopian story.
It modernised: social media and AI
So after the dystopian 'boom' of the late noughties and early 2010's, we saw the genre modernise and focus on advanced technology. In stories like The Followers, The Circle and Netflix's Black Mirror, the genre allowed space to explore the use of AI, social media and other social issues such as cancel culture. In true dystopian fashion, I believe this has been a return to the dystopias of old, where the narrative served as a warning rather than an opportunity for teenage self-expression and exploration.
It predicts: climate-focused dystopias
In recent years, and I don't think it's slowing down, we have seen a new wave of 'cli-fi' fiction.
'Cli-fi — climate fiction — imagines our future or reimagines our present in light of the many ways humans are devastating the delicately balanced life systems of our planet.' Climate fiction can cover many genres but it lends itself perfectly to the dystopian genre such as in Atwood's Onyx and Crake or a dystopian book I read by a fellow indie author, The Minority Rule.
With climate change being such a hot topic that isn't going away, it seems a sure direction for the dystopian genre to gravitate towards. That's not to say that the other expressions of the genre will go away, it's merely an extension of a genre that will always be popular because it won't hesitate to comment on humanity's state and that's a subject that constantly gets readers coming back for more.
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