Thursday, August 13, 2015

Dystopian Genre

     Today, I was looking at a list of free, or almost free, books listed on Amazon.com.  One of the books was categorized as--Genre: Dystopian.  Since my writing has taken a backseat to travels, grandkids on summer vacation, and getting ready to do a massive auction of everything possible in our BARN, I know I've been out of the loop.  But, I had to ask myself what was this genre called Dystopian?
     An online dictionary said: 
                                                                           noun
1. a society characterized by human misery, 
as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
     With my usual scarcasm, I mumbled, "Yeah, sign me up.  I want me a book like that."
     I wondered why anyone would deliberately set out to write or read something so sad?  Then I decided that surely there must be a big, happily ever after ending to make wading through human misery, squalor, oppression, disease and overcrowding worth the trip.  So, I went on the search for what is to be expected of a Dystopian novel.  I was very disappointed.  From what I could find, a happily ever after is not promised.  Not only that, but these are set in a sci-fi setting, totally made up and all aspects are invented by the author.
     I've written a couple of books with with dark subject matters(domestic violence, rape, murder), but that is real-life.  That is true actions inflicted by one human on another.  This sh#t really happens.  Why would it be necessary to make an imaginary place to cause tragedies, injuries and heartaches?  
     Am I missing something?  What do you know about the genre called Dystopian?  I'd be very interested in hearing what others think.  You can leave me a comment here, or a private message on FB.  You can also visit my web site www.doloresjwilson.com and leave me a message there.

Until next time,
Dolores
P.S.  BTW, it is National Left Handed Day.  I want to give a shout out to my grandson, Drew and my closest cousin, Sandy.  Both left-handers and both super people.  Love you!  


6 comments:

  1. In my search for a new critique partner, I tried working with a local author who writes several series and is self-published. The book I ended up critiquing for her was one of a 7 book dystopian series. It was the most depressing book I've ever managed to get through and if I'd not been critiquing it, I'd have given up early in the book and never looked back. But the series seems to have a following so there must be readers who like this stuff. I saw little to no character development and really couldn't care much what happened to any of them and everything that did happen bad, awful and worse. The only character who sparked any interest in me was one of the bad guys that had hints of humanity showing through, but he was still a sheep just doing what he was told and never standing up for what was right in spite of his personal reservations. There was a point to the action - for the characters to get out of the purgatory here on earth that the dropping of a bomb and unscrupulous villains had created, but it was just too depressing with no light at the end of any tunnel I could see. The Author pointed out to me when I questioned the lack of character development that her readers already knew the characters and there was no need for it in this book. I guess you have to read the whole series to find out what happens, but there is no way I could ever force myself to read another for any reason. As you might guess, this was not the critique partnership for me. Nor a genre I could ever enjoy for pleasure either.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like some dystopian novels and stories. I enjoy the Hunger Games trilogy, and Stephen Kings the Running Man. Philip dick wrote several good stories upon which motion pictures have been based (Total Recall, Minority Report, Logan's Run). But when I read Michael Weatherly has taken on the project of a remake of Little Women in a dystopia setting, I said ENOUGH!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Would U please help a plethora of King Size, wildchild, rawkuss wordz which are lookin 4 a home in thy novelty?? Thx. Whew. They're pretty insane. They're bereft of reason. Oi! Blimey! They're bloody PINK spiders!!!

    Gotta lotta gobba shrewd, surreal, supersonic, sardonic satires, sassy N savvy elixers N electronic elegance on our YOUTHwitheTRUTH blogs. Wannum? Have'm. N'joym. Gettm outta my hair!!!

    How mucha wanna betcha our irrational, hot-shot, fuse-blowin-exploits R a copious madhouse of one lavish bookay? Our proFUSE NRGod who leads U.S. to explosive fairy-tales in the 'one-stop-shop' symphony Upstairs? God's the BigDude, the Owner of ElysianFields, the Grand Prize, the Austere Overdrive, NoPurchaseNecessary: our bombastic tenaCITY on a Hill which'll plant the Seeds 4u2 grow-up to new N greater heights!! Mama mia! Thatsa good pasta!!

    CAUTION: our 22ish, avant-guard, accurately-atrocious, offa-the-reservation-like-Jimmy-Hoffa, metal-breadcrumm-fabYOUlishousness R sooo out-of-order, toots, they're an intimate wealth of bottomless sophistication. And dats da fak, Jak. Go ahead. Sue me. Yawn. But, yet, here's the perennial KOO D'TAH: who else has actually SEEN the Great Beyond in spirit & lived to tella youse bout the bionic, bloated, brevity-like-earth we're living on?? Yes, earthling, I had an NDE, almost salivating4salvation. So gain altitude, never attitude: death has no favorites.

    If Mr. abSUREditty's an ultra-great-reward, and not everyone enters, Q: why is it an excruciating deluge of epic-.357-caliber where the quality's a limitless bulldozer plowin, pushin-your-power-cord with eternal goodies? A: the Prize-A+-TheEnd just gives U.S. moe-curley-graphix 2 VitSee: an explosion-of-extravagance which few R asking 4 anymore! Grrr. They're too concerned withe grotesque sanity of ambivilant, whorizontal piss-ants which swiftly crawl like lemmings to their scorecard destruction. C'est la guerre.

    THANK GAWWWD!!! the Don has the ebullient BAWLS!!! to do the Manifest Destiny!!! To lead U.S. forward to the White House Upstairs with his SQUARES!!!

    So, break-free, earthling; be like a contraversial outgrowth of incredibly-intoxicating-effusiveness in your zeitgeist. Wiseabove. Wanna join this useFULL idiot Upstairs 4 the most zany, kooky, X-acto-knife antidotes? Extremely exquisite, explicit endorphins in abundance? Puh-lenty of pulverizingly-tantalizing psychopathic psychosomatics with eXtras? i2i-kick-velocity's-ass-ultra-maximum-rocket-fuel-party-hardy at my pad ya ever encountered without d'New Joisey accent 4 an eternal slew of precarious, magnanimous & primeval absurdities indelibly etched in the granite corridors of eternity with a total-barrage-of-melt-in-thy-mouth 'depth-of-undenial'???

    Make Your Choice -SAW
    ...cuzz nobody gitts outta here alive, earthling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let this be your catalyst to Seventh-Heaven:

      'The more you shall honor Me,
      the more I shall bless you'
      -the Infant Jesus of Prague
      (<- Czech Republic, next to Russia)

      Love him or leave him or indifferent...
      better lissen to the Don:

      If you deny o'er-the-Hillary's evil,
      which most whorizontal demokrakkrs do,
      you cannot deny Hellfire
      which YOU send YOURSELF to.

      Yes, earthling, I was an NDE:
      the sights were beyond extreme.
      Choose Jesus.
      You'll be most happy you did.
      God bless your indelible soul.

      Delete
    2. Let this be your catalyst to Seventh-Heaven:

      'The more you shall honor Me,
      the more I shall bless you'
      -the Infant Jesus of Prague
      (<- Czech Republic, next to Russia)

      Love him or leave him or indifferent...
      better lissen to the Don:

      If you deny o'er-the-Hillary's evil,
      which most whorizontal demokrakkrs do,
      you cannot deny Hellfire
      which YOU send YOURSELF to.

      Yes, earthling, I was an NDE:
      the sights were beyond extreme.
      Choose Jesus.
      You'll be most happy you did.
      God bless your indelible soul.

      Delete
  4. Would U please help a plethora of King Size, wildchild, rawkuss wordz which are lookin 4 a home in thy novelty?? Thx. Whew. They're pretty insane. They're bereft of reason. Oi! Blimey! They're bloody PINK spiders!!!

    Gotta lotta gobba shrewd, surreal, supersonic, sardonic satires, sassy N savvy elixers N electronic elegance on our YOUTHwitheTRUTH blogs. Wannum? Have'm. N'joym. Gettm outta my hair!!!

    How mucha wanna betcha our irrational, hot-shot, fuse-blowin-exploits R a copious madhouse of one lavish bookay? Our proFUSE NRGod who leads U.S. to explosive fairy-tales in the 'one-stop-shop' symphony Upstairs? God's the BigDude, the Owner of ElysianFields, the Grand Prize, the Austere Overdrive, NoPurchaseNecessary: our bombastic tenaCITY on a Hill which'll plant the Seeds 4u2 grow-up to new N greater heights!! Mama mia! Thatsa good pasta!!

    CAUTION: our 22ish, avant-guard, accurately-atrocious, offa-the-reservation-like-Jimmy-Hoffa, metal-breadcrumm-fabYOUlishousness R sooo out-of-order, toots, they're an intimate wealth of bottomless sophistication. And dats da fak, Jak. Go ahead. Sue me. Yawn. But, yet, here's the perennial KOO D'TAH: who else has actually SEEN the Great Beyond in spirit & lived to tella youse bout the bionic, bloated, brevity-like-earth we're living on?? Yes, earthling, I had an NDE, almost salivating4salvation. So gain altitude, never attitude: death has no favorites.

    If Mr. abSUREditty's an ultra-great-reward, and not everyone enters, Q: why is it an excruciating deluge of epic-.357-caliber where the quality's a limitless bulldozer plowin, pushin-your-power-cord with eternal goodies? A: the Prize-A+-TheEnd just gives U.S. moe-curley-graphix 2 VitSee: an explosion-of-extravagance which few R asking 4 anymore! Grrr. They're too concerned withe grotesque sanity of ambivilant, whorizontal piss-ants which swiftly crawl like lemmings to their scorecard destruction. C'est la guerre.

    THANK GAWWWD!!! the Don has the ebullient BAWLS!!! to do the Manifest Destiny!!! To lead U.S. forward to the White House Upstairs with his SQUARES!!!

    So, break-free, earthling; be like a contraversial outgrowth of incredibly-intoxicating-effusiveness in your zeitgeist. Wiseabove. Wanna join this useFULL idiot Upstairs 4 the most zany, kooky, X-acto-knife antidotes? Extremely exquisite, explicit endorphins in abundance? Puh-lenty of pulverizingly-tantalizing psychopathic psychosomatics with eXtras? i2i-kick-velocity's-ass-ultra-maximum-rocket-fuel-party-hardy at my pad ya ever encountered without d'New Joisey accent 4 an eternal slew of precarious, magnanimous & primeval absurdities indelibly etched in the granite corridors of eternity with a total-barrage-of-melt-in-thy-mouth 'depth-of-undenial'???

    Make Your Choice -SAW
    ...cuzz nobody gitts outta here alive, earthling.

    ReplyDelete