http://feedbooks.com/list/3 A list of utopia/dystopia books. Utopia is a fictional island near the coast of the atlantic ocean written about by Sir Thomas More as the fictional character Raphael Hythloday (translated from the Greek as "knowing in trifles) recounts his experiences in his travels to the fictional island with a perfect social, legal, and political system. It may be used pejoratively, to refer to a society that is unrealistic and impossible to realize. It has also been used to describe actual communities founded in attempts to create an ideal society. A dystopia is a fictional society that is the antithesis of utopia. It is usually characterized by an oppressive social control, such as an authoritarian or totalitarian government. Some academic circles distinguish between anti-utopia and dystopia. As in George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, a dystopia does not pretend to be good, while an anti-utopia appears to be utopian or was intended to be so, but a fatal flaw or other factor has destroyed or twisted the intended utopian world or concept. Source: Wikipedia Utopia Thomas More http://feedbooks.com/book/198 urn:isbn:0393961451 en 1515 Non-Fiction Philosophy De Optimo Republicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia (translated On the Best State of a Republic and on the New Island of Utopia) or more simply Utopia is a 1516 book by Sir (Saint) Thomas More. The book, written in Latin, is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. The name of the place is derived from the Greek words οὐ u ("not") and τόπος tópos ("place"), with the topographical suffix -εία eía, hence Οὐτοπεία outopeía (Latinized as Utopia), “no-place land.” It also contains a pun, however, because “Utopia” could also be the Latinization of Εὐτοπεία eutopeía, “good-place land,” which uses the Greek prefix ευ eu, “good,” instead of οὐ. One interpretation holds that this suggests that while Utopia might be some sort of perfected society, it is ultimately unreachable. Despite modern connotations of the word "utopia," it is widely accepted that the society More describes in this work was not actually his own "perfect society." Rather he wished to use the contrast between the imaginary land's unusual political ideas and the chaotic politics of his own day as a platform from which to discuss social issues in Europe. http://feedbooks.com/book/198.png http://feedbooks.com/book/198.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/198.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/198.mobi Paradise Lost John Milton http://feedbooks.com/book/174 urn:isbn:0393924289 en 1667 Poetry Religion Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books; a second edition followed in 1674, redivided into twelve books (in the manner of the division of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. The poem concerns the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall of Man; the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is "justify the ways of God to men" and elucidate the conflict between God's eternal foresight and free will. http://feedbooks.com/book/174.png http://feedbooks.com/book/174.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/174.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/174.mobi The Coming Race Edward Bulwer-Lytton http://feedbooks.com/book/2582 urn:isbn:1438215754 en 1871 Novels Science Fiction The Power of The Coming Race is a powerful novel that fired the imagination of readers starting in the 1870's. Among the earliest examples of what would become the genre of science fiction, among many authors it influenced H. G. Wells, Samuel Butler, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. The book tells the story of a young American adventurer who discovers a portal to an underground world at the bottom of a mine shaft. In this world lives a highly advanced race, with a dark secret. http://feedbooks.com/book/2582.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2582.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2582.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2582.mobi A Crystal Age William Henry Hudson http://feedbooks.com/book/2577 urn:isbn:1843500809 en 1887 Novels Science Fiction I do not quite know how it happened my recollection of the whole matter ebbing in a somewhat clouded condition. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/2577.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2577.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2577.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2577.mobi Mizora: A Prophecy Mary E. Bradley http://feedbooks.com/book/2447 urn:isbn:0815628390 en 1889 Novels Science Fiction Being a true and faithful account of her Journey to the Interior of the Earth, with a careful description of the Country and its Inhabitants, their Customs, Manners and Government. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/2447.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2447.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2447.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2447.mobi News from Nowhere William Morris http://feedbooks.com/book/2415 en 1890 Novels Science Fiction Fantasy News from Nowhere (1890) is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. In the book, the narrator, William Guest, falls asleep after returning from a meeting of the Socialist League and awakes to find himself in a future society based on common ownership and democratic control of the means of production. In this society there is no private property, no big cities, no authority, no monetary system, no divorce, no courts, no prisons, and no class systems. This agrarian society functions simply because the people find pleasure in nature, and therefore they find pleasure in their work. The book explores a number of aspects of this society, including its organisation and the relationships which it engenders between people. http://feedbooks.com/book/2415.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2415.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2415.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2415.mobi Looking Backward Edward Bellamy http://feedbooks.com/book/829 urn:isbn:155709506X en 1888 Novels Science Fiction Set in Boston on December 26, 2000, but written before the turn of the nineteenth century, this classic Utopian novel is more significant and relevant than ever with its reappearance this millennium. Addressing moral and material concerns of late nineteenth century industrial America through romantic narrative, Bellamy suggests a fictionalized society in which war, poverty, and malice do not exist. http://feedbooks.com/book/829.png http://feedbooks.com/book/829.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/829.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/829.mobi Golf in the Year 2000, or, What we are coming to J. McCullough http://feedbooks.com/book/1412 en 1892 Novels Science Fiction Written by a mysterious 19th-century Scottish golfer named J. (or Jay) McCullough, using the pseudonym "J.A.C.K.," it also predicted the advent of golf carts, golf professionals and international golf competitions. The book chronicles the tale of one Alexander J. Gibson, who falls into a deep sleep in 1892. He awakens 108 years later into a world, where, among other wonders, women dress like men and hold top positions in society. They also do all the work while the men play golf full time! Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/1412.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1412.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1412.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1412.mobi Equality Edward Bellamy http://feedbooks.com/book/824 urn:isbn:1410100383 en 1897 Novels Science Fiction Politics The sequel to Bellamy's Looking Backward, his utopian novel of several years earlier, where a young man falls asleep in 1887 and wakes in a utopian year 2000, where all social ills are solved. This novel continues the thread of his utopian vision. Equality begins when Julian West returns to the year 2000 to continue his education. The book describes an ideal society in that year. Equality was published just before his death and was not received nearly as well as Looking Backward. Bellamy was born in 1850 in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. As a young man he studied law and entered the bar, but never practiced. He was a journalist and social theorist as well as a novelist. Bellamy's theory of public capitalism would greatly affect American political thought in the 20th century. http://feedbooks.com/book/824.png http://feedbooks.com/book/824.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/824.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/824.mobi The Napoleon of Notting Hill Gilbert Keith Chesterton http://feedbooks.com/book/3683 urn:isbn:0955519624 en 1904 Novels Humor/Satire Politics The Napoleon of Notting Hill is a novel written by G. K. Chesterton in 1904, set in a nearly-unchanged London in 1984. Though the novel deals with the future, it concentrates not on technology nor on totalitarian government but on a government where no one cares what happens, comparable to Fahrenheit 451 in that respect. The dreary succession of randomly selected Kings of England is broken up when Auberon Quin, who cares for nothing but a good joke, is chosen. To amuse himself, he institutes elaborate costumes for the provosts of the districts of London. All are bored by the King's antics except for one earnest young man who takes the cry for regional pride seriously – Adam Wayne, the eponymous Napoleon of Notting Hill. While the novel is humorous (one instance has the King sitting on top of an omnibus and speaking to it as to a horse: "Forward, my beauty, my Arab," he said, patting the omnibus encouragingly, "fleetest of all thy bounding tribe"), it is also an adventure story: Chesterton is not afraid to let blood be drawn in his battles, fought with sword and halberd in the London streets, and Wayne thinks up a few ingenious strategies; and, finally, the novel is philosophical, considering the value of one man's actions and the virtue of respect for one's enemies. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/3683.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3683.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3683.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3683.mobi Born Again Alfred William Lawson http://feedbooks.com/book/2589 en 1904 Novels Science Fiction A strangely bad Utopian fantasy written while Lawson was a professional baseball player. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/2589.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2589.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2589.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2589.mobi A Modern Utopia H. G. Wells http://feedbooks.com/book/4183 en 1905 Novels Philosophy Science Fiction Politics In A Modern Utopia, two travelers fall into a space-warp and suddenly find themselves upon a Utopian Earth controlled by a single World Government. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/4183.png http://feedbooks.com/book/4183.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/4183.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/4183.mobi Lord of the World Robert Hugh Benson http://feedbooks.com/book/2462 urn:isbn:8184565224 en 1907 Novels Science Fiction Religion In or about the year 2000, humanity has reached "that incredibly lofty goal to which its intrinsic efforts can carry it" — but rejected everything but crass materialism. Technology has advanced to the point where no one need work for a living, while the social sciences have achieved a smoothly-running if almost unbearably sterile social order. Formal religious beliefs except for Catholicism have been uprooted and eliminated as coherent systems, and the Catholic Church has been completely discredited in the eyes of the world, finally being outlawed. The result is everything the late Victorians and Edwardians believed would bring human happiness — and which brings nothing but the advent of new superstitions, despair, and the end of the world … maybe. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/2462.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2462.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2462.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2462.mobi The Iron Heel Jack London http://feedbooks.com/book/2381 en 1908 Novels Science Fiction Politics The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908. Generally considered to be "the earliest of the modern Dystopian," it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. It is arguably the novel in which Jack London's socialist views are most explicitly on display. A forerunner of soft science fiction novels and stories of the 1960s and 1970s, the book stresses future changes in society and politics while paying much less attention to technological changes. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/2381.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2381.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2381.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2381.mobi The Machine Stops E. M. Forster http://feedbooks.com/book/2073 urn:isbn:0233991670 en 1909 Short Fiction Science Fiction The Machine Stops is a short science fiction story. It describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a 'cell', with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they are skeptical and fearful of first-hand experience. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own. Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as 'unmechanical' and are threatened with "Homelessness". Eventually, the Machine apocalyptically collapses, and the civilization of the Machine comes to an end. This work was published before 1923 and is in the public domain in the USA only. http://feedbooks.com/book/2073.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2073.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2073.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2073.mobi The Sleeper Awakes H. G. Wells http://feedbooks.com/book/593 urn:isbn:0803298188 en 1910 Novels Science Fiction The Sleeper Awakes is H. G. Wells's wildly imaginative story of London in the twenty-second century and the man who by accident becomes owner and master of the world. In 1897 a Victorian gentleman falls into a sleep from which he cannot be waked. During his two centuries of slumber he becomes the Sleeper, the most well known and powerful person in the world. All property is bequeathed to the Sleeper to be administered by a Council on his behalf. The common people, increasingly oppressed, view the Sleeper as a mythical liberator whose awakening will free them from misery. The Sleeper awakes in 2100 to a futuristic London adorned with wondrous technological trappings yet staggering under social injustice and escalating unrest. His awakening sends shock waves throughout London, from the highest meetings of the Council to the workers laboring in factories in the bowels of the city. Daring rescues and villainous treachery abound as workers and capitalists fight desperately for control of the Sleeper. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/593.png http://feedbooks.com/book/593.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/593.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/593.mobi Erewhon, or Over The Range Samuel Butler http://feedbooks.com/book/2845 en 1910 Novels Humor/Satire http://feedbooks.com/book/2845.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2845.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2845.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2845.mobi Philip Dru: Administrator Edward Mandell House http://feedbooks.com/book/2398 urn:isbn:B000NK4FC6 en 1912 Novels Science Fiction Politics A Utopian vision in which the title character leads the democratic western U.S. in a civil war against the plutocratic East, and becomes dictator of America. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/2398.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2398.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2398.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2398.mobi The Air Trust George Allan England http://feedbooks.com/book/1993 en 1915 Novels Science Fiction The story of a billionaire, Isaac Flint, who attempts to control the very air people breathe, and the violent consequences of his ambition and greed. In the concluding chapter, Flint is described as one of "the most sinister and cruel minds ever evolved upon this planet." This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/1993.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1993.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1993.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1993.mobi Herland Charlotte Perkins Gilman http://feedbooks.com/book/3610 urn:isbn:0451525620 en 1915 Novels Sexuality Humor/Satire Politics Herland is a utopian novel from 1915, written by feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The book describes an isolated society composed entirely of women who reproduce via parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction). The result is an ideal social order, free of war, conflict and domination. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/3610.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3610.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3610.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3610.mobi The Heads of Cerberus Francis Stevens http://feedbooks.com/book/2580 urn:isbn:B000FC1QUQ en 1919 Novels Science Fiction This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/2580.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2580.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2580.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2580.mobi City of Endless Night Milo Milton Hastings http://feedbooks.com/book/891 en 1920 Novels Science Fiction When but a child of seven my uncle placed me in a private school in which one of the so-called redeemed sub-sailors was a teacher of the German language. As I look back now, in the light of my present knowledge, I better comprehend the docile humility and carefully nurtured ignorance of this man. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/891.png http://feedbooks.com/book/891.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/891.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/891.mobi Metropolis Thea von Harbou http://feedbooks.com/book/1123 urn:isbn:1592249787 en 1927 Novels Science Fiction This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50. http://feedbooks.com/book/1123.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1123.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1123.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1123.mobi The Trial Franz Kafka http://feedbooks.com/book/9 urn:isbn:0805210407 en 1925 Novels Horror Fantasy The Trial (German: Der Process) is a novel by Franz Kafka about a character named Josef K., who awakens one morning and, for reasons never revealed, is arrested and prosecuted for an unspecified crime. According to Kafka's friend Max Brod, the author never finished the novel and wrote in his will that it was to be destroyed. After his death, Brod went against Kafka's wishes and edited The Trial into what he felt was a coherent novel and had it published in 1925. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70. http://feedbooks.com/book/9.png http://feedbooks.com/book/9.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/9.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/9.mobi Anthem Ayn Rand http://feedbooks.com/book/2837 urn:isbn:0452281253 en 1938 Novels Science Fiction Psychology Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, first published in 1938. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age as a result of the evils of irrationality and collectivism and the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the word "I" has disappeared from the language). As is common in her work, Rand draws a clear distinction between the "socialist/communal" values of equality and brotherhood and the "productive/capitalist" values of achievement and individuality. Many of the novella's core themes, such as the struggle between individualism and collectivism, are echoed in Rand's later books, such as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. However, the style of "Anthem" is unique among Rand's work, more narrative-centered and economical, lacking the intense didactic expressions of philosophical abstraction that occur in later works. It is probably her most accessible work. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/2837.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2837.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2837.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2837.mobi 2 B R O 2 B Kurt Vonnegut http://feedbooks.com/book/912 en 1962 Short Fiction Science Fiction Humor/Satire 2 B R 0 2 B is a satiric short story that imagines life (and death) in a future world where aging has been “cured” and population control is mandated and administered by the government. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/912.png http://feedbooks.com/book/912.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/912.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/912.mobi Everyone In Silico Jim Munroe http://feedbooks.com/book/670 urn:isbn:1568582404 en 2002 Novels Science Fiction In Vancouver in 2036, people are tired of the rain. They're willing to give up a lot for guaranteed sunshine, a life with no wasted hours. A life free of crime and disease. A life that ends when you want it to, not when some faceless entity decides it's your time. Those who don't buy in — the poor, the old, the paranoid — have to watch as their loved ones, their friends, and their jobs leave the city. They have to watch as the latest prestige technology, Self, changes everything — not just the world but humanity itself. On the bright side, the rents have dropped. And in several unexpected ways, resistance is growing. This fascinating work of fiction tells what can happen when the cyberworld becomes more important than the real world. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/670.png http://feedbooks.com/book/670.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/670.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/670.mobi Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Cory Doctorow http://feedbooks.com/book/194 urn:isbn:076530953X en 2003 Novels Science Fiction Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a network of "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.Now, though, the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself. Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war.... Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/194.png http://feedbooks.com/book/194.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/194.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/194.mobi Scroogled Cory Doctorow http://feedbooks.com/book/1670 en 2007 Short Fiction Science Fiction Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/1670.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1670.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1670.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1670.mobi Postsingular Rudy Rucker http://feedbooks.com/book/1918 urn:isbn:0765317419 en 2007 Novels Science Fiction It all begins next year in California. A maladjusted computer industry billionaire and a somewhat crazy US President initiate a radical transformation of the world through sentient nanotechnology; sort of the equivalent of biological artificial intelligence. At first they succeed, but their plans are reversed by Chu, an autistic boy. The next time it isn't so easy to stop them. Most of the story takes place in a world after a heretofore unimaginable transformation, where all the things look the same but all the people are different (they're able to read each others' minds, for starters). Travel to and from other nearby worlds in the quantum universe is possible, so now our world is visited by giant humanoids from another quantum universe, and some of them mean to tidy up the mess we've made. Or maybe just run things. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/1918.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1918.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1918.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1918.mobi Little Brother Cory Doctorow http://feedbooks.com/book/2466 urn:isbn:0765319853 en 2008 Novels Young Readers Science Fiction Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems. But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days. When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/2466.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2466.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2466.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2466.mobi The Things that Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away Cory Doctorow http://feedbooks.com/book/2746 en 2008 Short Fiction Science Fiction Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://feedbooks.com/book/2746.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2746.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2746.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2746.mobi