A Taster Flight of Dystopic Futures

I am a fan of craft beers, and I love a good taster flight. I like the opportunity to sample several different beers in close enough succession to be able to accurately compare them. I find that being able to compare the different beers makes me notice subtle things in them, and enjoy them more.

Recently, it occurred to me that short ebooks can be a bit like a taster flight. You can sample several different author’s take on a topic in close succession, and sometimes you do notice more subtle details as a result.

This idea intrigues me, so I’ve decided to start an occasional series of blog posts with “taster flights” of short ebooks.

First up: a taster flight of dystopic futures:

Don’t Eat Cat, by Jess Walter
This is a dystopic future with heavy zombie overtones, but also a delightful sense of humor and unexpected flashes of wisdom.

Chicken Little, by Cory Doctorow
This dystopic future leads with a warning about consumerism, and has a strong streak of imaginative world-building and a hint of a love story.

It’s Better This Way, by Travis Hill
This is an excellent example of the alien invasion type of dystopic future, with believable characterization and a surprisingly thought-provoking ending.

I love how all three of these books are strong examples of dystopias, but are also all very different from each other. Each author has a different vision of where our society is heading, and that highlights different aspects of our current culture for the reader to consider.

I may need to go back and reread these one after the other, and see what new things I notice.