Dystopian – Page 2 – Marked for Plot

Sky Full of Elephants

Sky Full of Elephants seemed to be making more waves in the literary and general markets than in spec fic corners of the reading community, which is usually a sign that a book probably isn’t for me (though I’ve been proven wrong before). As comparisons to Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler began popping up, however, I knew that I needed to read it. It didn’t live up to those comparisons unfortunately, but it’s a book that’s been lingering in my head. I think it has a heaping plate of flaws, ambitious ideas, and a captivating writing style. There won’t be many readers who have a tepid reaction to this book, which I think is a good sign that it’s speaking to something important.

As a disclaimer, as a white person. I’m not the target audience for this book, which likely affects my perceptions of it. I think people should read books that they aren’t the target audience for, so long as that’s acknowledged. Sky Full of Elephants is written by and for Black Americans, and is very much about Black American joy, history, and hardship.

Read if You Like: books designed to make you uncomfortable, or to challenge your ideas, utopian societies, big twists, ethical dilemmas in books

Avoid if You Dislike: magic with clear and explainable rules, inconsistent character development, weird potshots at walking dogs on leashes, ambiguous endings

Blood over Bright Haven

As one of the few self-published fantasy books to get picked up for a traditionally published reprint, I had high expectations for Blood Over Bright Haven. Its Dark Academia and anti-capitalist themes made me even more excited. It met most of my expectations, and despite wishing it were more avant-garde, I’m happy that I finally got around to this book! Definitely pushes Wang’s other work up on my list. This is a great option for anyone looking to dip their toes into the more political side of genre fiction, as it’s easy to read into parallels with our world. For those already experienced in that type of writing, this won’t blow your mind, but it’s an enjoyable (if standard) entry in that subgenre.

Read if Looking For: stories about racism and sexism, dark academia, conversations about ethics, light romance elements, engaging narrative voice

Avoid if Looking For: unknowable magic, unproblematic characters, books without sexual assault, surprising twists

Regicide: Saints of Firnus

Every once in a while a book recommendation passes beneath your nose that captures your attention. Regicide was that way. It started with a compelling cover, a blurb that promised grimdark fantasy elements, and a lack of clear romance plotline. It lived up to some of those promises and had some legitimately interesting developments, but was undercut by a dire need for another readthrough and round of proofing and edits.

Read if Looking for: Redwall for adults, morally upright protagonists in dystopian worlds, author-created illustrations, characters who happen to be gay

Avoid if You are Looking for: polished prose, multi-POV stories, deep themes or nuance, romance, books without depictions of intense racism, lots of magic

Perdido Street Station

This is a book that’s been sitting on my ‘priority read’ bookshelf for about three years now. New Weird is a genre I’d been interested in, and Miéville’s reputation as an author who is concerned with his books as political objects pushing against the autoritarian status quo of fantasy really appeals to me. However, I’m finding that extremely large books put me off more than they used to, and I kept pushing it off until I was in the right mood. I left the book with mixed feelings. In some parts I felt in awe of what Miéville was accomplishing, and elsewhere I was disappointed in the choices he made to the point where I considered stepping away for a week or two. I have the feeling that I’ll be thinking about this book for a while, as it seems the type of story to sit with you.

Read if You Like: unhinged worldbuilding, examinations of power and culture, eldritch horrors, characters without happy endings, books to chew on

Avoid if Looking For: fast paced stories, consistent female characterization, happy and mindless books

Sunrise on the Reaping (Hunger Games 0.5)

The Hunger Games was part of my high school experience. I’m part of the generation that grew up with Harry Potter, reaching high school right as YA as a genre was beginning to coalesce into something more than a target audience, instead a grouping of stylistic decisions that led to a rather depressing homogeny. Hunger Games has stood the test of time, and for good reason I think. It’s one of the best of the era, and is a phenomenal book to use in a 7th grade Dystopian book club unit, especially when paired with data on mental health and suicidiality of those who go on reality television programs for our enjoyment. I didn’t pick up the other prequel, as Snow never interested me much as a character. When kids started raving about this though, I figured Haymitch intriguing enough for me to return.

Read if You Like: Hunger Games content, bits of District 12 Lore, Books you know the end of

Avoid if Looking For: the adreneline of the original series, a ‘normal’ hunger games, exploring new thematic depth in the series

Toward Eternity

It’s been a while since I read a book whose back cover so poorly represents what is in the book itself. Anton Hur was done dirty by his publisher on this one, because the premise for the book is much more interesting than what’s shared. I expected a story about how society is adapting to technology that turns people immortal, with a focus on a patient/researcher and his poetry AI bot. While all that is indeed there, this story is actually a millennia spanning reflection on what it means to be a person, a unique individual, and how choices can echo across time. It has at least seven different POV characters who almost never repeat past a single chapter. A much more ambitious novel than it appears; it reminded me a lot of The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez, which is about as high of praise as I can possibly give.

Read if Looking For: books spanning millennia, philosophical musings, epistolary novels

Avoid if Looking For: straightforward stories, single POVs, everything explained in the end

The Sunbearer Duology

As a middle and high school English teacher, I get a lot of book recommendations from kids. YA and Middle Great books are fantastic, though I don’t tend to read very many of them. When some books – especially the books my LGBTQ+ students are recommending – get student momentum behind them though, I’ll give them a try. Sunbearer Trials was pitched as a mashup of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games with a trans lead, which was a pretty convincing pitch. Add in that Aiden Thomas wrote one of my favorite paranormal romances in Cemetary Boys, and I was happy to throw a few audiobook holds at the library. In the end, I don’t think this duology is as tightly written as Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, or Cemetary Boys, but it has a lot of heart and will land well for its target audience.

Read if Looking For: quality Trans-Masc representation, teenage angst, Aztec Mythology references, tournament arcs

Avoid if you’re Looking For: nuanced worldbuilding or themes, YA books that diverge from genre conventions

The City that Would Eat the World

2025 has not been my best year of reading (yet). There’s been quite a few disappointments, a decent number of ‘good, but not great’ books, and one or two that will stay with me. I’m happy to say that I finally found something addictive in The City that Would Eat the World. It was a raucously fun adventure in an alien world that is both utterly unlike our own, while mirroring it deeply.

Read if Looking For: easy reading, weird megastructures, batshit crazy plans, anticapitalist themes

Avoid if Looking For: themes you have to dig for, gritty and dark books, romantic subplots

This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7)

Dungeon Crawler Carl has quickly risen to one of my favorite series of all time. It’s brutally fast paced, irreverent, and has a delightful blend of horror, humor, and melodrama that I adore. This review is for Book 7, which focuses on the much-awaited Faction Wars. Be warned, spoilers ahead for anything in books 1-6.

Honestly if you’ve reached Book 7 of Dungeon Crawler Carl, you don’t need me to tell you whether or not you’ll like the series. If you’ve got no idea what this is, look at my review for book 1 linked above.

Snow Crash

Cyberpunk is not a genre I’m particularly familiar with. I don’t watch a ton of movies, haven’t played the video games, and am only versed enough to know the basic premises of a corporate world filled with technologically enhanced humans slowly being corrupted by power (or trying to plow the power holders up in bombs). At least I think? I’m still a bit unsure.

Anyways, Snow Crash was the pick for an in-person book club I’m in. I found myself pleasantly surprised at how familiar the story felt, and can understand why its considered a classic foundational text of the Cyberpunk genre. I had some fairly major issues with it though, and left it feeling the way I feel about a lot of these older iconic works: greatness colored by cringeworthy reminders of the past.

Read if Looking For: fun blends of futuristic and retro technology, observational humor, dramatic internal monologues

Avoid if: dated depictions of female and LGBTQ+ characters, weirdly sexualized 15 year old girls