Dystopian | Raging Biblio-holism

California

July 1, 2014 by Drew

The Short Version: Cal and Frida left Los Angeles as the world continued to crumble and struck out for the wilderness. They made a relatively happy home for themselves – but when Frida gets pregnant, they decide to seek refuge amongst others in a settlement not far from their humble abode. But everyone seems to be keeping secrets and maybe they might’ve been safer on their own… The Review: You’ve probably heard about this book because Stephen Colbert used it to […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Advance Review, BEA14, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, California, Dystopian, Edan Lepucki, Fiction, Hachette, Literature, Reviews

The Office of Mercy

April 23, 2014 by Drew

The Short Version: After an immense Storm ravages the globe, the survivors have gone underground in bunker-like Settlements. In America-Five, the easternmost Settlement, Natasha Wiley is a young functionary in the Office of Mercy – tasked with eradicating (“sweeping”, they call it) any surviving peoples outside the Settlements. But after a manual sweep goes awry, Natasha begins to question the quality of this ‘mercy’ and finds herself opposing the entire system. The Review: It’s been quite a while since I’ve […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Ariel Djanikian, Dystopian, Fiction, Philosophy, Sci-Fi, The Office of Mercy

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Transmetropolitan: Lonely City

April 9, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: So the Smiler won the election and Spider is feeling a bit gloomy. Still, there are stories to be discovered and Truth to be told – so he, along with his filthy assistants, continues about his merry way. But when he latches onto the story of a brutal beating on Dante Street, he suddenly finds himself smack in the middle of a perfect trap, laid out by maybe even the President himself… The Review: I’ve been impressed […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Darick Robertson, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Journalism, Lonely City, Patrick Stewart, Politics, Sci-Fi, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

The Dewey Decimal System (Dewey Decimal #1)

March 14, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Sometime after the Valentine’s Occurence(s), New York City is a comparative wasteland – less than a tenth of the population remaining, most of the bridges destroyed, an apocalyptic air about the town. A war vet with a few mental issues (PTSD, OCD, memory loss) who goes by the name of Dewey Decimal has taken up residence in the Schwartzman Building and does some odd jobs as detective/tough for the City in the meantime. But when the DA sends […]

Categories: Fiction, Noir • Tags: Dewey Decimal, Dystopian, Fiction, Nathan Larson, New York City, Noir, The Dewey Decimal System

Transmetropolitan: The New Scum

February 19, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: The election is in full swing and Spider Jerusalem is trying everything he can to swing it one way or the other. Problem is, both candidates hate him and the public – despite loving Spider and his work – doesn’t give a damn about the election. And that’s going to put Spider in a hell of a dangerous spot come election day. The Review: I needed a break from the book I’m currently reading, which is strangely rather […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Comics, Darick Robertson, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Journalism, Politics, Sci-Fi, The New Scum, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis, Winter

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Transmetropolitan: Year of the Bastard

February 16, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Spider Jerusalem, firmly retrenched in the City, has been writing with his usual vitriol about any and everything – except the upcoming elections. But the time has finally come: the bastard is back, with a vengeance. The Review: Okay. Now things are starting to kick into a more proper gear – this is what I signed up for. I don’t think it’s any secret to anyone who even so much as looks at an issue of Transmet […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Darick Robertson, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Journalism, Sci-Fi, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

February 8, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Spider Jerusalem, back on the beat, manages to lose his assistant to a cult and get himself hunted by a bunch of assassins and cops and other angry ne’er-do-wells. All in a day’s work… The Review: Coming from the world of novel-novels, I’m still learning a bit about the Graphic Novel realm. I grew up with Jeff Smith’s amazing Bone (how have I not referenced that in all this time?) and that set a sort of standard […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Comic Books, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Lust for Life, Sci-Fi, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

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Ready Player One

August 23, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: In the future, a massive online universe has begun to supplement reality. The OASIS, as it’s called, is full of everything and anything you could want – a perfect escape from the dystopian reality of life in the 2040s. When James Halliday (the creator of OASIS) dies, his will sparks a treasure hunt with the grand prize of Halliday’s entire fortune. Then, when a young teen named Wade makes the first breakthrough in the hunt after years of […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Sci-Fi • Tags: Dystopian, Ernest Cline, Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Music, Ready Player One, Sci-Fi

Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley

April 28, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Twenty-six short stories by “the creator of dystopian worlds and alternative universes”, blending sci-fi, morality, and humor is a way that would later inspire writers like Douglas Adams and Jonathan Lethem. The Review: I vaguely remember reading a handful of these stories as a very young man, in the second floor office at my grandmother’s house – the room where all of the books were, the books my two uncles hadn’t taken with them into their lives. And […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Short Stories • Tags: Alex Abramovich, Dystopian, Fiction, Humor, Jonathan Lethem, New York Review Books, Robert Sheckley, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Store of the Worlds, The Stories of Robert Sheckley

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Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Tag: Dystopian

California

The Office of Mercy

Transmetropolitan: Lonely City

The Dewey Decimal System (Dewey Decimal #1)

Transmetropolitan: The New Scum

Transmetropolitan: Year of the Bastard

Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

Ready Player One

Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley