Most dystopic world in fiction?

[El_Machinae]

I was going to say 40k, but then I realized a lot of its suffering was due to the fact the Universe itself was hostile to people. The fascism is overboard and runaway, but in some ways it's why Humanity survives. In a proper dystopia, isn't the reason for the suffering false?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I would call Fallout post-post-apocalyptic. There was a nuclear war, but humanity is rebuilding. Life in the NCR might be better than in many third world countries today.

Fair enough. They do have pretty much the ultimate in dystopian history would be the more accurate view I guess.

 

[JollyRoger]

The Bible's

 

[Lohrenswald]

I don't know if it's properly dystopian, but the future in Wells' "The Time Machine" makes me feel down.
The regression of the human species and all that.

 

[Arwon]

There's really no contest with the 40K universe that I'm aware of.

 

[Kyriakos]

The Warhammer 40K universe is basically a galaxy-spanning hellscape of psychological torment, war, death and chaos.

I really wish someone made a good movie out of it.

Will read the article Sounds like Aztec pangalactic situation. I recall a WH40K drawing with an Aztec as well.

 

[illram]

Will read the article Sounds like Aztec pangalactic situation. I recall a WH40K drawing with an Aztec as well.

This wiki entry provides a little more backstory on the setting, moreso than the general wiki link I originally linked.

I have very fond memories of that game as a kid... I did not read any of the fiction novel offshoots but just reading the table top rule books was incredibly engrossing. The art was also great.

 

[Kyriakos]

This wiki entry provides a little more backstory on the setting, moreso than the general wiki link I originally linked.

I have very fond memories of that game as a kid... I did not read any of the fiction novel offshoots but just reading the table top rule books was incredibly engrossing. The art was also great.

Quick question:
Why did so many of the imperial marines (link says around half) convert to the Chaos gods?

Also, those chaos gods seem close to the Lovecraft mythos ones in that they never are claimed to be helping their worshippers anyway (at least the lower ranks, such as converts), so what is the allure there? Merely being in-the-know of reality in that universe?

 

[EgonSpengler]

Quick question:
Why did so many of the imperial marines (link says around half) convert to the Chaos gods?

Also, those chaos gods seem close to the Lovecraft mythos ones in that they never are claimed to be helping their worshippers anyway (at least the lower ranks, such as converts), so what is the allure there? Merely being in-the-know of reality in that universe?

The Warhammer universe is pretty straightforward. It's all about power, with a veneer of religion. The Chaos Gods are similar to the Lovecraftian gods in the sense that they drive people insane, but they do imbue their followers with great power. It's like The Dark Side of The Force in Star Wars, but with a facade of European Middle Ages religion (the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc) instead of Buddhism. All with the goal of fueling massive wars, of course.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Dante's Inferno deserves a mention.

Well, lookie there; it just got one.

 

[PhroX]

The Warhammer universe is pretty straightforward. It's all about power, with a veneer of religion. The Chaos Gods are similar to the Lovecraftian gods in the sense that they drive people insane, but they do imbue their followers with great power. It's like The Dark Side of The Force in Star Wars, but with a facade of European Middle Ages religion (the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc) instead of Buddhism. All with the goal of fueling massive wars, of course.

To add to the fun, all the Chaos gods have "good" sides (IIRC, Khorne is honour, Tzeench is hope and I forget the other two completely). Unfortunately, the universe is such a craphole that the emotions of sentient beings (and thus the gods' power) associated with their negative aspects outweight those associated with their positive sides by many orders of magnitiude, and so what we get is pure unadulterated evil...

 

[warpus]

Margaret Atwood is giving a talk here in Red Deer in the fall. I'm seriously considering going. I'm also thinking of what I might say to her if I have a chance - possibly mentioning how many times I've read her dystopian science fiction novel The Handmaid's Tale.

Watch out, she hates being reminded that she writes science fiction.

Would love to hear what her response to that would be - my guess is a rant about how her works "aren't realy sci-fi, but are just imaginative fiction". Woman's an awesome and talented author, but.. yeah, in some ways she's a bit daft.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

Anyone seen an anime called Now and Then, Here and There? Bleak as HELL, takes place on a planet who's sun is expanding and everything is just ruined. Really depressing show.

Edit: Although, come to think of it, this really might be more post-apocalyptic than dystopic, and I think that's a distinction worth making.

 

[onejayhawk]

What of Herbert's Dune universe?

J

 

[Borachio]

Dunno.

Are we defining dystopic as anything which isn't utopic?

 

[Spidernova]

Been watching Psycho-Pass recently, that's a pretty freaking grim setting.

 

[Commodore]

If we limit ourselves to fiction that is acknowledged by all people as pure fiction the Warhammer 40k universe is a prety terrible place. Demons are constantly trying to eat everyone and the only thing that can protect us is fascism.




That's not really about a dystopic world. It's just the USA that's messed up.

Yeah I was about to nominate the Imperium of Man as the most dystopic, but looks like you beat me to it.

 

[Commodore]

I was going to say 40k, but then I realized a lot of its suffering was due to the fact the Universe itself was hostile to people. The fascism is overboard and runaway, but in some ways it's why Humanity survives. In a proper dystopia, isn't the reason for the suffering false?

Which is why the Tau Empire is actually much more sinister and dystopian than the Imperium.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

Accept your new Tau overlords and embrace your role in the Greater Good.

 

[PhroX]

Anyone seen an anime called Now and Then, Here and There? Bleak as HELL, takes place on a planet who's sun is expanding and everything is just ruined. Really depressing show.

Edit: Although, come to think of it, this really might be more post-apocalyptic than dystopic, and I think that's a distinction worth making.

Apparently the director was inspired to make that after watching news reports on the Rwandan Genocide. So um...yeah. It's pretty bleak. Brilliant certainly, but depressing as hell. I tend to agree that dystopian, at least as it's usually used, in the sense of a society which takes certain socio-political issues and takes them to their extremes in a negative manner doesn't quite apply to NTHT as it's more of a case of "everything's gone to hell and this is what humanity is capable of", but in terms of "worst societies ever", it does rank pretty high up there.