Five books that say the future is a scary place

Dystopian novels and shows have a growing fan base. Dystopia -- the opposite of utopia -- is the idea of a society in which people are unhappy.

An odd genre, dystopian novels give us a wild imagination of how the world will look in the future.

Here are a few books to read if you are new to the genre.

1984

Written by George Orwell, this book is probably the most popular dystopian novel, which gave rise to new concepts. Published in 1949, the book is Orwell’s imagination of a totalitarian state, where everything is under constant surveillance of the ‘Big Brother’. Many schools and colleges also have made the book a part of their curriculum.

The Handmaid’s Tale

Also a popular web-series starring Elisabeth Moss, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood explores the life of Offred, a handmaid, whose only purpose is to breed. The book makes for a spine-chilling read as it revolves around a society where women have no autonomy over their bodies.

Leila

The recent one to be made into a Netflix series is ‘Leila’ by Prayaag Akbar. The novel explores a dystopian era where the obsession for purity is escalated. The narrative follows Shalini, a mother who is on the lookout for her daughter Leila.

Brave New World

Written by Aldous Huxley in 1931, the novel is about genetically modified citizens in a futuristic world. It is considered as one of the best literary works of the 20th century.

The Maze Runner

A young-adult book series by James Dashner is about the world which has been devastated by a series of massive social flares. The books are also made into films.