1984 is often ranked as one of the most quintessential books in the dystopian genre. But while I was reading it, I couldn’t look past the main character’s attitude toward women. Eventually, I found myself questioning whether the attitude belonged to the character, or to the author himself.

Leave the World Behind takes the dystopian genre to a new and pragmatic level. While many apocalypse stories focus on drama, action, and survival, this novel takes a more realistic approach. What would you really be doing if the end of the world was imminent? Most likely, you’d be hunkering down in your house, stocking up on canned goods, and wondering what the hell was going on, just like our protagonists do in this novel.

The Immortalists is a heartbreaking story that explores a number of themes that are fundamental to our existence. Or more aptly put, it explores themes that are fundamental to the end of our existence.

If there ever was a book for our times, Oryx and Crake is it. This novel is a story about a pandemic that is even more shocking than the one we are living through. Yet, in spite of the dystopian plot, Oryx and Crake gave me hope.