Date: Sat, 2 Mar 1996 17:53:05 +0100
From: m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se (Hugh Rodwell)
Subject: Scary novels of the future


Zamyatin's book was too science fictiony for me - left me pretty cold. A
Swedish spine-chiller that didn't, though, is 'Kallocain' by Karin Boye,
1940. There's probably an English translation by now, though I can't give
you the data off hand.

I don't know if H.G.Wells's 'The Time Machine' with its Molochs and
Butterfly people really counts.

For my money, the title fight for best scary novel of the future must be
between '1984' and Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' (which I'm surprised
nobody's mentioned yet). My bet's on Orwell - Huxley is too perfectly
consumerist and social-engineering to be real. Orwell has got the draughty
jerry-built flats, the constant break-downs, the nooks and crannies, the
relative autonomy and body-warmth of your own crowd, etc, of reality. Also,
he has conferences/meetings completely sussed out, and I love the low-tech
manipulation of history Winston Smith is engaged in at the Ministry of
Truth. If it'd been written it today they'd've all been working on 286s
using COBOL programs.

Cheers,

Hugh




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