Totalitarian dystopias

Totalitarian dystopias imagine the state as a single will that reaches into thought itself. The party is not merely powerful, it is total: it writes history, polices language, and treats private conscience as the last frontier to conquer. These are the books that gave the genre its grammar, from the boot on the face to the ministry that renames truth.

147 titles in this subgenre, earliest first.

• A Sojourn in the City of Amalgamation
  A Sojourn in the City of AmalgamationOliver Bolokitten · 1835
• The Tragedy of Man
  The Tragedy of ManImre Madách · 1862
• Notes from Underground
  Notes from UndergroundFyodor Dostoevsky · 1864
• Vril, the Power of the Coming Race
  Vril, the Power of the Coming RaceEdward Bulwer-Lytton · 1871
• Erewhon
  ErewhonSamuel Butler · 1872
• 
  The Begum's FortuneJules Verne · 1879
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  The Republic of the FutureAnna Bowman Dodd · 1887
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  Pictures of the Socialistic FutureEugen Richter · 1893
• When The Sleeper Wakes
  When The Sleeper WakesH. G. Wells · 1899
• The Lunar Trilogy
  The Lunar TrilogyJerzy Żuławski · 1903
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  The Iron HeelJack London · 1908
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  When William CameSaki · 1913
• 
  Meccania"Owen Gregory" · 1918
• Love in the Fog of the Future
  Love in the Fog of the FutureAndrei Marsov · 1924
• Miasto światłości
  Miasto światłościMieczysław Smolarski · 1924
• We
  WeYevgeny Zamyatin · 1924
• 
  The TrialFranz Kafka · 1925
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  Brave New WorldAldous Huxley · 1932
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  Cat CountryLao She · 1932
• Invitation to a Beheading
  Invitation to a BeheadingVladimir Nabokov · 1935
• 
  It Can't Happen HereSinclair Lewis · 1935
• War with the Newts
  War with the NewtsKarel Čapek · 1936
• 
  Swastika NightKatharine Burdekin · 1937
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  AnthemAyn Rand · 1938
• "If This Goes On—"
  "If This Goes On—"Robert A. Heinlein · 1940
• Darkness at Noon
  Darkness at NoonArthur Koestler · 1940
• 
  KallocainKarin Boye · 1940
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  The Moon Is DownJohn Steinbeck · 1942
• 
  That Hideous StrengthC. S. Lewis · 1945
• The World of Null-A
  The World of Null-AA. E. van Vogt · 1945
• 
  Bend SinisterVladimir Nabokov · 1947
• Peace In Our Time
  Peace In Our TimeNoël Coward · 1947
• 
  Ape and EssenceAldous Huxley · 1948
• Heliopolis
  HeliopolisErnst Jünger · 1949
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  Nineteen Eighty-FourGeorge Orwell · 1949
• The Heads of Cerberus
  The Heads of CerberusGertrude Barrows Bennett · 1952
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  The Sound of His HornSarban · 1952
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  Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury · 1953
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  Love Among the RuinsEvelyn Waugh · 1953
• 
  OneDavid Karp · 1953
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  Minority ReportPhilip K. Dick · 1956
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  The City and the StarsArthur C. Clarke · 1956
• The Rise of the Meritocracy
  The Rise of the MeritocracyMichael Young, Baron Young of Dartington · 1958
• The John Franklin Letters
  The John Franklin LettersRevilo P. Oliver · 1959
• 
  Dr. FuturityPhilip K. Dick · 1960
• 
  Facial JusticeL. P. Hartley · 1960
• 
  Powrót z gwiazdStanisław Lem · 1961
• 
  The Man in the High CastlePhilip K. Dick · 1962
• 
  The Wanting SeedAnthony Burgess · 1962
• 
  Farnham's FreeholdRobert A. Heinlein · 1964
• 
  Nova ExpressWilliam S. Burroughs · 1964
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  "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the TicktockmanHarlan Ellison · 1965
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  Make Room! Make Room!Harry Harrison · 1966
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  Now Wait for Last YearPhilip K. Dick · 1966
• The Crack in Space
  The Crack in SpacePhilip K. Dick · 1966
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  The Dream MasterRoger Zelazny · 1966
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  Logan's RunWilliam F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson · 1967
• The Time Hoppers
  The Time HoppersRobert Silverberg · 1967
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  Why Call Them Back from Heaven?Clifford D. Simak · 1967
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  A Very Private LifeMichael Frayn · 1968
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  Camp ConcentrationThomas M. Disch · 1968
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  SynthajoyD. G. Compton · 1968
• 
  This Perfect DayIra Levin · 1970
• Los Angeles: AD 2017
  Los Angeles: AD 2017Phillip Wylie · 1971
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  Snail on the SlopeArkady and Boris Strugatsky · 1971
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  The Lathe of HeavenUrsula K. Le Guin · 1971
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  The World InsideRobert Silverberg · 1971
• 
  334Thomas M. Disch · 1972
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  The Iron DreamNorman Spinrad · 1972
• The Camp of the Saints
  The Camp of the SaintsJean Raspail · 1973
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  The Ultimate SolutionEric Norden · 1973
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  Flow My Tears, the Policeman SaidPhilip K. Dick · 1974
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  The Forever WarJoe Haldeman · 1974
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  DhalgrenSamuel R. Delany · 1975
• High-Rise
  High-RiseJ. G. Ballard · 1975
• Woman on the Edge of Time
  Woman on the Edge of TimeMarge Piercy · 1976
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  A Scanner DarklyPhilip K. Dick · 1977
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  1985Anthony Burgess · 1978
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  SS-GBLen Deighton · 1978
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  The Turner DiariesAndrew Macdonald · 1978
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  Alongside NightJ. Neil Schulman · 1979
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  The Long WalkStephen King, Richard Bachman · 1979
• The Divide
  The DivideWilliam Overgard · 1980
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  To the StarsHarry Harrison · 1980
• Lanark: A Life in Four Books
  Lanark: A Life in Four BooksAlasdair Gray · 1981
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  The Running ManStephen King, Richard Bachman · 1982
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  ParadyzjaJanusz Zajdel · 1984
• Sprawl trilogy
  Sprawl trilogyWilliam Gibson · 1984
• 
  DayworldPhilip José Farmer · 1985
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  The Handmaid's TaleMargaret Atwood · 1985
• The Proteus Operation
  The Proteus OperationJames P. Hogan · 1985
• Moscow 2042
  Moscow 2042Vladimir Voinovich · 1986
• 
  Sea of GlassBarry B. Longyear · 1986
• Obernewtyn Chronicles
  Obernewtyn ChroniclesIsobelle Carmody · 1987
• The Domination
  The DominationS. M. Stirling · 1988
• 
  Clash of EaglesLeo Rutman · 1990
• HaDerekh LeEin Harod
  HaDerekh LeEin HarodAmos Kenan · 1990
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  Serpent's WalkRandolph D. Calverhall · 1991
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  The Dark Beyond the StarsFrank M. Robinson · 1991
• 
  The War in 2020Ralph Peters · 1991
• Timewyrm: Exodus
  Timewyrm: ExodusTerrance Dicks · 1991
• 
  FatherlandRobert Harris · 1992
• The Children of Men
  The Children of MenP. D. James · 1992
• 
  Gun, with Occasional MusicJonathan Lethem · 1994
• Paris in the Twentieth Century
  Paris in the Twentieth CenturyJules Verne · 1994
• 
  The Diamond AgeNeal Stephenson · 1995
• 
  '48James Herbert · 1996
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  Attentatet i Pålsjö skogHans Alfredson · 1996
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  The Ice PeopleMaggie Gee · 1998
• 
  Battle RoyaleKoushun Takami · 1999
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  Ella Minnow PeaMark Dunn · 2001
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  The House of the ScorpionNancy Farmer · 2002
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  CollaboratorMurray Davies · 2003
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  In the Presence of Mine EnemiesHarry Turtledove · 2003
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  AsphaltCarl Hancock Rux · 2004
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  Divided KingdomRupert Thomson · 2005
• 
  FarthingJo Walton · 2006
• 
  Last LightAlex Scarrow · 2008
• Nontraditional Love
  Nontraditional LoveRafael Grugman · 2008
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  World Made by HandJames Howard Kunstler · 2008
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  The City & the CityChina Miéville · 2009
• Z213: Exit
  Z213: ExitDimitris Lyacos · 2009
• 
  MatchedAlly Condie · 2010
• The Envy Chronicles
  The Envy ChroniclesJoss Ware · 2010
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  WoolHugh Howey · 2010
• 
  Across The UniverseBeth Revis · 2011
• 
  CrossedAlly Condie · 2011
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  LegendMarie Lu · 2011
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  Shatter MeTahereh Mafi · 2011
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  Unravel MeTahereh Mafi · 2011
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  Article 5Kristen Simmons · 2012
• Dominion
  DominionC. J. Sansom · 2012
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  PandemoniumLauren Oliver · 2012
• 
  ReachedAlly Condie · 2012
• 
  ShimonetaHirotaka Akagi · 2012
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  ChampionMarie Lu · 2013
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  ProdigyMarie Lu · 2013
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  The 5th WaveRick Yancey · 2013
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  The Bone SeasonSamantha Shannon · 2013
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  The Office of MercyAriel Djanikian · 2013
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  Red RisingPierce Brown · 2014
• 
  Golden SonPierce Brown · 2015
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  Morning StarPierce Brown · 2016
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  The Inner HouseWalter Besant · 2016
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  Iron GoldPierce Brown · 2018
• 
  The TestamentsMargaret Atwood · 2019
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  Prophet SongPaul Lynch · 2023