Books like 'The Definitions'
Readers who enjoyed The Definitions by Matt Greene also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi psychological dystopia social-commentary philosophical friendship literary-fiction
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Exhalation by Ted Chiang
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsalternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereThe universe began as an enormous breath being held.From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others — the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film Arrival — comes a ground-breaking new collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical 21st-century action-adventure adult ai aliens -
![Animal Farm / 1984 by George Orwell]()
Animal Farm / 1984 by George Orwell
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsThis edition features George Orwell’s best-known novels—1984 and Animal Farm—with an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith joins a secret revolutionary organisation called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party... -
![The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsFrom the brilliant and award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a classic tale of two planets torn apart by conflict and mistrust — and the man who risks everything to reunite them.A bleak moon settled by utopian anarchists, Anarres has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—a civilization of warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth... -
![Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Thomas Pynchon]()
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Thomas Pynchon
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 82 ratingsThe new novel by George Orwell is the major work towards which all his previous writing has pointed. Critics have hailed it as his "most solid, most brilliant" work. Though the story of Nineteen Eighty-Four takes place thirty-five years hence, it is in every sense timely. The scene is London, where there has been no new housing since 1950 and where the city-wide slums are called Victory Mansions...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction social-commentary 20th-century alternate-history audiobook book classics -
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![The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsA classic science fiction novel by one of the greatest writers of the genre, set in a future world where one man's dreams control the fate of humanity. In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr... -
![Evil Among Us by J.K. Accinni]()
Evil Among Us by J.K. Accinni
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLorna, Jennifer and Seth struggle to reach the Hive amid the chaos of Armageddon... -
![Brave New World / Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley, Christopher Hitchens]()
Brave New World / Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley, Christopher Hitchens
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsThe astonishing novel Brave New World, originally published in 1932, presents Aldous Huxley's vision of the future--of a world utterly transformed. Through the most efficient scientific and psychological engineering, people are genetically designed to be passive and therefore consistently useful to the ruling class...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical social-commentary 20th-century audiobook book classics -
![The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsWith a new introduction by Kelly Link, the Locus Award–winning science fiction novel by legendary author Ursula K. Le Guin, set in a world where one man’s dreams rewrite the future. During a time racked by war and environmental catastrophe, George Orr discovers his dreams alter reality. George is compelled to receive treatment from Dr... -
![Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell]()
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 101 ratingsWinston Smith is a low-rung member of the Party, the ruling government of Oceania. He works in the Ministry of Truth, the Party's propoganda arm, where he is in charge of revising history. He is but a small brick in the pyramid that is the Party, at the head of which stands Big Brother. Big Brother the infallible. Big Brother the all-powerful...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction social-commentary 20th-century alternate-history audiobook book classics -
![Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison, Michael Moorcock]()
Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison, Michael Moorcock
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe most honored anthology of fantastic fiction ever published, featuring the works of such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Bloch, Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Damon Knight, J.G. Ballard, John Brunner, Frederik Pohl, Roger Zelazny and Samuel Delany... -
![The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse, Theodore Ziolkowski]()
The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse, Theodore Ziolkowski
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe final novel of Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game is a fascinating tale of the complexity of modern life as well as a classic of modern literature.Set in the twenty-third century, The Glass Bead Game is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has been raised in Castalia, the remote place his society has provided for the intellectual elite to grow and flourish...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical 20th-century adult audiobook bildungsroman book -
![Torture the Artist by Joey Goebel]()
Torture the Artist by Joey Goebel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsVincent Spinetti is an archetypal tortured artist ? a sensitive young writer who falls victim to alienation, parental neglect, poverty, depression, alcoholism, illness, nervous breakdowns, and unrequited love... -
![Event Horizon by Steven Konkoly]()
Event Horizon by Steven Konkoly
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPrevious cover edition for ASIN B00I0DP2U2For alternate cover edition see hereThe critically acclaimed post apocalyptic saga continues...With Boston collapsing faster than Alex Fletcher predicted, his personal rescue mission deep into the heart of an increasingly unfamiliar city reaches a critical point... -
![The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsA groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization... -
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![Feral Fate by Kendall Talbot]()
Feral Fate by Kendall Talbot
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe nightmare is far from over. After surviving the EMP blast that crippled their cruise ship, the exhausted passengers from Rose of the Sea finally reach dry land. But the deserted island has a sinister history, and one wrong step on its sandy shores can mean the difference between life and death.Gunner...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction action-adventure adult apocalyptic book disaster female-mc -
![Of Mice and Mooshaber by Ladislav Fuks, Mark Corner]()
Of Mice and Mooshaber by Ladislav Fuks, Mark Corner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLadislav Fuks (1923-94) was an outstanding Czech writer whose work, consisting primarily of psychological fiction, explores themes of anxiety and life in totalitarian systems... -
![The Ferryman by Justin Cronin]()
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsFounded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera's lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent... -
![After the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson]()
After the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhat happens when the lights go off after what might truly be an end-of-the-world event? How do you stay alive? Who do you trust? How much do you have to sacrifice?'After the Lights Go Out is a terrifying yet hope-filled story of disaster, deceit, love, sacrifice and survival... -
![The Marriage Act by John Marrs]()
The Marriage Act by John Marrs
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills — the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single... -
![Pastoralia by George Saunders]()
Pastoralia by George Saunders
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWith this new collection, George Saunders takes us even further into the shocking, uproarious and oddly familiar landscape of his imagination.The stories in Pastoralia are set in a slightly skewed version of America, where elements of contemporary life have been merged, twisted, and amplified, casting their absurdity-and our humanity-in a startling new light... -
![The Plague by Albert Camus]()
The Plague by Albert Camus
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsA gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical 20th-century action-adventure adult apocalyptic audiobook -
![Solaris by Stanisław Lem]()
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsA classic work of science fiction by renowned Polish novelist and satirist Stanislaw Lem.When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
![The Lottery by Shirley Jackson]()
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 55 ratingsIn a small American town, the local residents are abuzz with excitement and nervousness when they wake on the morning of the twenty-seventh of June. Everything has been prepared for the town’s annual tradition—a lottery in which every family must participate, and no one wants to win. “The Lottery” stands out as one of the most famous short stories in American literary history...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction social-commentary 20th-century audiobook book classics contemporary -
![The Plague by Albert Camus]()
The Plague by Albert Camus
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsA gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people... -
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![Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman]()
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsA modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook -
![The Four-Gated City by Doris Lessing]()
The Four-Gated City by Doris Lessing
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDorris Lessing's classic series of autobiographical novels is the fictional counterpart to Under My Skin. In these five novels, first published in the 1950's and 60s, Doris Lessing transformed her fascinating life into fiction, creating her most complex and compelling character, Martha Quest...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century adult book classics contemporary female-author -
![The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon]()
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the near future, disease will be a condition of the past. Most genetic defects will be removed at birth; the remaining during infancy. Unfortunately, there will be a generation left behind. For members of that missed generation, small advances will be made. Through various programs, they will be taught to get along in the world despite their differences...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction social-commentary 21st-century audiobook book contemporary disability -
![The Hush by Sara Foster]()
The Hush by Sara Foster
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA multigenerational, female-led thriller, and a terrifying conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the British Government.Six months ago, in an English hospital, a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since then there have been more tragedies, and now the country is in turmoil. The government is clamping down on people’s freedoms... -
![The Divine Farce by Michael S.A. Graziano]()
The Divine Farce by Michael S.A. Graziano
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“A Dante/Beckett reduction of human struggle to its lowest common denominator.”— Michael Mirolla, author of The Formal Logic of Emotion and Berlin“One of the most original and thought-provoking stories I have ever read...true literary art...Not a word is wasted in this masterpiece. Yes, I call it that...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical horror fiction philosophy contemporary fantasy -
![The Beasts of Success by Jasun Ether]()
The Beasts of Success by Jasun Ether
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn this dog-eat-dog world, three friends find themselves getting nowhere in their careers despite their education and work skills. They decide to make their own rules to the game of life and play dirty to get ahead. Each of them concoct schemes to sabotage colleagues and clear the path for their swift advancement... -
![Clink by Kelly DiPucchio]()
Clink by Kelly DiPucchio
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsClink was a state-of-the-art robot with the dazzling ability to make toast and play music at the same time. But that was many years ago.Now kids want snazzier robots who do things like play baseball and bake cookies. So day after day, Clink sits on a shelf and sadly watches as his friends leave with their new owners... -
![Baby X by Kira Peikoff]()
Baby X by Kira Peikoff
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen any biological matter can be used to create life, stolen celebrity DNA sells to the highest bidder–or the craziest stalker–in this propulsive thriller.With a vivid imagining of the future, Gattaca meets Black Mirror in Kira Peikoff’s Baby X... -
![The Last Man Alive by A.S. Neill]()
The Last Man Alive by A.S. Neill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe adventures of a group who survived a poisonous cloud that turned everyone else into stone...Categorized as:
dystopia friendship 20th-century action-adventure book children children-books classics -
![20 Minutes To Go Viral by Daniel Hurst]()
20 Minutes To Go Viral by Daniel Hurst
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSomething is spreading in the peaceful town of Amberfall. Something that threatens the whole of humanity. Something is going viral. 20 Minutes. 20 People. 20 stories that will make you want to stay inside and never greet another human being again. This is a short novella about a viral outbreak in a small town in the Lake District and shows how quickly disease can spread amongst the population...Categorized as:
literary-fiction dystopia fiction suspense mystery 21st-century psychological sci-fi -
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![The Trial by Franz Kafka]()
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsWritten in 1914 but not published until 1925, a year after Kafka’s death, The Trial is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information... -
![Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes by Gerd Brantenberg]()
Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes by Gerd Brantenberg
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome to the land of Egalia, where gender roles are topsy-turvy as "wim" wield the power and "menwim" light the home fires... -
![Good Night, Sleep Tight by Brian Evenson]()
Good Night, Sleep Tight by Brian Evenson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“PERHAPS TOMORROW I WILL WAKE UP ANOTHER PERSON. PERHAPS TOMORROW I WILL WAKE UP NOT A PERSON AT ALL.”From the “master of literary horror” (GQ) comes a collection of new stories tracing the limits and consequences of artificial intelligence and “post-human” relationships... -
![The Affirmation by Christopher Priest]()
The Affirmation by Christopher Priest
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPeter Sinclair is tormented by bereavement and failure. In an attempt to conjure some meaning from his life, he embarks on an autobiography, but he finds himself writing the story of another man in another, imagines, world whose insidious attraction draws him even further in.. -
![The Trial by Franz Kafka, Arthur H. Samuelson]()
The Trial by Franz Kafka, Arthur H. Samuelson
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsWritten in 1914 but not published until 1925, a year after Kafka's death, The Trial is one of the most important novels of the twentieth century: the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information... -
![VALIS by Philip K. Dick]()
VALIS by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsVALIS is the first book in Philip K. Dick's incomparable final trio of novels (the others being The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer). This disorienting and bleakly funny work is about a schizophrenic hero named Horselover Fat; the hidden mysteries of Gnostic Christianity; and reality as revealed through a pink laser... -
![God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]()
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsSecond only to Slaughterhouse-Five of Vonnegut's canon in its prominence and influence, God Bless You, Mr...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction social-commentary 20th-century adult audiobook book classics -
![One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie]()
One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIf you could test your son for a gene that predicts violence, would you do it?Antonia and Bea are sisters, and doting mothers to their sons. But that is where their similarities end.Antonia had her son tested to make sure he didn’t possess the "violent" M gene.Bea refuses to let her son take the test. His life should not be determined by a positive or negative result... -
![Toward Eternity by Anton Hur]()
Toward Eternity by Anton Hur
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhat does it mean to be human in a world where technology is quickly catching up to biology?In a near-future world, a new technological therapy is quickly eradicating cancer: The body’s cells are entirely replaced with nanites—robot or android cells that not only cure those afflicted but leave them virtually immortal... -
![A Better World by Sarah Langan]()
A Better World by Sarah Langan
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe author of Good Neighbors , “one of the creepiest, most unnerving deconstructions of American suburbia” (NPR), returns with a provocative and disconcerting novel about a woman questioning her new home in an exclusive company town after a night out goes terribly wrong.Welcome to Plymouth Valley... -
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![The Castle by Franz Kafka]()
The Castle by Franz Kafka
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsTranslated and with a preface by Mark HarmanLeft unfinished by Kafka in 1922 and not published until 1926, two years after his death, The Castle is the haunting tale of K.’s relentless, unavailing struggle with an inscrutable authority in order to gain access to the Castle...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical 20th-century absurdism action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Neanderthals: The experiment by Serag Monier, سراج منير]()
Neanderthals: The experiment by Serag Monier, سراج منير
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo strangers, a man and a woman, meet on a deserted island, where neither remembers when or how they arrived. Eventually they realize they’re undergoing a deliberate unorthodox experiment.Omar and Shadia are continually exposed to hazards that reveal their true selves... -
![The Child Buyer by John Hersey]()
The Child Buyer by John Hersey
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is a story of an investigation into the activities of Mr. Wissey Jones, a stranger who comes to the town of Pequot on urgent defense business. His business is to buy for his corporation children of a certain sort, in this case a ten-year-old named Barry Rudd, a budding genius of potentially critical value. A hearing is held and questions are asked: exactly why does Mr...Categorized as:
literary-fiction philosophical social-commentary adult alternate-history book classics drama -
![Black Hole by Bucky Sinister]()
Black Hole by Bucky Sinister
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere are no old drug addicts. That's what everyone says, at least. So how did Chuck get to his forty-third birthday and find himself still neck-deep in this scene? He knows he's the creepy old guy with the drugs or the guy who's too old to be at the party doing everyone else's drugs, but if it ain't broke ... Well, he manages to make it to work at the dwarf whale distributor every day... -
![What's Expected of Us by Ted Chiang]()
What's Expected of Us by Ted Chiang
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA short science fiction story as a part of the collection 'Exhalation' by Ted Chiang... -
![Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley]()
Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWhen the novel Brave New World first appeared in 1932, its shocking analysis of a scientific dictatorship seemed a projection into the remote future. Here, in one of the most important and fascinating books of his career, Aldous Huxley uses his tremendous knowledge of human relations to compare the modern-day world with his prophetic fantasy...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction philosophical social-commentary 20th-century adult audiobook book
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