It’s March 2025, and dystopia is no longer fiction.

Around the world, governments and their colluders (big corporates — the OG fascists) are trampling on our rights, our livelihoods and our expectations of brighter futures.

Indeed, the vision — dream — of even tomorrow, is a bleaker future than today.

Is that why we turn to dystopian fiction? Why we rage against the dying of the light? Why we fight hopeless, impossible odds in the hope that our rebellion will spark true revolution? I expect so.

Enter dystopian fiction, a sub-genre previously on the fringes of society — filled with “banned books” - but brought further into the modern zeitgeist thanks to the heroic efforts of writers that never gave up.

First, a definition. 

What is dystopian fiction?

Dystopian fiction is a genre that explores societies characterized by oppressive social control, often presented as a stark contrast to a Utopian ideal.  

Dystopian fiction portrays a world where prevailing social and political structures lead to a degraded and undesirable state. This often involves themes of oppression, loss of individuality, and environmental decay.  

As stated by the Oxford English Dictionary, a dystopia is "An imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible."

Key Characteristics:

• Oppressive governments or controlling entities

• Loss of individual freedoms and privacy

• Environmental devastation

• Social inequality and class divisions

• Technological control

• Often serves as a warning about current societal trends

A short history of dystopian fiction

The term "dystopia" was coined by John Stuart Mill in the 19th century, but the concept has roots in earlier works.  The idea of a "bad place" is often contrasted with utopian ideals, such as those presented in Thomas More's Utopia from 1516.

Early examples of works that contain dystopian themes can be seen within works such as The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

The 20th Century and the Rise of Dystopian Fiction:

The 20th century saw a surge in dystopian literature, particularly in response to:

• World Wars I and II

• The rise of totalitarian regimes

• Rapid technological advancements  

Key works that shaped the genre include:

• We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1921): This novel explored a totalitarian society and heavily influenced later works.

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932): This book depicted a future society controlled through technology and conditioning.  

• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949): This iconic novel portrayed a society under constant surveillance and manipulation.  

Post-War and Contemporary Dystopias:

After World War II, dystopian fiction continued to evolve, addressing new concerns such as the Cold War and the threat of nuclear annihilation, environmental degradation, the impact of mass media and consumerism, and technological advancements, especially within the digital age.

Examples of modern dystopian fiction include The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s Tale and Black Mirror.

Predicting the future of dystopian fiction

In response to the attention economy, driven by modern consumers’ insatiable desire for instant gratification, there is a growing movement around short-form audio, visual and written fiction. Combine this with a growing dissatisfaction with global affairs and we have ourselves a renaissance of dystopia.

We expect that as bank accounts are closed, interest rates and inflation erode people’s finances, and our digital rights trump our human ones, there will be a resurgence in the art of dystopian fiction. Driven, in part, we hope, by our own efforts. 

Topics such as bitcoin and cyber security, alongside emergent trends in AI, machine learning, quantum computing and even the study and disclosure of UAP will likely become more prevalent in our lives and this will be reflected in the content we consume.

Best 2025 Sci-Fi Dystopian Fiction 

We are already seeing an increase in short stories and anthologies in the sci-fi dystopia category in early 2025, and are excited to contribute our own with the imminent launch of 21 Futures: Financial Fallout.

Here are some of the top recent dystopian short stories and their collections:

Exhalation by Ted Chiang: This collection of short stories explores profound themes of technology, existence, and the nature of reality, often with dystopian undertones. Chiang's work is highly regarded for its thought-provoking and beautifully crafted narratives.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: this novella features a war-torn future and explores themes of control, manipulation, and the struggle for agency. It's known for its poetic language and intricate world-building.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: While a novel, it's very much a dystopian work, and has strong connections to short fiction. It is a very recent example of a hard hitting dystopian story.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman: A speculative novel set in a world grappling with a virus called "Crown Royale" that eliminates negative emotions, leading to widespread contentment. The story follows three teenagers from different backgrounds who become entangled in a power struggle concerning this virus, exploring themes of happiness, power, and human nature.

Whiteout by R.S. Burnett: A claustrophobic survival thriller set in Antarctica. Glaciologist Rachael Beckett is stranded at a remote research station after losing contact with her team and receiving news of a nuclear war. Alone and with dwindling supplies, she must fight to survive the harsh polar winter, while also holding crucial climate change research that could be vital to the world's future.

Brother Brontë by Fernando A. Flores: A gonzo, near-future dystopian adventure set in a ruined border town in Texas in 2038. Under the rule of a tech industrialist mayor who has outlawed reading, two women fight to save their town and literature itself, aided by a wounded tigress and rebel "tías." The story is a mordant romp through a world that feels uncannily like our own, exploring themes of tyranny, disparity, and resistance.

Coyote Run by Lilith Saintcrow: A science fiction pulp novella set in a fractured North America, where a war is raging. It follows Coyote, a tough, fast-shifting runner known for taking dangerous jobs. She is hired to rescue a woman's sister from a secret prison camp deep in enemy territory, leading to a violent and action-packed mission.

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall: A science fiction thriller told from the perspective of Nonie, a girl living in a post-glacial melt New York City. She and her family reside in the American Museum of Natural History, working to preserve its collections. When a super storm hits, they must escape north along the Hudson River, encountering different communities and dangers as they seek to build a new world from what they've saved.

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold: A post-apocalyptic story set in suburban New Jersey after devastating storms. Seventeen-year-old Liz Flannery lives in an abandoned bookstore, trading books for supplies. When another catastrophic storm approaches, a prickly outsider named Maeve arrives, and together they must repair the bookstore and confront both external threats and their own inner struggles as they develop feelings for each other.

We Lived on the Horizon by Erika Swyler: Set in the walled city of Bulwark, protected by AI after cataclysms. The city is built on a system of sacrifice and run by an AI. The story follows Saint Enita Malovis, a bio-prosthetist from the elite "Sainted" class, as she creates a physical being filled with her knowledge. When a murder occurs and the AI erases it, Enita and her creation get drawn into a war between the city's underclass and the AI-controlled order. It explores themes of utopia, body horror, and humanity's future with machines.

Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay: An epic dystopian novel reimagining Nepal after an earthquake. It intertwines two narratives: Kranti, a revolutionary's daughter caught in family politics after marrying into a dynasty, and the new dictator with his mistress undergoing radical changes. The novel explores love, political violence, identity, and the collision of Eastern and Western worlds in a vast, globalized universe.

Broken Worlds: Dystopian Stories: Almond Press lists this anthology as a collection of dystopian short stories exploring bleak futures and totalitarian societies. 

21 Futures: Tales from the Timechain (2023)

21 Futures is a cypherpunk fiction project from Konsensus Network designed to further our understanding of privacy, personal liberty and financial freedom. We believe stories are the perfect devices to bring about meaningful change.

This book can work as an ‘orange-pilling device’ for friends or family members who prefer fiction to technical explanations. Fans of sci-fi, cyberpunk and dystopia will be gripped by these tales. And 21 Futures should be on the bookshelf of any self-respecting bitcoiner.

Tales from the Timechain presents 21 gripping short stories which explore the meaning and impact of bitcoin.

21 Futures: Financial Fallout (2025)

21 Futures: Financial Fallout explores the intersection of finance and science fiction, offering readers a glimpse into unsettling possible futures. From dystopian societies controlled by mega-corporations to interplanetary economies teetering on the brink of collapse, each story presents a unique and thought-provoking perspective on the future of money, power, and society. The anthology boasts a diverse range of narratives, exploring themes of economic inequality, technological disruption, and the very nature of value itself.

Order the 21 Futures anthologies and more books in our store.

The future certainly promises many more dystopian stories.

The question is, will we pay heed to the warnings before it is too late?