Darkly satirical and dystopian views of humanity
Explore a chilling collection of darkly satirical and dystopian books that offer sharp, provocative critiques of humanity. Discover tales of societal decay, biting humor, and unsettling futures.
Book
The Mosquito Coast
by Paul Theroux
Allie Fox is going to re-create the world. Abominating the cops, crooks, junkies and scavengers of modern America, he abandons civilization and takes the family to live in the Honduran jungle. There his tortured, messianic genius keeps them alive, his hoarse tirades harrying them through a diseased and dirty Eden towards unimaginable darkness. �An epic of paranoid obsession that swirls the reader headlong to deposit him on a mudbank of horror� Christopher Wordsworth, Guardian.
Book
Burning Chrome
by William Gibson
Best-known for his science fiction novel Neuromancer, William Gibson is actually best when writing short fiction. Tautly-written and suspenseful, Burning Chrome collects 10 of his best short stories with a preface from Bruce Sterling. These brilliant, high-resolution stories show Gibson's characters and intensely-realized worlds at his absolute best, from the chip-enhanced couriers of "Johnny Mnemonic" to the street-tech melancholy of "Burning Chrome."
Book
Strip Tease
by Carl Hiaasen
A single mom turned stripper finds herself locking horns with a high-powered Congressman when a bachelor party gets out of hand in this inventive tale yet of savage appetites and sweet justice. Only in America could an innocent, if drunken, guest of honor at a strip joint bachelor party become a mortal threat against Big Money and Big Government. Only in south Florida, land of roadside honky-tonks and sinister pleasure boats -- not to mention blackmail and murder -- would a virtuous topless dancer join forces with a cool but clueless cop. And only in the fiction of Carl Hiaasen do readers experience riveting suspense and razor-sharp characters along with the most wicked humor imaginable. Don't miss Strip Tease, Hiaasen's crazed romp through lust, murder, and government machinations.
Book
The Bonfire of the Vanities
by Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe’s modern American satire tells the story of Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street “Master of the Universe” who has it all — a Park Avenue apartment, a job that brings wealth, power and prestige, a beautiful wife, an even more beautiful mistress. Suddenly, one wrong turn makes it all go wrong, and Sherman spirals downward in a sudden fall from grace that sucks him into the ravenous heart of a New York City gone mad during the go-go, racially turbulent, socially hilarious 1980s. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Book
Bored of the Rings
by Henry Beard
A quest, a war, a ring that would be grounds for calling any wedding off, a king without a kingdom, and a furry little "hero" named Frito, ready-or maybe just forced by the wizard Goodgulf-to undertake the one mission that can save Lower Middle Earth from enslavement by the evil Sorhed....Luscious Elf-maidens, a roller-skating dragon, ugly plants that can soul kiss the unwary to death-these are just some of the ingredients in the wildest, wackiest, most irreverent excursion into fantasy realms that anyone has ever dared to undertake. For everyone who has delighted in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy masterwork-or anyone who's just looking for a good laugh-Bored of the Rings is the "all-in-one-volume" comic extravaganza that will convince lovers and haters of fantasy that they've finally experienced it all, and that they'll never need to read another fantasy parody again. A Statement from the Authors About This Lampoon Edition: This paperback edition, and no other, has been published solely for the purpose of making a few fast bucks. Those who approve of courtesy to a certain author will not touch this gobbler with a ten-foot battle lance.
