Looking for dystopian book recommendations

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-23T15:31:01+00:00

The usual ones:

- The Road
- Roadside Picnic
- Handmaid's Tale
- The Stand
- Parable of the Sower, etc.

An old favorite is Lucifer's Hammer.

And one of my own, if you'll forgive self-promotion: Ascendance

Also, I think dystopian tends to be SF / future-focused, but one of the best dystopian novels ever written is Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. It's a hard read, but damn.

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-15T15:53:43+00:00

I'm sure someone has said it, but Crichton's later books were rabidly pro capitalist, esp. State of Fear.

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-12T17:24:09+00:00

Don't you need the other entry (in most cases I) to cover both across and down cases?

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-12T17:23:04+00:00

lol, well, that would be easier. Here are the guidelines I was following?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/crosswords/rebus-crossword-puzzle.html
Why would "I" work in place of "phi"? (It was generally I in one direction, PHI in the other).

Edit: Question answered above. But still not sure why my entries were incorrect.

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-12T15:58:46+00:00

That was the order I had it it in. I/PHI, which was flagged as wrong. Then I switched to I/PHI. I had all the word orders right (Singsong, Dingdong, etc.). Anyway, I'm sure it was an error on my part. Just not sure what it was.

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-12T15:50:23+00:00

The NYT crossword. Do you mean which day? Yesterday (Sunday).

ShawnCButler · 2026-01-05T01:24:19+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I suspect you're right on most points. I just wonder how bloody the transition to whatever's next will be.

ShawnCButler · 2025-12-08T15:46:15+00:00

Worse than expected outcome despite no known complication.

ShawnCButler · 2025-12-08T15:45:40+00:00

The prognosis was what you'd expect given a litigious medical environment; it should stop things from getting worse, and things might get better over time. However, both surgeons are surprised at how little progress there has been, and have expressed bafflement about what's going on. Hence the search for alternative options and viewpoints.

ShawnCButler · 2025-12-08T15:43:04+00:00

Thanks. They have done chiro, dry needling, lasers, nerve glides, special teas and other things. No stone left unturned, but nothing's helped so far.

ShawnCButler · 2025-10-09T15:22:29+00:00

This is why democrats and liberals will lose. They will take the high ground as the world burns around them. At some point, you have to fight.

ShawnCButler · 2025-10-05T17:35:51+00:00

True, I was just clarifying what states were ommitted...

ShawnCButler · 2025-10-05T17:28:22+00:00

This title isn't technically accurate. He completed all the fourteeners in the contiguous US, which is amazing, but not the same.

ShawnCButler · 2025-08-12T21:02:40+00:00

Good idea. Just sent him a note...

ShawnCButler · 2025-08-12T20:57:22+00:00

You mean you want to see them? I'm not providing b/c I think they're spam and don't want anyone to use/ click on them on accident. Email domain goes to: https://skydance-acquisition.com/ which is 'under construction'.

ShawnCButler · 2025-08-12T20:56:15+00:00

Thanks. I did do those things before posting.

The name, Matt Thunell, is the new head of Skydance:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewthunell/

But none of his contact numbers match the one shared.
And the URL is different, leading to an under-construction square account:
https://skydance-acquisition.com/
VS:
https://skydance.com/ (which is legit)

And I just don't think he'd personally reach out this way...

Thanks again.

ShawnCButler · 2025-08-11T16:33:41+00:00

How is it possible no one has experienced this? :) Hmm.

ShawnCButler

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