Ralph’s Blog

This Perfect Day: One Happy Family Right from the beginning of Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day, we learn of a world that is chillingly uniform and impossibly pleasant. There is no war, no hunger, no … Read more

The Man in the High Castle: History’s Never Written At its core, The Man in the High Castle provides a vivid response to an oft considered question: what if the Axis forces had emerged victorious … Read more

The Left Hand of Darkness: Friendship in Exile The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin contains all the classic elements of a science fiction novel: an alien race, a harsh and unforgiving … Read more

The City of Ember: At the Lightbulb’s Mercy Life within The City of Ember revolves around light. In Ember, there is no sun, no stars, no moon, no natural light except for the occasional stovetop … Read more

The House of the Scorpion: Coming of Age in Opium From growing up in a lonely little house, to proving you’re more than just an animal, to naive schemes of love and attention, The House … Read more

Parable of the Sower: Land of Opportunists The night begins as usual, with two adults armed with pistols watching over the walled community of Robledo. Out of nowhere, a shrilling alarm is raised, and a … Read more

Never Let Me Go: Lost to Destiny As you navigate through Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, you’ll find a touching celebration of life, as well as a heartbreaking tale of lost innocence, false hope, … Read more

Lost Horizon: Prisoner of Paradise Lost Horizon by James Hilton serves as the genesis of the legendary Shangri-La, a beautiful utopian oasis sequestered from the earthly horrors of poverty, war, and dissipation. For those in … Read more

Fahrenheit 451: Burn the World Away Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a near-future dystopian society where instead of putting out fires, firemen are tasked with burning every last book they can find.  … Read more

The Handmaid’s Tale: The Woman as Less than ‘Other’ Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in Gilead, a dystopian society in what used to be the United States. Gilead employs very religious ideologies, which … Read more

The Lathe of Heaven: When a Dream is a Nightmare The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin is not your typical dystopian novel. Instead of dealing with warring factions and subversive individuals, the … Read more