Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwellby George Orwell
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 8 dystopian novels by recommenders
People recommend it as essential, influential reading and a powerful warning about totalitarian control. One reader felt it sometimes dropped the storytelling for its message.
People recommend it as essential, influential reading and a powerful warning about totalitarian control. One reader felt it sometimes dropped the storytelling for its message.
24 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 24
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 24 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Influential, essential reading
“Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four as the most influential book I've ever read in my life”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “It's official: Utah is the U.S. state closest to banning VPNs” “I don't disagree that Nineteen Eighty-Four is essential reading however.”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “The UK is shaping a future of Precrime and dissent management” “Orwell's unmatched contribution to not only literature but also culture”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” Prescient warning about totalitarian society
“Books like Orwell's are powerful warnings, and it would be most unfortunate if the reader smugly interpreted 1984 as another description of Stalinist barbarism”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” “Maybe read Orwell for a glimpse of mandatory optimism”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “65% of Hacker News Posts Have Negative Sentiment, and They Outperform” “a perfect prediction of what is coming to us now”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “The UK's Teen Social Media Ban Is Political Theater, Not Child Safety Policy” Powerful, brilliant reading experience
“the books themselves are brilliant”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Artificial egg hatched 26 healthy chickens” “Orwell was a true literary master.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” “it was a powerful experience”
Comment from 21 Mar 2026 in “Books of the Century by Le Monde” Mature, clear writing style
“So I would say that was his most mature work”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “London Underground begins scanning passengers' faces” “clear 1940s-style writing”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)”
Other dystopian novels people recommend
The four most recommended other dystopian novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984by George Orwell | 42 | 8 | 84% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Roadby Cormac McCarthy | 27 | 2 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Nineteen Eighty-Fourby George OrwellThis page | 24 | 0 | 100% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Weby Yevgeny Zamyatin | 11 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Handmaid's Taleby Margaret Atwood | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 24 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Nineteen Eighty-Four doesnt feel geek novel, just political. Also great.”
“So I would say that was his most mature work”
“Demoting Orwell's masterpieces (1984 and Animal Farm)”
“Asimov is missing an important point that is pretty clearly spelled out in the novel”
“This is beyond silly. Have I been trolled?”
“a perfect prediction of what is coming to us now”
“the books themselves are brilliant”
“Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four as the most influential book I've ever read in my life”
“Not 1984 of course, which is one of my favourite books”
“It was great, but there were moments when it felt like he dropped the pretense of telling a story”
“Books on liberty, like "1984" or authors like Michael Ende.”
“it was a powerful experience”
“that was already, by that time, shaping to be far more significant than Asimov's own”
“Orwell was a true literary master.”
“Books like Orwell's are powerful warnings, and it would be most unfortunate if the reader smugly interpreted 1984 as another description of Stalinist barbarism”
“Orwell's unmatched contribution to not only literature but also culture”
“clear 1940s-style writing”
“I don't disagree that Nineteen Eighty-Four is essential reading however.”
“Maybe read Orwell for a glimpse of mandatory optimism”
“1948 is one of my favourites, by the way.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.