Dark dystopian novels that inspired Chronicles of Rondure
Dark, dystopian novels have always been one of my go-to reads. Two hidden gems that inspired my Chronicles of Rondure Series stand out.
At my long-gone site, Action-Packed Book Reviews, I wrote about three books that inspired my Chronicles of Rondure Series. The books in question? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Resistance Series by Tracy Lawson (an all-time favorite), and Influence by David Bernstein.
But it was an incomplete list that I concocted off the top of my head. So today’s post gives you a couple more hidden gems that also inspired Chronicles of Rondure. Before I get to them, allow me to give you a quick rundown of what Book I in the series, Civil War, is all about, and why it might be up your alley – especially if you love dark dystopian science fantasy.
Introducing Civil War (Chronicles of Rondure: Book I)
I was Culled into the military at age five. That’s just how it works. The empire doesn’t ask for loyalty—they breed it through fear, indoctrination, and blood. For years, I mastered the Smoke Element and became their perfect weapon.
Then I exposed their secrets.
Now I’m labeled a traitor and marked for death. Good. Let them come.
Because I’m done playing soldier.
When they try to extradite me, I’ll call on everything they drilled into me—combat techniques, stealth tactics, and the Smoke Element itself—and turn it back on them. I’ve got one last mission: Unplug the people of Bastille from the lies they’ve swallowed for a century and tear down the illusion of peace.
They created a killer. Now they’re facing a revolution.
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Just what the heck does a dark dystopian science fantasy look like?
Technically speaking, you’re looking at epic fantasy and sword and sorcery tropes in Civil War, its prequel, Midnight Raid, and its sequel, BattleFront. A genre-bending series that’s tied in with Elementals of Nordica, Civil War drops you into a dark, dank dystopian world where elemental magic clocks in as a lethal fighting force.
Unlike Elementals of Nordica and the Terrian Chronicles, which feature ensemble casts, you’re getting more of the classic first-person, present-tense view here and only a single point of view. And while Chronicles of Rondure entwines with Elementals of Nordica, the Terrian Chronicles, and even a trilogy called Sentrys of Terrene, you can read it as a single series, without the need to dive into the other works if you choose not to.
Overall, if you’re a fan of genre-bending, elemental magic, and sword and sorcery, you will love Mina’s story as she seeks to unplug the populace from a Cull that she will learn comes in more ways than one.
Anyway, now that you have an idea of what these dark dystopian novels look like, let’s explore those books that planted some twisted ideas into my mind.
Which dark dystopian novels inspired Chronicles of Rondure?
Pendomus by Carissa Andrews wasn’t the first of her works that I stumbled across. And while it was far from my favorite series from her (Windhaven Witches is hard to beat), it really set the stage for what was to come when I wrote Chronicles of Rondure.
In it, we follow Runa, who spent her entire life in the restrictive Helix. In the Helix, they give you everything you need to make your life comfortable. You have ration-caps to keep you healthy, a nifty device implanted into your brain that allows you to recall anything you want, a well-placed job to help ensure the survival of the Helix, and they’ve even figured out ways to maximize your productivity by limiting sleep to just 30 minutes per day.
Yeah, that latter part would be nice. But what they don’t tell you is this – fall out of line or even question the ways of the Helix, then a madman will lead you to a fate worse than death. This madman just happens to be relentlessly hunting for Runa. And he’s so bent on hunting her down that he’s literally bending time.
A bit of a fun fact: Pendomus also indirectly inspired Wind Wielder in Elementals of Nordica. For one, we learn about a madman endlessly pursuing our protagonists. And Wind Wielder’s description loosely follows that of Book I in Andrews’ genre-bending series.
Beyond the Wall by Kate L. Mary was my current read way back when I first wrote this article, and I took endless notes, or mental notes, regarding much of the content in what was her latest dystopian series. I’m not going to elaborate on the plotline since it sort of mirrors Pendomus – our protagonist, but I’ll give you a rundown.
Drea Young lives in what they call the Society, which, like the Helix, gives you everything so long as you follow its orders. I’ve also seen many similarities between Traeton (Pendomus) and Jerrick (Beyond), the love interests of Runa and Drea, respectively.
While Beyond the Wall didn’t inspire the series’ prequel, Midnight Raid, you’ll see a lot of inspiration between the Society and the Bastillian Empire, also known as the Nation of Bastille, or the Superpower Nation of Bastille. The only real difference is that, as you will learn in the Chronicles of Rondure Prequel, Mina’s a little further ahead of the curve than Runa or Drea.
