In Blast Corrupt Dismantle Erase twenty five contributors investigate how dystopian fiction reflects twenty first century reality using diverse critical methodologies to examine how North America is portrayed in a perceived age of crisis accelerated uncertainty and political volatility Drawing from contemporary novels such as Cormac McCarthy s The Road Neil Gaiman s American Gods and the work of Margaret Atwood William Gibson and many others this book examines dystopian literature produced by North American authors between the signing of NAFTA 1994 and the tenth anniversary of 9 11 2011 As the texts illustrate awareness of and deep concern about perceived vulnerabilities ends of water oil food capitalism empires stable climates ways of life non human species and entire human civilizations have become central to public discourse over the same period By asking questions like What are the distinctive qualities of post NAFTA North American dystopian literature and What does this literature reflect about the tensions and contradictions of the inchoate continental community of North America Blast Corrupt Dismantle Erase resituates dystopian writing within a particular geo social setting and introduces a productive means to understand both North American dystopian writing and its relevant engagements with a restricted mapped reality