First Impressions

1984 is often regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction novels of all time. I guess it was due to all this hype I had this scattershot of expectations. I guess that's where the initial problem begins: I had expectations. 

I found nothing to dislike in the novel in terms of a piece of literature. I thought it was well-written, articulate, and a banging description of a dystopia. The problem that lies with me is that the novel feels dated. Not the themes or ideas, those are universal. When the book was first published, Orwell must have been some sort of messiah of the science-fiction genre. But now the imagery feels behind the times, it's as if I've seen it all before.

I don't really care if he was the first one to write about this, compared to the science-fiction novels of today (even ones from twenty years ago), the novel seems cliche. I understand that the book was written in 1949 but I still can't appreciate it. It's like when someone reads anything by William Faulkner. His books are well written but it doesn't make them any more interesting.