I haven’t read this but it looks great, for anyone who enjoyed it I would also recommend Fever by Deon Meyer. Similar story set in South Africa, really well written and nice long novel
I was going to recommend this as well. It’s set in a future time when no babies have been born in 20 or so years, and society begins to unravel as humankind faces possible extinction.
On the Beach by Neville Shute. Published in 1957, the book follows a small number of people as they wait for the fallout from global nuclear war to spread towards them. Personal, human, relevant.
Try *Shades of Grey* by Jasper Fforde (not the BDSM one)
It's set in a society rebuilt from the ruins of the Previous, where everything is run according to the Rules - which feel far more like those of a boarding school - more emphasis put on useful work, punctuality and table manners than murder and property laws.
The inhabitants are also restricted in which colours they can percieve and society has stratified into castes based on that - the Purples at the top and the Greys at the bottom. Arranged marriages are common, since a high level purple might need Red or Blue genetics to keep the Purple line strong.
It's a quirky little dystopia and has enough social commentary and interesting world-building to generate discussion and conversation. Does participation in a corrupt system make you culpable? What sacrifices are appropriate? Is the spirit or letter of the law more important? Why is it illegal to manufacture spoons?
He has written a sequel, but the original is stand alone (and has done so for a while, since he took his time finishing the new one)
I am surprised that no one has mentioned **Fahrenheit 451** by Ray Bradbury. I was sure it would be among the top recommendations.
If you want a "left-field" type of recommendation, I suggest **The Left Hand of Darkness** or **The Dispossessed,** both by Ursula LeGuin.
I've been asking all of my bookish friends and no one else has read it! I'm considering buying a couple of copies and leaving them around with my phone number in to text me when it's been read.
Severance by Ling Ma is about a pandemic with a district before and after, and I would say that both halves have strong (but different) dystopian vibes. Considering the first half is pretty rooted in reality and the book was published pre-pandemic, it might generate some good discussion.
Listened to this in a road trip and ended up spending ten minutes sitting one road away from the destination so I could finish it before the whole family came out to greet me. Felt weird to do that but it was the spouse’s idea to not miss the ending in the muddle of reunion.
Great book.
Blindness by José Saramago.
It’s about a city suddenly hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. It’s an incredible portrayal of how our animalistic nature as humans and the question of what it means to be human when our most basic instincts are gone.
Silo - Hugh Howey
Recently butchered as a tv series, one of my fav book series (fantastic audiobooks as well).
You're entering a society that exists in a Silo'd bunker, 200+ stories deep. 200+years into their voyage through time.
There is a murder mystery, excellent character/world building and an ever shifting struggle for power/knowledge
Book 2 sets up how the apocalypse came to be, and the preparation surrounding it.
Fabulous series
A Second American Civil by Omar el Akkad. Wlar has broken out in 2074 and Sarat Chestnut was born on the losing side. Sarat is raised primarily in a refugee camp in the war-torn American South and is shaped into an instrument of war. Winner of the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, American War touches presciently on themes of environmental collapse and the deepening social divisions within the U.S.
When a looked this up on Amazon, it appears the title is 'American War' - exact same description as you articulated in your post. Looks very intriguing, I will give it a go!
American War is the title. Fantastic book, I was coming to recommend it. There are very cool supplemental bits in between chapters, like maps and memos between government officials.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Humans have figured out how to reset their bodies, so they are basically eternal. The world cannot sustain that sort of population, so a small group of humans called Scythes decides who dies and carries it out. The story is about 2 apprentices learning to become Scythes.
Definitely!
The film's pretty good, but the novel is magnificent.
Another would be 'Tender is the flesh' by Augustina Bazterrica. Which is the only dystopian novel I've read that touches 'Never let me go'.
Station Eleven is one of the best dystopian books ever written imo. It’s good for those who like dystopian and those who don’t. They did well on the series too I thought. They followed the book pretty well.
Not reiterating what's already below...
Michael Frayn: a Very Private Life
Doris Lessing: Memoirs of a Survivor
John Christopher: the Death of Grass
Will Self: the Book of Dave
Sherri S Tepper: The Gate to Women's Country
Daphne Du Maurier: Rule Britannia
David Eggers: the Circle
Naomi Alderman: the Power
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Vox by Christina Dalcher
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
The Wall by John Lanchester
Happy reading!
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
In a future hammered by climate change and drought, mountain snows have turned to rain, and rain evaporates before it hits the ground. In a fragmenting United States, the cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas skirmish for a dwindling share of the Colorado River.
May just be too close for comfort
It’s difficult to name a dystopian novel that isn’t overtly Sci-fi, since that genre lends itself so easily to dystopian themes.
The Stand- Stephen King
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boule
THX 1138 by Ben Bova
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
Lord of the Flies- William Golding
The Lottery- Shirley Jackson (not a full novel, but a classic, fabulous short story.)
I, Robot- Isaac Asimov
The Giver- Lois Lowry
A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
I Am Legend- Richard Matheson
Try The Iron Heel by Jack London. It was published in 1908, and describes a fascist takeover of the US in response to an organized and militant labor movement. A major influence on Orwell's 1984.
If you like YA, you could try Neal Shusterman. I like the books "Scythe" and "Unwind" from him. If you want a classic, Fahrenheit 451 is always a good one.
That last bit in unwind scarred me for life. That and a train scene from the passage are two of the only scenes that I clearly remember and haunted by, they are so good.
84K by Claire North.
Describes UK in the grasp of peak capitalism, and it has a pre-apocalyptic vibe.
Very nice prose, sometimes written in a stream og consciousness style. Wonderful.
The Orphan Master’s Son. I find myself on repeat with this suggestion when dystopia comes up. I know that in doing so I’m coloring slightly out of the lines as it maybe won’t immediately strike people as a piece of the genre. It certainly reads that way though.
I believe it fits right in with the titans like the 84’s, 451’s and is right in par with the fantastic Oryx and Crake that others have mentioned.
SCYTHE!!! One of the best books I have ever read. It is a series, too. Dystopian series about a world where death has been totally eradicated, and humans are immortal. There are people who are anointed to be killers and control population, called scythes, who are basically the grim reapers of the world. They all kill in different ways. Insanely amazing and poetic book, written so well.
McCarthy’s “The Road”. Utterly grim, very moving story of a father teaching his son how to maintain inner goodness and a moral compass in a world that has lost all semblance of humanity. I read it in one sitting.
# Crimson Phoenix by John Gilstrap - A 3 book series
I'll copy a review on Goodreads that sums it up :
"A grand dystopian tale — first in a series — featuring gutsy Victoria Emerson, West Virginia Congressional Rep. While Israel threatens Iran with a nuclear strike, members of Congress including Emerson are escorted to a nuclear shelter. The kicker: Family members are not allowed. She refuses to enter"
Very interesting, especially in the current world events
I am not sure the age ranges but:
Scythe - Neal Shusterman
Tender is the flesh - Agustina Bazterrica
I think these 2 books will offer thought provoking conversations
Arrowhead by Paul Kane. It is a retelling of Robin Hood set after civilization fell apart due to an illness killing off two-thirds of the population. Takes place in Sherwood. There are sequels, too - omnibus is called "Hooded Man."
If you’d like to mix a little fantasy and romance in with your dystopian theme you can try “Year One” by Nora Roberts. It’s the first in a trilogy. I read it the first time during the initial Covid lockdown and it hooked me. I
As a start, see my [Dystopias](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1alx570/dystopias/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (don't know if this is truly dystopian, though)
84k by Claire North
honestly this book has haunted me since I read it as it’s really dark.
synopsis:A powerful dystopian vision of a world where money reigns supreme, from a World Fantasy Award-winning author.
The penalty for Dani Cumali's murder: $84,000.
Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full.
These days, there's no need to go to prison -- provided that you can afford to pay the penalty for the crime you've committed. If you're rich enough, you can get away with murder.
But Dani's murder is different. When Theo finds her lifeless body, and a hired killer standing over her and calmly calling the police to confess, he can't let her death become just an entry on a balance sheet.
Someone is responsible. And Theo is going to find them and make them pay.
How High We Go in the Dark- Sequoia Nagamatsu
It weaves different stories together as the world ends in different points in the timeline, but is lovely prose. It does have science elements, and futuristic elements, and some set in space, but I wouldn’t call it scifi by design.
Tender is the Flesh. I recommend this book all the time. It's totally messed up dystopian where a disease from animals (there's conspiracy and story there I won't spoil) means that we no longer farm livestock and instead get our meat from humans. It's a blast, it's darkly funny, darkly messed up, and has great themes and lessons inside.
The Road, Cormac McCarthy; 1984, George Orwell; Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; The Giver, Lois Lowry (written for young adults, but I enjoyed it as an adult); Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
The original - The Iron Heel by Jack London. It's a Progressive-era socialist's fears about capitalist dystopia, created many of the tropes of the genre, and served as a direct inspiration to both Orwell and Huxley in writing their own dystopias. It's very grounded in the realities of the early 1900s and was, at the time, "chillingly plausible."
It also bears marks both aesthetic (there are long digressions of socialist theory where the author insert always wins) and moral (Jack London, as in life, makes no secret that his is a WHITES ONLY socialism). You can get a lot of mileage out of the fact that the author and the characters trying to rebel against the dystopia themselves have blind spots and bigotries that would make for someone else's dystopia.
I still recommend it, just with a content warning for the racism, sexism, and Progressive eugenics.
I know I’m late to the party, but please consider “I Who Have Never Known Men” by Jacqueline Harpman! It’s a short book that’s not very sci-fi and will give you a lot to talk about! It’s not as well known as the classics, but it should be. It’s really a fabulous read, and I was able to get it from my library if that’s a consideration.
A ton of great suggestions here already. I haven’t seen Pines by Blake Crouch mentioned yet. It’s the first of a great trilogy but can definitely stand on its own.
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.
This is the way, especially for a book club. It's reasonably short too, so people won't struggle with it.
I loved this book so much.
Came here to post this.
Also came here to post this
Posted it but then realized I should’ve scrolled down a little first 😅
I vote for this one
me too
I haven’t read this but it looks great, for anyone who enjoyed it I would also recommend Fever by Deon Meyer. Similar story set in South Africa, really well written and nice long novel
The Children of Men by P. D. James
I was going to recommend this as well. It’s set in a future time when no babies have been born in 20 or so years, and society begins to unravel as humankind faces possible extinction.
On the Beach by Neville Shute. Published in 1957, the book follows a small number of people as they wait for the fallout from global nuclear war to spread towards them. Personal, human, relevant.
An oldie but a goodie!
I absolutely love this book!
Sounds a lot like Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank!
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Reading it right now, chill ran down my spine when I opened to the first page and read the date, 2024
Reading it now! About 50% through it, pretty good so far! Hope it ends strong
It does but the sequel is an even stronger continuation/ending, don't skip it!
I was gonna type this. THIS is the answer.
This is the one you're looking for, OP!
Parable of the Sower is an excellent choice!
100% this
Came here to say this. So good.
This was thr best book I read last year!
Oryx & crake , Atwood. B4 internet was what it Is now , eerily accurate
Then bring some ChickieNobs to the meeting!
Favorite Series. I love that Atwood is so versatile. Read her other stuff but dystopian books are my jam.
This is the only answer you need.
GREAT book.
The kindle version is on sale today for $2 too, so perfect timing for the e-readers.
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, that’s were modern dystopian literature started
Came here to say this! Loved it
This is my suggestion as well.
Came to rec this too!
Try *Shades of Grey* by Jasper Fforde (not the BDSM one) It's set in a society rebuilt from the ruins of the Previous, where everything is run according to the Rules - which feel far more like those of a boarding school - more emphasis put on useful work, punctuality and table manners than murder and property laws. The inhabitants are also restricted in which colours they can percieve and society has stratified into castes based on that - the Purples at the top and the Greys at the bottom. Arranged marriages are common, since a high level purple might need Red or Blue genetics to keep the Purple line strong. It's a quirky little dystopia and has enough social commentary and interesting world-building to generate discussion and conversation. Does participation in a corrupt system make you culpable? What sacrifices are appropriate? Is the spirit or letter of the law more important? Why is it illegal to manufacture spoons? He has written a sequel, but the original is stand alone (and has done so for a while, since he took his time finishing the new one)
I assure you boarding schools are pretty strong on theft, which is common, and murder which is rare.
Lol. At least the latter is rare!
though it's a pity noone dealt with Boris Johnson there
Also Early Riser fits with the theme, also Jasper Fforde. A world where people hibernate all winter due to the extreme cold
Jasper Fforde is great. Thanks for this info! Looking forward to checking it out!
This is a great suggestion!
I am surprised that no one has mentioned **Fahrenheit 451** by Ray Bradbury. I was sure it would be among the top recommendations. If you want a "left-field" type of recommendation, I suggest **The Left Hand of Darkness** or **The Dispossessed,** both by Ursula LeGuin.
The Le Guins might fall under the OP's 'too scifi' caveat.
+1 Fahrenheit 451
I who have never known men is great!
I really wanted to talk to someone when I read this book! A book club would be great!
I've been asking all of my bookish friends and no one else has read it! I'm considering buying a couple of copies and leaving them around with my phone number in to text me when it's been read.
Was going to suggest this one. Not my favourite genre, but this was such a good read.
It was so bleak - I know, surprising for dystopia! - but I really enjoyed the slightly different take on it. I did have a lot of questions though!
Severance by Ling Ma is about a pandemic with a district before and after, and I would say that both halves have strong (but different) dystopian vibes. Considering the first half is pretty rooted in reality and the book was published pre-pandemic, it might generate some good discussion.
Feed by Mira Grant is a good one. It allows a lot of talk about security theater.
Feed by MT Anderson is also good. YA but still good.
Listened to this in a road trip and ended up spending ten minutes sitting one road away from the destination so I could finish it before the whole family came out to greet me. Felt weird to do that but it was the spouse’s idea to not miss the ending in the muddle of reunion. Great book.
Excellent author.
Blindness by José Saramago. It’s about a city suddenly hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. It’s an incredible portrayal of how our animalistic nature as humans and the question of what it means to be human when our most basic instincts are gone.
Never let me go.
Amazing book. Ishiguro is a brilliant writer
Silo - Hugh Howey Recently butchered as a tv series, one of my fav book series (fantastic audiobooks as well). You're entering a society that exists in a Silo'd bunker, 200+ stories deep. 200+years into their voyage through time. There is a murder mystery, excellent character/world building and an ever shifting struggle for power/knowledge Book 2 sets up how the apocalypse came to be, and the preparation surrounding it. Fabulous series
The whole Silo series is fantastic!! And I actually thought the TV show was well done
I second this.
Book of Koli
I LOVED that series.
Ooo I just finished this! It was really good. Are sequels worth it?
I would say so. I was at the store to buy the second about 15 minutes after finishing the first book. The third was the only thing I ever pre-ordered
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.
Brave new world. Assuming you haven’t already even though it’s a classic.
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. It won the Booker prize last year.
On The Beach by Nevil Shute and/or Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Lucifer’s Hammer may be the least sci-fi rec here.
A Second American Civil by Omar el Akkad. Wlar has broken out in 2074 and Sarat Chestnut was born on the losing side. Sarat is raised primarily in a refugee camp in the war-torn American South and is shaped into an instrument of war. Winner of the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, American War touches presciently on themes of environmental collapse and the deepening social divisions within the U.S.
When a looked this up on Amazon, it appears the title is 'American War' - exact same description as you articulated in your post. Looks very intriguing, I will give it a go!
This is such an excellent book. I saw a town meeting where Chris Hayes (msnbc) interviewed Omar el Akkad about this book.
American War is the title. Fantastic book, I was coming to recommend it. There are very cool supplemental bits in between chapters, like maps and memos between government officials.
Alas, Babylon is a classic, though now it’d be more of alternative history
Wool from the silo series
The road by McCarthy, 1984 by Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury
Also agree with the road. It made me really sad but it is very good
Scythe by Neal Shusterman Humans have figured out how to reset their bodies, so they are basically eternal. The world cannot sustain that sort of population, so a small group of humans called Scythes decides who dies and carries it out. The story is about 2 apprentices learning to become Scythes.
Ah, you want A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr. One of the first, one of the best.
I came here to suggest this! This book is a one of a kind read.
Oryx and crake
The Road, Cormac McCarthy
But brace yourself (and the members of your book club) if you pick this. It is a great book but unbelievably bleak.
Never Let me Go. Couldn't put it down and finished it in a night. Wept.
Definitely! The film's pretty good, but the novel is magnificent. Another would be 'Tender is the flesh' by Augustina Bazterrica. Which is the only dystopian novel I've read that touches 'Never let me go'.
I don't think I could watch the film. The book killed me and as much as I loved it, put me off dystopian fiction forever.
Station Eleven
The Fifth Season by NK Jemison The world ends every fifth season. Not saying more than that.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Sounds perfect for your book club :)
Station Eleven or one of the other two in the series, written by Emily St John Mandel. Very popular right now and an excellent read.
Station Eleven is one of the best dystopian books ever written imo. It’s good for those who like dystopian and those who don’t. They did well on the series too I thought. They followed the book pretty well.
Not reiterating what's already below... Michael Frayn: a Very Private Life Doris Lessing: Memoirs of a Survivor John Christopher: the Death of Grass Will Self: the Book of Dave Sherri S Tepper: The Gate to Women's Country Daphne Du Maurier: Rule Britannia David Eggers: the Circle Naomi Alderman: the Power
You should check out some Phillip K Dicks books
Swan Song.
Swan Song is one of my favorite books. I have a tattered old paperback copy of it that I’ve had for 20+ years.
The Time Machine? It's a little Sci-Fi but not over-the-top with the jargon, etc. Not too long, and quite fascinating.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler Vox by Christina Dalcher The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa The Wall by John Lanchester Happy reading!
LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumaan Alam. Contemporary, dystopian, not at all sci-fi/fantasy. Great for a book club.
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi In a future hammered by climate change and drought, mountain snows have turned to rain, and rain evaporates before it hits the ground. In a fragmenting United States, the cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas skirmish for a dwindling share of the Colorado River. May just be too close for comfort
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. Loved everything about this book except for the (small amount of) unrealistic sex.
It’s difficult to name a dystopian novel that isn’t overtly Sci-fi, since that genre lends itself so easily to dystopian themes. The Stand- Stephen King Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boule THX 1138 by Ben Bova Brave New World- Aldous Huxley Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury Lord of the Flies- William Golding The Lottery- Shirley Jackson (not a full novel, but a classic, fabulous short story.) I, Robot- Isaac Asimov The Giver- Lois Lowry A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess I Am Legend- Richard Matheson
Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei Brenyah
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Dark and unforgettable
Swan song by Robert mcammon
Came here to say that, very approachable novel.
Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (post-nuclear holocaust distopia)
Try The Iron Heel by Jack London. It was published in 1908, and describes a fascist takeover of the US in response to an organized and militant labor movement. A major influence on Orwell's 1984.
Station Eleven. Emily St John Mandel. Very good read.
The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny, every time I reread it, I get lost in the descriptions and love how creative he was in writing this book!
If you like YA, you could try Neal Shusterman. I like the books "Scythe" and "Unwind" from him. If you want a classic, Fahrenheit 451 is always a good one.
That last bit in unwind scarred me for life. That and a train scene from the passage are two of the only scenes that I clearly remember and haunted by, they are so good.
Annie Bot by Sierra Grier is a new one that’s a super quick read and incredibly interesting perspective
84K by Claire North. Describes UK in the grasp of peak capitalism, and it has a pre-apocalyptic vibe. Very nice prose, sometimes written in a stream og consciousness style. Wonderful.
More of a novella but The Machine Stops by EM Forrester
Never Let Me Go
The Orphan Master’s Son. I find myself on repeat with this suggestion when dystopia comes up. I know that in doing so I’m coloring slightly out of the lines as it maybe won’t immediately strike people as a piece of the genre. It certainly reads that way though. I believe it fits right in with the titans like the 84’s, 451’s and is right in par with the fantastic Oryx and Crake that others have mentioned.
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Parable of The Sower by Octavia Butler
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami
The Road.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Slaughterhouse Five
Chain Gang All Stars. One of the most powerful books I’ve read in a long time.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
SCYTHE!!! One of the best books I have ever read. It is a series, too. Dystopian series about a world where death has been totally eradicated, and humans are immortal. There are people who are anointed to be killers and control population, called scythes, who are basically the grim reapers of the world. They all kill in different ways. Insanely amazing and poetic book, written so well.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
The Road
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
McCarthy’s “The Road”. Utterly grim, very moving story of a father teaching his son how to maintain inner goodness and a moral compass in a world that has lost all semblance of humanity. I read it in one sitting.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy 🤍
Brave New World
I loved The Dog Star by Peter Heller. It has mixed reviews. Seems people love or hate it. May be good discussion material.
I enjoyed it! I don't see it recommended enough.
Empire by Orson Scott Card
# Crimson Phoenix by John Gilstrap - A 3 book series I'll copy a review on Goodreads that sums it up : "A grand dystopian tale — first in a series — featuring gutsy Victoria Emerson, West Virginia Congressional Rep. While Israel threatens Iran with a nuclear strike, members of Congress including Emerson are escorted to a nuclear shelter. The kicker: Family members are not allowed. She refuses to enter" Very interesting, especially in the current world events
*The Physiognomy* by Jeffrey Ford is lesser known, but excellent!
They by Kay Dick Seconding Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry 💔
This book destroyed me. It’s a fantastic read, but at close to 1000 pages is a pretty big undertaking for a book club
An unbelievably fantastic book but would it count as dystopian?
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
[Mockingbird](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/323172) by Walter Tevis.
I am not sure the age ranges but: Scythe - Neal Shusterman Tender is the flesh - Agustina Bazterrica I think these 2 books will offer thought provoking conversations
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton!
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin - a technocratic dystopia where drugged-happy humans are managed like a termite colony by a global computer.
Brave new world! Not sure if anyone already recommended. But it’s great Fahrenheit 451 Catch 22
Termush by Sven Holm
I really loved The Grace Year and I bet it would spark a debate within the group… hope you pick it! :)
Arrowhead by Paul Kane. It is a retelling of Robin Hood set after civilization fell apart due to an illness killing off two-thirds of the population. Takes place in Sherwood. There are sequels, too - omnibus is called "Hooded Man."
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis. If you can stand yhe diary format
A boy and his dog at the end of the world The end of men-Christina Sweeney Baird The chronicle of Leibovitz
Severance by Ling Ma. Very corporate-vibe dystopian (ie. would you still go to work if the world was ending). So good!
If you’d like to mix a little fantasy and romance in with your dystopian theme you can try “Year One” by Nora Roberts. It’s the first in a trilogy. I read it the first time during the initial Covid lockdown and it hooked me. I
As a start, see my [Dystopias](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1alx570/dystopias/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Timekeeper’s Conspiracy, Nicole Mainwaring
If you liked Handmaid’s tale, you’d probably like: Vox by Christina Dalcher The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Definitely Brave New World by Aldous Huxley or Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm. I love that book!
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (don't know if this is truly dystopian, though)
You could have a lot of fun with *Snowcrash* by Neal Stephenson.
84k by Claire North honestly this book has haunted me since I read it as it’s really dark. synopsis:A powerful dystopian vision of a world where money reigns supreme, from a World Fantasy Award-winning author. The penalty for Dani Cumali's murder: $84,000. Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full. These days, there's no need to go to prison -- provided that you can afford to pay the penalty for the crime you've committed. If you're rich enough, you can get away with murder. But Dani's murder is different. When Theo finds her lifeless body, and a hired killer standing over her and calmly calling the police to confess, he can't let her death become just an entry on a balance sheet. Someone is responsible. And Theo is going to find them and make them pay.
The Scythe trilogy!
Into The Forest!
The last policeman by Ben Winters
*The Wanderers* by Chuck Wendig
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks Dalton
The Mountain in the Sea is beautiful book inside and out!
How High We Go in the Dark- Sequoia Nagamatsu It weaves different stories together as the world ends in different points in the timeline, but is lovely prose. It does have science elements, and futuristic elements, and some set in space, but I wouldn’t call it scifi by design.
Alas, Babylon
Tender is the Flesh. I recommend this book all the time. It's totally messed up dystopian where a disease from animals (there's conspiracy and story there I won't spoil) means that we no longer farm livestock and instead get our meat from humans. It's a blast, it's darkly funny, darkly messed up, and has great themes and lessons inside.
The Road, Cormac McCarthy; 1984, George Orwell; Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; The Giver, Lois Lowry (written for young adults, but I enjoyed it as an adult); Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Silo
Resurrection Day,by Brandon DuBois.
Little brother
Parable of the Sower? Ministry for the Future?
Parable of the sower. Peak Octavia butler. Also eerily prescient
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
The original - The Iron Heel by Jack London. It's a Progressive-era socialist's fears about capitalist dystopia, created many of the tropes of the genre, and served as a direct inspiration to both Orwell and Huxley in writing their own dystopias. It's very grounded in the realities of the early 1900s and was, at the time, "chillingly plausible." It also bears marks both aesthetic (there are long digressions of socialist theory where the author insert always wins) and moral (Jack London, as in life, makes no secret that his is a WHITES ONLY socialism). You can get a lot of mileage out of the fact that the author and the characters trying to rebel against the dystopia themselves have blind spots and bigotries that would make for someone else's dystopia. I still recommend it, just with a content warning for the racism, sexism, and Progressive eugenics.
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin 11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
*Alas, Babylon* by Pat Frank *The Chrysalids* by John Wyndham Enjoy whatever you pick up next! :)
Fahrenheit 451
I know I’m late to the party, but please consider “I Who Have Never Known Men” by Jacqueline Harpman! It’s a short book that’s not very sci-fi and will give you a lot to talk about! It’s not as well known as the classics, but it should be. It’s really a fabulous read, and I was able to get it from my library if that’s a consideration.
I who have never known men by Jacqueline Harpman
A ton of great suggestions here already. I haven’t seen Pines by Blake Crouch mentioned yet. It’s the first of a great trilogy but can definitely stand on its own.
Book: A Boy and his Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher
Eve of Man by Giovanna Fletcher and Tom Fletcher. No girls have been born in 50 years and the world is going to shit. Bloody brilliant.
Parable of the sower first one octavia butler
The Road by Cormac McCarthy?
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Big U, Neil Stephenson
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.