BVBook Verdict

Fiction

Best Dystopian Books

Dystopian fiction imagines what happens when power goes wrong — when the state, ideology or technology crushes individual freedom. These novels are warnings, and they tend to feel more urgent with every passing year.

Start here

1984 George Orwell · 1949 Editor's Choice Get it on Amazon →
Brave New World Aldous Huxley · 1932 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury · 1953 Essential Read See details →
The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood · 1985 Essential Read See details →
The Road Cormac McCarthy · 2006 Essential Read See details →
Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro · 2005 Essential Read See details →

More worth reading

Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood · 2003 Recommended Get it on Amazon →
Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel · 2014 Recommended Get it on Amazon →
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess · 1962 Recommended See details →
A Clash of Kings George R. R. Martin · 1998 Recommended See details →
Adulthood Rites Octavia E. Butler · 1988 Recommended See details →
After the Flood Kassandra Montag · 2019 Recommended See details →
Allegiant Veronica Roth · 2011 Recommended See details →
American War Omar El Akkad · 2017 Recommended See details →
Among the Barons Margaret Peterson Haddix · 1998 Recommended See details →
Among the Brave Margaret Peterson Haddix · 2004 Recommended See details →
Among the enemy Margaret Peterson Haddix · 2005 Recommended See details →
An easy death Charlaine Harris · 2018 Recommended See details →
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer · 2014 Recommended See details →
Bloodchild and other stories Octavia E. Butler · 1995 Recommended See details →
Cadáver exquisito Agustina Bazterrica · 2015 Recommended See details →
Calamity Brandon Sanderson · 2016 Recommended See details →
Catching Fire Suzanne Collins · 2009 Recommended See details →
Chain Gang All Stars Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah · 2022 Recommended See details →
Champion Marie Lu · 2013 Recommended See details →
Dawn Octavia E. Butler · 1987 Recommended See details →
Delirium Lauren Oliver · 2011 Recommended See details →
Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira José Saramago · 1995 Recommended See details →
Four Veronica Roth · 2001 Recommended See details →
Future Home of the Living God Louise Erdrich · 2017 Recommended See details →
Ice Anna Kavan · 1967 Recommended See details →
Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten Christian Kracht · 2008 Recommended See details →
Insurgent Veronica Roth · 2011 Recommended See details →
Kentukis Samanta Schweblin · 2014 Recommended See details →
Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro · 2019 Recommended See details →
Lanark Alasdair Gray · 1981 Recommended See details →
Logan's run William F. Nolan · 1967 Recommended See details →
MaddAdam Margaret Atwood · 2013 Recommended See details →
Matched (Matched Trilogy, Book 1) Ally Condie · 2010 Recommended See details →
Memory of Water Emmi Itäranta · 2012 Recommended See details →
Midnight Robber Nalo Hopkinson · 2000 Recommended See details →
Mockingjay Suzanne Collins · 2010 Recommended See details →
Nobody knew they were there! Evan Hunter · 1971 Recommended See details →
QualityLand Marc-Uwe Kling · 2017 Recommended See details →
Ready Player One Ernest Cline · 2008 Recommended See details →
Ready Player Two Ernest Cline · 2019 Recommended See details →
Skyward Brandon Sanderson · 2018 Recommended See details →
Starsight Brandon Sanderson · 2019 Recommended See details →
Steelheart Brandon Sanderson · 2001 Recommended See details →
Stormdancer Jay Kristoff · 2012 Recommended See details →
The 5th wave (The 5th Wave #1) Richard Yancey · 2013 Recommended See details →
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Suzanne Collins · 2020 Recommended See details →
The Bone Season Samantha Shannon · 2013 Recommended See details →
The Chrysalids John Wyndham · 1955 Recommended See details →
The Circle Dave Eggers · 2013 Recommended See details →
The City of Mirrors Justin Cronin · 2015 Recommended See details →
The Girl with All the Gifts Mike Carey · 2014 Recommended See details →
The Giver Lois Lowry · 1993 Recommended See details →
The Heart Goes Last Margaret Atwood · 2015 Recommended See details →
The Hunger Games Trilogy (Hunger Games Suzanne Collins · 2010 Recommended See details →
The Knife of Never Letting Go Patrick Ness · 2008 Recommended See details →
The Lathe of Heaven Ursula K. Le Guin · 1971 Recommended See details →
The Maze Runner James Dashner · 2009 Recommended See details →
The One (The Selection #3) Kiera Cass · 2012 Recommended See details →
The Passage Justin Cronin · 2010 Recommended See details →
The Pull of the Stars Emma Donoghue · 2020 Recommended See details →
The Running Man Stephen King · 1982 Recommended See details →
The Silence Don DeLillo · 2020 Recommended See details →
The Testaments Margaret Atwood · 2019 Recommended See details →
The Water Knife Paolo Bacigalupi · 2015 Recommended See details →
The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi · 2009 Recommended See details →
The Year of the Flood Margaret Atwood · 2009 Recommended See details →
The book of M Peng Shepherd · 2018 Recommended See details →
The true tale of the monster Billy Dean David Almond · 2011 Recommended See details →
The twelve Justin Cronin · 2012 Recommended See details →
The wolves of winter Tyrell Johnson · 2018 Recommended See details →
This Perfect Day Ira Levin · 1970 Recommended See details →
To Paradise Hanya Yanagihara · 2022 Recommended See details →
Utopia Avenue David Mitchell · 2020 Recommended See details →
V for Vendetta Alan Moore · 1988 Recommended See details →
Wool Hugh Howey · 2011 Recommended See details →
Year One Nora Roberts · 2017 Recommended See details →
Zone Null Herbert W. Franke · 1970 Recommended See details →

Other fiction categories

Best of this category, by decade

Prize-winning books in this category

Titles that appear on major award winner lists.

The Road Cormac McCarthy · 2006 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer · 2014 Recommended See details →
The Testaments Margaret Atwood · 2019 Recommended See details →
The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi · 2009 Recommended See details →

Shop Dystopian on Amazon

Every link opens an Amazon search. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Print — DystopianSearch on Amazon →Kindle — DystopianSearch on Amazon →Audiobooks — DystopianSearch on Amazon →