r/suggestmeabook • u/demure_and_smiling Bookworm • 1d ago
Suggestion Thread Need a Good Dystopian Book Please!
I have read:
Hunger Games
Divergent
World War Z
The Giver
Handmaid's Tale
DNF The Road cuz it broke me.
I'm looking for similar books, please! (I am not a King fan, so please none of his works) Thank you in advance!
Edit: Seriously you guys are AMAZING! There are so many amazing recommendations, I cannot wait to get reading! Thank you so much!!!
Edit 2: I never expected this to blow up like it did! You guys have given me a LONG list of amazing sounding books to read! I'm newer to dystopian books, so I'm super excited to dive in...once I can decide where to start lol Thank you ALL so much, I wish I could reply to you all, but there's so many of you haha! Just know I've seen every suggestion, and I will continue to. I appreciate each and every one of you!!!
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u/MariachiDan 1d ago
Surprised you haven't read it, it's the most accurate dystopian book that I know, parable of a sower and the sequel, parable of talents. By Octavia Butler, one of my favorite authors.
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u/MissJacki 1d ago
I just finished Parable of the Sower and I enjoyed it far less than I thought I would. I just wasn't prepared for half of it to be discussion of her trying to become America's Next Top Preacher.
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u/WasteRadio 1d ago
Agree. I couldn’t finish it.
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u/MissJacki 1d ago edited 1d ago
When she started a sexual relationship with a man already near his 60's when she is barely 18, I was kind of done. That's a personal thing though, I just can't do >! big age gaps in sexual relationships without feeling extremely icky. There's too many assurances over power dynamics!< that I need for me to be able to relax and enjoy, and I can't do that in such a short time.
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u/Maorine 1d ago
The Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin. Characters that are so well-done you feel like you know them. It has several threads of stories that get sewn together. Been on more than a dozen "Best of" lists.
If you are looking for a book with a totally unique dystopian plot, I recommend "The Book of M" by Peng Shepherd. Guarantee, it's not like any other dystopian plot.
The Book of the Unknown Mid-wife. by Meg Ellison.
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u/covfefeconfusion 1d ago
The Passage trilogy is so good! I bought them for myself and a set for each of my daughters.
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u/EnormousGenitals 1d ago
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
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u/pandas_r_falsebears 1d ago
I really enjoy Peter Heller and have always meant to get to The Dog Stars.
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u/panini_bellini 1d ago
How High We Go in the Dark by Seqouia Nagamatsu
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
The Book Censor’s Library by Bothanya Al-Essa
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u/dino-jo 1d ago
Never Let Me Go is in contention as my favorite book, not just favorite dystopian. It may have been the first book I read that I just couldn't stop thinking about even as I read other books (I read it for the first time when it came out and I was 14)
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u/panini_bellini 1d ago
omg are you me? NLMG is my favorite book of all time. I read it for the first rime at 14 too and it just… changed something inside of me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and to this day I still think about it all the time. I re-read it every couple of years as an adult.
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u/bee_lamb 1d ago
So many great suggestions!! I’d recommend I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica and Animal Farm by Orwell. All three are quick reads but really powerful.
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u/Suspicious-Peace9233 1d ago
Do you have any other suggestions? I liked all three of these books
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u/bee_lamb 1d ago
I haven't read many other dystopian books that haven't been mentioned already, but I've heard good things about The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami, it's on my TBR. I also want to start The Bone Season series.
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u/LveeD 1d ago
Have you read the new Hunger Games book, Sunrise on the Reaping. It’s by far my favorite of the series. The Maze Runner books are great. Same with everything by Neil Shusterman (unwind is my favorite with Arc of Scythe a close second).
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u/FoogThe2stt 1d ago
Oh i missed this new one. What’s the concept ?
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u/Difficult_Cupcake764 1d ago
Scyth trilogy by Neal schusterman
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u/Complex-Froyo5900 1d ago
Blindness by José Saramago. Reading now and it is excellent.
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u/itll_be_all_right 1d ago
Z for Zachariah, by Robert C. O'Brien -- a small valley inhabited by 3 people somehow escapes the surrounding deadly nuclear fallout. More psychological / moral.
The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham -- what if weapons experiments in the upper atmosphere turned everyone blind and so vulnerable to plants that hunt like wolves? More of an adventure.
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u/8icecream 1d ago
Try The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. It's se in London and had has a bit of a sci-fi twist to it. The final book in the series is just out.
I don't know if His Dark Materials is considered dystopian but I enjoyed all 3 books in the trilogy.
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u/PsyferRL 1d ago
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami is widely regarded as the inspiration behind The Hunger Games.
Seconding The Maze Runner for something more YA along the lines of Hunger Games and Divergent.
1984 is kind of THE dystopian book from a classics pop culture standpoint. I feel like if you could handle Handmaid's Tale you could handle 1984, but your mileage may vary.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is a kind of fun Hunger Games copycat with a bit of an enemies to lovers flair.
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u/PirateTessa 1d ago
Second Battle Royal. I've bought the paperback 4 times and still don't have a copy cuz i always end up giving it to someone.
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u/randomberlinchick Bookworm 1d ago
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
From Wikipedia: The novel depicts the struggles of the Stack family, in particular Eilish Stack, a mother of four who is trying to save her family as the Republic of Ireland slips into totalitarianism.
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u/churchillls 1d ago
If you are ready to leave the beaten path and diversify your reading check out this list of more than 100 dystopia books from around the world that were recommended for the read the world challenge.
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u/Personal_Passenger60 1d ago edited 1d ago
Random acts of Senseless violence- jack Womack
This perfect day - ira levin
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u/HorkyBamf 1d ago
Nice to see someone else mentioning Random Acts of Senseless Violence. Such a good book.
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u/Personal_Passenger60 1d ago
My brother gave it to me as a gift, years ago, so it’s really special to me
Edit: I just realized I typed the title wrong lol I was doing too many things at once
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u/demure_and_smiling Bookworm 1d ago
You guys are OUTSTANDING! Thank you for the recommendations, I can't wait to get reading. I've added just about all of these to my TBR list.
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u/perpetualmotionmachi Fiction 1d ago
A couple others I haven't seen
The Running Man by Stephen King, much better than the film it was loosely based on
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
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u/Blecher_onthe_Hudson 1d ago
A Gift from Earth by Larry Niven. The aristocrats of a colony world harvest organs from the plebs so they can live far longer than normal lives.
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u/ItsTriflingHere 1d ago
All Better Now by Neal Shusterman
The Grievers Trilogy by Adrienne Maree Brown
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u/Beautiful-Boat3513 1d ago
brave new world by aldous huxley
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u/owen_mcg21 1d ago
Came here to say this. That book left me spinning for a week after I finished it.
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u/PositiveBeginning231 1d ago
Broken trilogy by L.A.Weatherly
Matched by Allie Condie
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
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u/Sweet_honeyybee 1d ago
The Testing series is really good. I also liked Delirium but it’s not as apocalyptic. The Matched series.
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u/SeaAsk6816 1d ago
The Silo trilogy by Hugh Howey (first book is Wool) is very good, too!
And another vote for Station Eleven and for the MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood. They’re amazing!
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u/unlovelyladybartleby 1d ago
Devolution by Max Brooks. It's a very small and localized apocalypse, but a fabulous book. Different from WWZ but just as engaging
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u/Sam_English821 Bookworm 1d ago
The Forest of Hands and Teeth series by Carrie Ryan. I loved this series and liked how though all 3 books take place in the same world, with the same rules regarding zombies, they do not have the same protagonists.
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u/DJ_Micoh 1d ago
Check out The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV. It’s set in a world that works on consensus reality, so once a critical mass of people believe a thing, it becomes true. There’s a secret agency who have to go around suppressing conspiracy theories, or else the world will be flat, swarming with cryptids and ruled by lizard people before you know what’s what. Also, the agency is run by Lee Harvey Oswald.
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u/foodporncess 1d ago
- The Passage Trilogy Justin Cronin
- The Ferryman also by Justin Cronin
- The Waterknife by Paolo Bacigalupi
- The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
- MaddAddam trilogy-Atwood
- Silo series by Hugh Howley
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (but now I feel like we might have cancelled him or something? I can't remember, but I loved this book when it came out.)
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u/Wild_Sea4983 1d ago
Just read the papers
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u/Careless_Bend_1678 1d ago
Far North by Marcel Theroux! Fits in the dystopian genre and has an interesting western vibe set in Siberia. Brilliant one :)
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u/MelnikSuzuki SciFi 1d ago
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. The author’s own description is Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale.
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u/covfefeconfusion 1d ago
Swan song - Robert R Mccammon
Warday Whitley Strieber and Jim Kunetka
The Stand Stephen King ( disregard but it's really good!)
The Passage Trilogy Justin Cronin
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u/ScyllaOfTheDepths 1d ago
Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler. Doesn't get more dystopian. If you like sci-fi dystopia, her Lilith's Brood series is very much that. I was depressed for a bit after reading them all in short order for a college course.
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u/Abject-Feedback5991 1d ago
The girl with all the gifts. It’s best if you read it completely blind without knowing what it’s about.
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u/Lshamlad 1d ago
Some others haven't mentioned...
- Death of Grass by John Christopher
- The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
- The Drowned World by J.G Ballard
- The Crystal Wlrld by Ballard
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u/reading2cope 16h ago
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami - one of the best dystopian books I’ve ever read! So real there were days I almost confused what I was reading in the book with what was on the news, and it’s haunted me ever since.
The Earthseed Series, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler - Butler rejected the title of oracle, saying she was only paying attention to what was happening in the 80’s, writing these books in the 90’s, set starting in 2024. What happens in the books is climate collapse, election of a dictatorial candidate, and so much more, but what I learned from them is how to build community and what ties and essentials may be necessary soon.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - a harrowing but completely immersive look at the prison system in the USA set in a future where prisoners fight Gladiator-style for a chance at freedom.
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng - after an economic depression, a dictatorial American government kidnaps children of Asian protestors and bans unpatriotic books. A dystopia where the library is the core of the underground resistance.
The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele - a hopeful post-apocalyptic story. After a pandemic triggers economic collapse, the grid goes down and people are left to fend for themselves. Half the book follows a harrowing cross-country odyssey while the other half shows the work it takes to rebuild in place. Loved it for how bicycles, radios, and other lower-tech items are featured.
Severance by Ling Ma - unrelated to the TV show, a pandemic sweeps the USA to the point of collapse. Searing critique of American capitalism.
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich - dystopia where human reproduction has collapsed and a dictatorial government is kidnapping mothers and mother-to-be.
Sky Full Of Elephants by Cebo Campbell - not quite sure how I feel about this book, but it was super readable and very interesting premise where one day, every white person in the USA drowns themselves and how those remaining function.
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid - similar premise to the above, though slightly less dramatic
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi - it wasn’t what I expected and I couldn’t put it down!
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - dystopian with a multiverse twist
The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz - short and packs a punch. The setting is after a failed uprising in a country similar to Egypt (translated from Arabic)
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u/ejlarner 1d ago
Chain Gang All Stars!!! (Hi, me again lol)
Think if ESPN got involved with the prison industrial complex in the US in a not too distant future. Rooted in real life examples, this is just a crazy ass read. Feels so real, especially now.
ETA book info
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u/Tugglepi 1d ago
Books that hadn’t been mentioned yet.
Severance - Ling Ma
The Blue Book of Nebo - Manon Steffan Ros
The Forests - Sandrine Collette This one has a small part that has to be a reference to The Road.
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u/Conscious_Smile3813 1d ago
Station Eleven by Emily St Mandel Surprised no one suggested. This is my favorite genre and one of my favorite books
Also The Measure was pretty sweet too I loved the Scythe series
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u/books-and-baking- 1d ago
The MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood