Greg Hickey

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The Best Dystopian Books of 2022

Welcome to the seventh year of annual updates to my list of The 110 Best Dystopian Novels . Starting from dozens of contenders, I narrowed the field to these four best dystopian books of 2022. Rankings are based on curated lists from The Guardian , The New York Times , Publishers Weekly and more, suggestions from readers on Goodreads, and ratings on Goodreads and Amazon.

To complement these rankings, I have created two pieces of bonus content:

  • Recommendations for the best dystopian books from seventeen contemporary dystopian authors like A.G. Riddle, Neal Shusterman and Lois Lowry.
  • A one-page PDF shopping guide to the complete list of The Best Dystopian Novels.

You can access both of these free resources using the form below. And now, here are The Best Dystopian Books of 2022!

4. All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown

In the aftermath of a pathogen that decimates humanity, two boys head south in search of civilization and discover that their bond may go beyond mere friendship. Brown’s debut novel was named a semifinalist in young adult fantasy and science fiction in the Goodreads Choice Awards.

3. Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

A sixteen-year-old trans boy flees the fundamentalist cult that unleashed Armageddon, killed most of the Earth’s population and infected him with a bioweapon that will turn him into a deadly monster. Publishers Weekly listed White’s queer dystopia as one of the best young adult novels of 2022, and it was a semifinalist in young adult fiction in the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Cover images of the best dystopian books of 2022

2. The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

In Chan’s debut novel, a young mother is sentenced to a Big Brother-like institution that measures the devotion of women who are not constantly attached to their children.

1. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

In a future America where authorities can relocate the children of dissidents and so-called “unpatriotic” books are banned, a twelve-year-old boy searches for his mother, a censored Chinese American poet who left the family three years earlier. Amazon named Our Missing Hearts one of the best books of the year, and it was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards fiction category.

From Akira to Zone One .

A selection of dystopian books.

It’s understandable if you’re feeling pretty hopeless right now, as most of the issues facing society — from the coronavirus pandemic to Russian aggression in Ukraine — are largely out of your control. But reading about terrible things can sometimes make you feel more prepared to face them, so if you’ve got the stomach for it, consider picking up a dystopian book.

The history of dystopian fiction stretches back more than 500 years, and in that time, it’s earned a reputation for highlighting inequality and cruelty. Common features include human rights abuses, widespread government surveillance, totalitarianism, corporatocracy, and apocalyptic scenarios like rampant climate change or nuclear fallout. Many of the most famous dystopian novels, such as Nineteen Eighty-Four and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , end with their heroes failing to effect any meaningful change.

It’s no surprise, then, that readers have really latched onto dystopian fiction over the course of the last decade — when Americans were juggling their feelings about the Trump administration, pandemic, and the rising tide of climate change.

Below, 50 dystopian books to read now.

We only include products that have been independently selected by Bustle's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

'Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set' by Katsuhiro Otomo

In the world of Akira , Tokyo was leveled in 1988 — an attack that set World War III in motion. Nearly 40 years later, Japan is controlled by a fascist government, and the streets of its new capital, Neo-Tokyo, are run by motorcycle gangs. Kaneda, the leader of one such gang, is thrust into the middle of a government conspiracy when his friend, Tetsuo, encounters an Esper: a child with psychic abilities. That run-in stirs Tetsuo’s own latent psychic powers, making him a government target. While trying to keep Tetsuo safe, Kaneda also finds himself drawn into an anti-fascist resistance group through his burgeoning relationship with a young woman named Kei.

American War

'American War' by Omar El Akkad

Omar El Akkad’s debut novel imagines the United States at the close of the 21st century, when the country has been literally reshaped by climate change and old tensions are simmering to a boil. After a ban is placed on fossil fuels, a trio of Deep South states retaliate, sparking the Second American Civil War.

Battle Royale

https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Royale-Remastered-Novel/dp/1421565986/ref=sr_1_1?

In the years following World War II, the fascist Republic of Greater East Asia — formerly the Empire of Japan — kidnaps 9th graders and pits them against each other in a wilderness battle to the death. Armed with few supplies and little training, a handful of teens from Kagawa Prefecture plot out a subversive counterattack.

Bitch Planet

'Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine' by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro

Inspired by the prison exploitation films of the 1960s and ’70s, Bitch Planet weaves its way through the lives of women living behind bars in the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost — all of whom have been sent away from “good society” for the crime of being “non-compliant.”

The Book of M

'The Book of M' by Peng Shepherd

Ory and Max have done their best to avoid the Forgetting — a rapidly spreading disease that steals people’s shadows and their memories. But it eventually comes for them, too, and Max loses her shadow. She leaves before she forgets her husband, so Ory goes on a mission to find her — and winds up chasing a cure for the Forgetting.

'Borne' by Jeff VanderMeer

Rachel, a scavenger, and Wick, a drug-maker and dealer, eke out a modest living in a half-destroyed city. The city is also home to Mord: a giant, flying Bear that the Company — a nefarious biotech conglomerate — once subjected to a series of cruel experiments. It’s in Mord’s fur that Rachel finds Borne, a tiny creature that may be a Company experiment himself.

The Broken Earth Trilogy

'The Broken Earth Trilogy Box Set' by N.K. Jemisin

In the Stillness, earthquakes are all too common — and yet, those with the power to control seismic activity are feared and reviled, not celebrated. This prejudice only increases when an apocalyptic quake opens a wide, ash-spewing rift in the continent, and life in the Stillness is turned on its head. Against this supernatural, post-apocalyptic backdrop, a persecuted woman sets out to avenge the death of one child and rescue another.

The Children of Men

'The Children of Men' by P.D. James

The Children of Men imagines a world in which political indifference — and humanity’s sudden inability to reproduce — has paved the way for a tyrannical government to rise in the UK. With the world falling apart around him, Theo, a professor at Oxford, becomes involved with a resistance movement aimed at improving life in the country.

The City & the City

'The City & the City' by China Miéville

Somewhere in Eastern Europe, the twin cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma overlap, but — through political pressure and their personal senses of pride — the citizens of these two separate metropolises pointedly ignore one another. To acknowledge a person from the other city is to risk arrest by Breach, the secret police who enforce the boundary between them. Against this strange backdrop, a police detective looking into a young woman’s death must travel from Besźel to Ul Qoma when his investigation yields surprising results.

The Doloriad

'The Doloriad' by Missouri Williams

After a climate change-related apocalypse nearly destroyed humanity, the Matriarch took it upon herself to repopulate the Earth with her brother. She rules over her family as their unquestioned leader, but their faith in her infallibility is shaken when she sends one of her daughters to wed another survivor — only to have the young woman crawl back home from the far side of the city.

'The Farm' by Joanne Ramos

In many ways, the Farm looks like a dream getaway, complete with organic food, wellness coaches, and — best of all — big, fat paychecks for every attendee who completes its 9-month program. But for the pregnant people living there, waiting to deliver their babies into the arms of wealthy, waiting families, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

'Followers' by Megan Angelo

Orla, a clickbait writer, and Floss, a wannabe influencer, would give anything to be famous. Thirty-five years later, a woman named Marlowe is trapped in a grim version of their dream. As a government-appointed celebrity, she lives in a closed-off village where her every move is tracked on camera. Moving between Orla and Floss’ lives and Marlowe’s, Followers examines where our obsession with fame could conceivably lead.

Future Home of the Living God

'Future Home of the Living God' by Louise Erdrich

Set in a near-future world where evolution appears to be running in reverse, Future Home of the Living God centers on Cedar, a young Ojibwe woman adopted into a white family. When Cedar becomes pregnant and learns that she may deliver a much-sought-after “normal” child, she sets off on a search for her birth mother, seeking to learn more about her own origins.

Gearbreakers

‘Gearbreakers’ by Zoe Hana Mikuta

The occupying forces of Godolia rule the Badlands with an iron fist, terrorizing the public with giant mecha. As a Gearbreaker, Eris specializes in breaching these robots and destroying them from the inside. She’s not invincible, though, and when one of her attacks goes wrong, Eris winds up in a Godolia prison — where she meets a mecha pilot named Sona. Eris is prepared to hate this new acquaintance, but when she learns what Sona’s true goals are, she finds herself falling in love — and formulating a new plan of attack.

The Good Luck Girls

'The Good Luck Girls' by Charlotte Nicole Davis

Charlotte Nicole Davis’ dystopian western follows a tight-knit group of trafficked young women — the daughters of poor sharecroppers — who must flee north. If they are to secure their freedom, the Good Luck Girls must traverse a haunted, treacherous landscape to find a mysterious woman with the power to remove their magical brands.

Hell Followed With Us

'Hell Followed With Us' by Andrew Joseph White

Benji’s on the run. After the colony of white evangelical terrorists he grew up in started the apocalypse, they injected Benji — a young trans man — with Seraph: a biological weapon that will put him in the driver’s seat of the Armageddon purge. He tried to flee the terrible destiny they thrust upon him, but with the Seraph already beginning to change him, Benji isn’t sure how much time he has before he becomes a liability to the LGBTQ+ group who took him in.

Hunting by Stars

'Hunting by Stars' by Cherie Dimaline

When they learn that Native American people can still dream — an ability nearly everyone in the country has lost — U.S. government officials hatch a plot to steal Indigenous children’s capacity for dreaming, which is rumored to lie in their bone marrow. Against this grim backdrop, French, a 17-year-old boy whose birth family was destroyed by the revival of residential schools, is kidnapped from his found family, leaving them with no choice but to launch a rescue effort.

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

'The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf' by Ambelin Kwaymullina

In the wake of a natural catastrophe, the Australian government attempts to rout a generation of children with supernatural powers. The kids, labeled as “Illegals” in the official record, form Tribes in the wilderness to avoid landing in government detention facilities. But when a Tribe’s leader falls into the government’s hands — and is subjected to memory-harvesting program, with the aim of discovering her group’s location — her Tribe will be put to the ultimate test.

'Iron Widow' by Xiran Jay Zhao

The lands outside the Great Wall are dangerous, controlled by mecha aliens that can only be defeated by the Huaxia military’s own mechs. These giant mechs are operated by male pilots who form psychic links with female concubines, often killing the girls in the process. After her sister dies in this way, 18-year-old Zetian enlists in the military to seek revenge. But when Zetian kills a pilot, Huaxia sends in a controversial fighter, Li Shimin, to stop her from taking out more of its men.

'Legend' by Marie Lu

Fifteen-year-old Day goes on the lam after he’s accused of murdering a powerful family’s son — but he’ll have a hard time staying hidden when everyone in the Republic knows who he is. That includes June, the sister of the murdered boy, who’s determined to avenge her brother’s death. When June and Day finally meet, though, they realize they’re involved in something much bigger — and more dangerous — than either of them ever imagined.

'Manhunt' by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Society has collapsed in New England, thanks to a virus that targets people with high testosterone levels and turns them feral. Two trans women, Beth and Fran, survive by harvesting estrogen from the testicles of the diseased. But the virus isn’t all they have to worry about: A group of bloodthirsty TERFs is hunting down trans women, making an already precarious situation even more treacherous.

The Memory Police

'The Memory Police' by Yoko Ogawa

Things are disappearing, and whatever is gone is meant to stay forgotten. Forgetting comes easier to some than others, however, and those cursed to recall what has been lost risk being arrested by the Memory Police. So when her editor becomes a target in a Memory Police investigation, a young writer invites him into her home to shield him from what almost seems inevitable.

Moon of the Crusted Snow

'Moon of the Crusted Snow' by Waubgeshig Rice

When they’re cut off from the outside world by the collapse of the power grid and cellular networks, members of a remote Anishinaabe community find themselves struggling to outlast the harsh winter. As the bonds between the band begin to fray, Evan Whitesky — an Anishinaabe father of two — finds himself taking on more and more responsibility, steering his people toward tradition in order to survive.

Neuromancer

'Neuromancer' by William Gibson

The quintessential cyberpunk novel, William Gibson’s Neuromancer follows Case, a “console cowboy” who hacked the wrong target and has been permanently locked out of cyberspace as a result. Taking a dangerous job may be the only way to return to the life he knows, but will it turn out to be worth the risk in the end?

Never Let Me Go

'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro

At Hailsham — a boarding school where young pupils study art, music, and civics — Kathy falls for Tommy, a classmate who is smitten with her friend Ruth. While Tommy and Ruth’s relationship blossoms, Kathy pines from the sidelines, forever the good friend. But after their world is rocked by a teacher’s confession, the trio struggle to maintain their old friendship dynamic as they transition into adulthood.

'Noor' by Nnedi Okorafor

After a car crash left her severely injured, AO took advantage of everything science had to offer — not only to survive, but also to become stronger and faster than her family and neighbors. She doesn’t want any trouble, but things go sideways when she’s attacked by a mob in a zealous frenzy, and footage of her self-defense goes viral. Now on the run from the authorities, AO joins forces with DNA, a cattle herder who has also gone viral for all the wrong reasons. Together, they make their way toward a mythical city rumored to lie in the heart of a desert sandstorm, with the authorities hot on their heels.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find

'The Ones We’re Meant to Find' by Joan He

Cee doesn’t remember anything about her old life. The deserted island she woke up on is all she knows. The island… and that she has a sister, Kay, waiting for her somewhere. On the other side of the sea, 16-year-old Kasey’s curiosity about her missing sister’s whereabouts gets the better of her, and she attempts to follow in Cee’s footsteps, hoping that the path she traces will lead to a happy reunion.

Parable of the Sower

'Parable of the Sower' by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Sower — the first novel in a planned trilogy, left unfinished upon the author’s untimely death in 2006 — follows Lauren, a Black teenager living in a gated community run by her father, a Baptist minister. When her father disappears and the walls of their haven are breached, Lauren is forced to migrate across a harsh landscape where cannibalism, indentured servitude, and authoritarian politics reign supreme.

Phoenix Extravagant

'Phoenix Extravagant' by Yoon Ha Lee

In this science-fantasy novel from Ninefox Gambit author Yoon Ha Lee, an out-of-work artist named Gyen Jebi finds themself conscripted into the occupying government’s Ministry of Armor. Jebi’s new job is to paint magical sigils on the military’s robotic soldiers — sigils that power the automatons. It seems simple enough… until Jebi discovers a shocking secret about the government and the sigils, which leads them to transition from government agent to activist.

Queen of Teeth

'Queen of Teeth' by Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper’s Bram Stoker Award-winning debut novel follows Yaya, a young woman who discovers she has grown teeth in her vagina — a phenomenon she assumes is the result of her exposure to an AlphaBeta Pharmaceutical product in utero. But when ABP comes after Yaya, and her vagina dentata begins to morph, she finds herself on the run, and on a collision course with a destiny she may not be able to control.

'The Queue' by Basma Abdel Aziz

An homage to Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law,” Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue centers on a group of citizens who — following new legislation passed in the aftermath of a failed coup — wait in a line outside a great Gate, seeking permission to go about their daily lives. One man has a bullet he cannot legally remove without making an official request. Another could save him, but he’ll have to break the law to do so.

The Resisters

'The Resisters' by Gish Jen

Set in a near-future version of the United States — now called AutoAmerica — where the internet runs the show, Gish Jen’s The Resisters follows Gwen, a Blasian girl whose pitching arm could land her a place on the AutoAmerican Olympic team. But as the daughter of second-class citizens, Gwen is putting herself in a difficult position by playing ball with the elite — particularly as her mother’s high-profile court case against the country heats up.

'The Seep' by Chana Porter

On the surface, The Seep changed everyone’s life for the better. This alien collective has connected most of humanity, allowing people to feel one another’s feelings and become whomever and whatever they want to be. But when Trina’s wife, Deeba, decides to be reborn as a baby and experience a trauma-free childhood, Trina finds herself questioning humanity’s reliance on Seep-tech.

'Severance' by Ling Ma

Published in 2018, this eerily prescient novel follows Candace, a millennial office worker and blogger based in Manhattan, as she documents the city in the wake of a plague. While photographing the almost-abandoned streets, Candace encounters a group of survivors headed for a rumored safehouse. But is it safer to team up or go it alone?

'Sorrowland' by Rivers Solomon

After escaping her religious family’s compound, Vern struggles to build a safe life for herself and her twins in the outside world. When Vern begins to manifest strange new powers, however, her suspicions about the compound and its Reverend — Vern’s own husband, whose agents may still be chasing her — appear to be confirmed.

Shade’s Children

'Shade’s Children' by Garth Nix

The world changed forever when the Overlords came. Now, children grow up microchipped and imprisoned, allowed to live only until their 14th birthdays, when they’re mutilated and transformed into the Overlords’ monstrous servants. A lucky few have escaped, but fewer still have found Shade: the last grownup on Earth, who trains his adopted children as resistance fighters in the sewers beneath a ruined city.

Station Eleven

‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

Years after a deadly flu outbreak led to the end of American civilization as we know it, a troupe of Shakespearean actors keep humanity’s cultural legacy alive, performing for people living in small villages around the Great Lakes. Some time ago, they left heavily pregnant Charlie and her husband, Jeremy, behind to give birth in what seemed like a safe place. Now that they’re back, however, the troupe quickly realizes that Charlie and Jeremy are in danger — and they aren’t the only ones.

Survive the Dome

‘Survive the Dome’ by Kosoko Jackson

Amid a wave of protests, the Baltimore police deploy a giant Dome to trap everyone in the city and invoke martial law. With all roads leading in and out of Baltimore blocked, Jamal — a journalist who’s traveled from out of town to cover the demonstrations — must work together with a hacker and an AWOL police recruit to free the city. But what can they do when they learn the corruption runs deeper than they ever imagined?

Tears of the Trufflepig

'Tears of the Trufflepig' by Fernando A. Flores

In Fernando A. Flores’ Tears of the Trufflepig , vicious cartels begin selling “filtered” animals — that is, extinct species resurrected for human consumption. Esteban gets pulled into this illicit world after he accepts an invitation to an illegal dinner party. As he falls deeper down this rabbit hole, he learns something that should be impossible: the creatures out of Aranaña Indian lore really exist.

Tender Is the Flesh

'Tender Is the Flesh' by Agustina Bazterrica

Another dystopian novel dealing with food and plague, Agustina Bazterrica’s Tender Is the Flesh imagines a world in which humanity has resorted to cannibalism to survive. With animals virtually wiped out after they were found to carry a devastating virus, slaughterhouses now specialize in killing and processing “special meat”: humans bred specifically to be consumed. Against this backdrop, a slaughterhouse worker named Marcos must reckon with the ethics of his society when his employers give him a woman to feed his family.

'Unwind' by Neal Shusterman

After the Second Civil War, the United States adopts an almost unimaginable piece of new legislation, borne of a compromise between pro-choice and anti-abortion factions. Now, fetuses may not be terminated, but teenagers may be “unwound” — that is, have the vast majority of their organs and bodily systems harvested for sale or donation. In Unwind , three teenagers in imminent danger of having their organs harvested must band together to survive.

'Want' by Cindy Pon

In this shockingly prescient YA novel, a world besieged by disease and pollution proves deadly to all but the most wealthy, who can afford the PPE necessary to keep themselves safe. Jason Zhou, an orphaned teenager, believes that PPE manufacturer Jin Corp may be responsible for the pollution, but when he sets out to take the company down, he finds himself stymied by his growing affections for the CEO’s daughter.

The Water Cure

'The Water Cure' by Sophie Mackintosh

Sisters Grace, Lia, and Sky were raised by their parents on an isolated island and taught to believe that the outside world was tainted and toxic. But when strange men turn up on the beach three days after their father goes missing, the sisters find themselves forced to confront lingering questions about their father’s teachings.

'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Published 25 years before George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four , Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We centers on D-503, a mathematician living in a city housed entirely in glass and governed by the totalitarian One State. When D-503 realizes that he has a soul, he becomes a government target.

We Set the Dark on Fire

'We Set the Dark on Fire' by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Daniela’s parents risked everything to secure her spot at the Medio School, a program that prepares students to become sister-wives to the country’s most eligible young bachelors — a role that promises rare safety and comfort. But to do so, they had to fudge the truth about her background, and Daniela could be found out at any moment. To make matters worse, Daniela finds herself falling for someone who is not her husband... someone she’s forbidden to love.

'Widowland' by C.J. Carey

Widowland imagines an alternate version of postwar London, in which the Axis Powers won World War II and now control the UK. Rose has adjusted to this new world order and now works at the Ministry of Culture, where she revises classic literature to bring it in line with Nazi principles. With the Leader set to visit the country soon, however, Rose’s job quickly shifts to espionage, as she’s sent undercover to investigate a potential security threat related to a vandalism outbreak.

Winter Tide

'Winter Tide' by Ruthanna Emrys

Decades after the U.S. government forcibly relocated the citizens of Innsmouth far from the sea — where their ancestors once lived and their god still sleeps — a survivor of the Innsmouth internment, Aphra, finds herself responsible for carrying out an FBI mission involving Cold War espionage in the hallowed halls of Miskatonic University.

The Women Could Fly

'The Women Could Fly' by Megan Giddings

Josephine has grown up in a world where real-life witches are put on trial, and marriage is almost compulsory for women. At 28, she still doesn’t know what happened to her mom, who has been the subject of much gossip ever since she disappeared. But with her 30th birthday and marriage deadline fast approaching, Josephine will be forced to choose what she wants in life, even if it means making the best of a bad situation.

The Year of the Witching

'The Year of the Witching' by Alexis Henderson

As a mixed-race woman living in a society that forbids miscegenation, Immanuelle knows her family has never forgiven her — or her late mother — for her birth. Nevertheless, she has tried her best to adhere to the Prophet’s teachings and prove she can bring honor to her family. But when Immanuelle obtains her mother’s diary, she begins to question everything she knows about her home.

'Zone One' by Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead’s Zone One takes place in the aftermath of a plague that has turned legions of humans into zombies. As the country begins to recover from this disaster, a provisional U.S. government launches an attack on Manhattan, where the living dead rule everything north of Canal Street. Most of the vicious zombies have already been routed, so civilian cleaners like Mark Spitz are supposed to have a pretty easy job ridding the city of mostly harmless “stragglers.” But Mark’s assignment proves to be anything but simple, and over the next 72 hours, he begins to wonder if beating back the living dead is at all possible.

This article was originally published on July 18, 2022

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Book Reviews

Celeste ng's powerful new dystopian novel reflects our headlines back to us.

Maureen Corrigan

Maureen Corrigan

Our Missing Hearts imagines a world of governmental cruelty — and the armies of citizens who both facilitate and resist. It's a masterful work that epitomizes the possibilities of storytelling.

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. Celeste Ng is best known for her 2017 bestselling novel "Little Fires Everywhere," which was set in the upscale suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio. That novel was made into a Hulu series starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. Our book critic, Maureen Corrigan, says Ng's latest novel, called "Our Missing Hearts," is set in a world that simultaneously reflects and amplifies our current anxious realities. Here's her review.

MAUREEN CORRIGAN, BYLINE: That classic no-win option comes courtesy of Robert Frost's 1920 poem "Fire And Ice," in which he imagines the end of the world arriving via all-consuming desire for conquest, perhaps, or icy hatred. Frost's general categories still hold up in contemporary dystopian fiction, whether it's the fever of a pandemic, as in Emily St. John Mandel's "Station Eleven" or Ling Ma's "Severance," or the subzero misogyny of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." Celeste Ng's latest novel, "Our Missing Hearts," also leans towards ice as it imagines the ends of things - in this case, the end of American democracy being precipitated by the chill of mass indifference. Fear muffles freedom of expression and obliterates any books or people suspected of dissent. In her author's note, Ng says that the world she's summoned up in "Our Missing Hearts" isn't exactly our world, but it isn't not ours, either. It's the novel's close congruity to our current off-kilter reality, so easily tipped here into "The Twilight Zone," that makes "Our Missing Hearts" even more unsettling than are many other more extreme dystopian visions.

The opening section of "Our Missing Hearts" has the feel of a YA crossover novel, starting with our main character, a 12-year-old boy named Bird, who lives with his father, a former college professor, now mysteriously demoted to shelving books in the campus library. Bird's mother, Margaret, a poet, vanished without explanation some three years earlier. Margaret was a PAO, a person of Asian origin, a Kung Pao, as some of Bird's classmates taunt. They also call her a traitor, someone who violated something called the PACT law - Preserving American Culture and Traditions.

Bird learns early from his white father that it's better not to respond to provocation. Just keep on walking, his father says if passersby stare, their gazes like centipedes on Bird's face. One day, Bird receives a letter - a sheet of paper, really - filled with ballpoint drawings of cats. Bird knows the letter is from his mother. He recognizes the handwriting on the envelope and dimly remembers a Japanese folktale she'd tell him about a boy and cats. How do you find information in a world where conducting research is dangerous, given the fact that all electronic devices are under surveillance?

Bird stumbles on the answer by visiting a place considered too obsolete to monitor - the good, old brick-and-mortar public library, filled with print. There, he eventually connects with an underground network of librarians dedicated to rescuing disappeared books and people. That ingenious plotline alone about librarians as resistance fighters is enough to garner "Our Missing Hearts" a whole lot of love from readers and, of course, the American Library Association. But it's in the second section of this novel, a flashback, where we learn how what's called the crisis happened in America, where Ng's writing becomes richer and her story more disturbing in its near familiarity.

Here are excerpts from Margaret's extended recollection, beginning with an economic downturn. (Reading) It started slowly at first, the way most things did. Shops began to shudder, here and there at first, like cavities in teeth. And suddenly, whole blocks were empty all over the country. Almost imperceptibly, the story of the crisis had begun to solidify. Soon enough, it would harden like silt from turbid water, settling in a thick band of mud. We know who caused all this, people were beginning to say, fingers pointed firmly east. Suspicious eyes swiveled to those with foreign faces, foreign names.

Anti-Asian violence, children taken away from their parents by the government, nativist resentment in the land of immigrants - "Our Missing Hearts" reflects our headlines back to us. But it also powerfully and persuasively offers hope for changing those headlines. In a final moving turn, the novel dramatizes how bearing witness through art and simply speaking up can melt indifference. That sounds sentimental, I know, but Ng's own masterful telling of this tale of governmental cruelty and the shadow armies of ordinary citizens who both facilitate and resist is its own best testimony to the unpredictable possibilities of storytelling.

DAVIES: Maureen Corrigan is a professor of literature at Georgetown University. She reviewed "Our Missing Hearts" by Celeste Ng.

(SOUNDBITE OF ANAT COHEN'S "HAPPY SONG")

DAVIES: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Ann Marie Baldonado, Thea Chaloner, Seth Kelley and Susan Nyakundi. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. For Terry Gross, I'm Dave Davies.

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Best New Dystopian Books For Adults

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Last Updated on February 5, 2024 by Jella Erhard

Explore the most exciting new dystopian books to read for adults and young adults. Read the most anticipated and popular Dystopian book series as well as find here dark dystopian books for your book club.

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adult dystopian books

Best Dystopian Books To Read

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Get ready for some epic adventures and some of the most thought-provoking dystopian books you’ll ever read. We collected thrilling, funny, scary, and twisty dystopian novels and book series for adults and YA readers that’ll surely keep you on the edge of your seat from page one.

You’ll find here best-sellers as well as lesser-known but stunningly written dystopians by popular and diverse writers who’ll soon become your favorite go-to authors. Get ready to take dark and hopeful journeys around the world and into the future thanks to these beguiling and atmospheric new dystopian books.

RELATED: Best Dark Fantasy Books For Adults

We added some of the most anticipated adult dystopian novels as well as exciting young adult dystopian books that are great reads for adults too. You’ll also find here fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, thriller, and romance dystopian books so you’ll have something to read no matter what mood you’re in.

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

Sentient lake journey, orphean adventure, societal collapse narrative.

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger - new dystopian books for adults

Buy It HERE Publication Date: April 2024 Genres: Literary Fiction, Dystopian Adventure

Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse takes you on a wild sail with Rainy, our musician-turned-mariner, on a quest that’s anything but ordinary. Imagine Lake Superior, not just a lake but almost a character with its own mood swings, guiding Rainy’s journey to trace back to his bookselling beloved.

This isn’t your average sail-through-the-storm tale; it’s an adventure peppered with ghostly encounters, societal breakdowns, and, believe it or not, literary corpses floating up from the depths!

Rainy’s America is coming apart at the seams, where reading is as rare as a calm day on the lake. But don’t think it’s all doom and gloom.

Rainy’s tale is laced with chuckles, moments so breathtakingly beautiful they’d make a poet jealous, and the kind of human connections that make all the chaos seem worth it. Plus, there’s this young girl, an unexpected sidekick in Rainy’s odyssey, adding a whole new layer of charm to the voyage.

Leif Enger isn’t just spinning a yarn; he’s crafting a symphony of words, each note a battle cry against despair and a toast to the undying human spirit. I Cheerfully Refuse is a testament to finding hope, humor, and humanity in the most unexpected places.

Mania by Lionel Shriver

Alternative society, intellectual parity, friendship dilemma.

Mania by Lionel Shriver - new dystopian books

Buy It HERE Publication Date: April 2024 Genres: Literary Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Step into the world of Mania by Lionel Shriver, and buckle up for a roller coaster ride through an alternate 2011 that’s as quirky as it is disturbing.

Here, being called “smart” isn’t just a compliment—it’s a universal truth, thanks to the Mental Parity movement. Say goodbye to the days of tests and grades, and watch your language—calling someone “stupid” is the new ultimate no-no.

Meet Pearson Converse, a college English instructor with a serious allergy to dogma, thanks to a suffocating childhood under the Jehovah’s Witness doctrine. She’s frustrated, seeing the bright spark in her kids dulled by the school’s one-size-fits-all approach.

Her saving grace? Chats with her best friend, a media commentator. But don’t get too comfortable—this friendship’s on a collision course with the political divide, threatening to blow up a lifetime of camaraderie.

Mania isn’t just another dystopian novel; it’s Lionel Shriver at her razor-sharp best, slicing through societal norms and laying bare the often ridiculous path to a misguided utopia.

It’s a stark reminder of how good intentions can pave the way to a not-so-pretty reality, all served with a side of Shriver’s signature wit and piercing societal insights.

This Impossible Brightness by Jessica Bryant Klagmann

Remote island mystery, grieving journey, community secrets.

This Impossible Brightness by Jessica Bryant Klagmann - new dystopian books

Buy It HERE Publication Date: February 2024 Genres: Dystopian, Literary Fiction, Mystery

This Impossible Brightness packs a punch that’s equal parts heartache and mystery, all set on an island that’s about as welcoming as a cold shoulder in the North Atlantic.

Meet Alma Hughes, who, in the wake of her fiancé’s vanishing act, decides that what her life really needs is a bit of island charm. But instead of finding peace and quiet, Alma lands smack in the middle of Violette’s small-town quirks – a place where the local radio tower seems to have a direct line to, well, everything.

But here’s the twist: as the sea starts throwing its weight around, threatening to swallow the island whole, Alma discovers she’s got a weird connection to the folks who’ve slipped through life’s cracks.

Wrestling with her own bundle of sorrows, she’s got to figure out if she’s the lighthouse that can guide these lost souls home or just another wanderer.

Jessica Bryant Klagmann spins a tale that’s all about finding a spark in the gloom, proving that sometimes the brightest light comes from the darkest of places.

The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad

Dystopian speculative, historical resonance, generational struggle.

The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad - new dystopian books

Buy It HERE Publication Date: February 2024 Genres: Speculative Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad is an intense dive into a world that’s uncomfortably familiar, yet unsettlingly dystopian.

Picture this: an alternate America where your life’s script is written by an algorithm, especially if you’re a Black woman like Solenne Bonet. Life in Texas isn’t about choices; it’s about following a predetermined path that decides who you marry, where you live, and what you do.

Solenne’s solace? She finds it in writing about Henriette, her ancestor and an enslaved concubine from the 1800s. But as Solenne pens down Henriette’s story, her own life starts mirroring the past in ways she never imagined, thanks to her entanglement with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking official.

Rae Giana Rashad’s narrative is gutsy, unflinching, and resonates with the weight of history. If you’re into narratives that pack a punch and make you reflect, then The Blueprint might just be your next big read.

Your Utopia by Bora Chung

Dark futurism, absurdist fiction, speculative storytelling.

Your Utopia by Bora Chung - best new dystopian books

Buy It HERE Publication Date: January 2024 Genres: Speculative Fiction, Horror, Dystopian

Your Utopia by Bora Chung is like a wild ride through the amusement park of the future, where every ride is a different flavor of bizarre, unsettling, and absolutely mind-bending. Chung serves up a smorgasbord of tales that are a bit like looking into a crystal ball, if that crystal ball was having a really weird day.

You’ve got stories that tickle every corner of the imagination, from a disease that turns people into casual cannibals (yes, you read that right) to a snooping world where even your dreams aren’t your own.

In one corner, we have the tale of an overworked employee juggling a chaotic gala in “The Center for Immortality Research,” where the quest for eternal life meets celebrity drama.

Then there’s the oddly heartwarming story of an AI elevator with a crush in “A Song for Sleep”—imagine getting love notes from your lift! And let’s not forget “Seed,” which is like Mother Nature’s comeback tour in the face of capitalism’s grand finale.

Translated with flair by Anton Hur, Chung’s stories are like a box of chocolates where each piece is a surprise – sometimes delightful, sometimes a bit chilling, but always unforgettable. If you’re in the mood for a literary adventure that’s off the beaten path, Your Utopia is your ticket to the show.

The Last Stars in the Sky by Kate Hewitt

Emotional resilience, family saga, secluded wilderness.

The Last Stars in the Sky by Kate Hewitt - best new dystopian books

Buy It HERE Publication Date: January 2024 Genres: Dystopian Fiction, Emotional Drama

The Last Stars in the Sky takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, wrapped up in a tale where family love wrestles with life’s curveballs. Picture this: a mother, our unsung hero, standing tall amid the chaos of a crumbling marriage and a wallet that’s seen better days.

There, in the old family cottage by Lost Lake, she finds a moment of peace, a chance to stitch her family’s fabric back together under the whispering pines. But don’t get too cozy, because this tranquil haven is just the calm before the storm.

In a heartbeat, everything flips upside down, catapulting her into a world where her once-familiar life is now just echoes in her memory.

What makes The Last Stars in the Sky a real gem in the dystopian genre is how it weaves the intimate dance of family dynamics with the raw wilderness of a world that’s lost its way. It’s not just about the outer chaos, but the inner storms, the emotional whirlwinds that each character navigates.

24| My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse – August 2023

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse - best dystopian books

Buy It Here

My Name Is Iris is a timely and powerful dystopian novel that takes place in a near-future America where second-generation immigrants are turned into second-class citizens with mandatory identification wristbands.

Iris Prince, a proud second-generation Mexican-American, is forced to confront her identity and what she’s willing to do to protect her loved ones when a high-tech wrist wearable called “the Band” is launched, making her “unverifiable” and unable to prove her citizenship.

As fear and violence spread, Iris must navigate through a society that actively punishes those who cannot conform to their standards.

Brando Skyhorse’s writing is both beautiful and evocative, drawing readers in and keeping them engaged from beginning to end. His characters are well-developed and relatable, adding depth and emotion to the story.

My Name Is Iris is one of the most beguiling dystopian novels is a family saga that tackles important themes of intolerance and hope.

23| the marriage act by john marrs – january 2023.

The Marriage Act by John Marrs - new dystopian books

In John Marrs’ chilling dystopian novel, The Marriage Act , the government has taken control of citizens’ personal lives through the Sanctity of Marriage Act. The act encourages marriage and punishes those who choose to remain single. The government monitors every aspect of couples’ lives, punishing any minor disagreement or deviation from the norm.

The novel follows four couples as they navigate this oppressive society, struggling to maintain their relationships while being constantly watched and controlled. The consequences of disobedience are severe, forcing them to question whether it’s worth it to resist.

Marrs’ thought-provoking book highlights the dangers of a government that controls every aspect of its citizens’ personal lives and the toll it takes on human relationships. It’s a must-read for fans of dystopian and horror fiction who are interested in exploring the dark side of government control.

The Marriage Act is a great choice for readers who are looking for chilling horror dystopian books that’ll make them think.

22| nothing but the rain by naomi salman – march 2023.

Nothing But the Rain by Naomi Salman - top modern dystopian books

Nothing But the Rain is a must-read dystopian novella of 2023 for anyone who enjoys a mix of science fiction and horror. This unique and haunting story takes place in the small town of Aloisville, where the rain never stops.

With each drop of rain that falls on the skin, memories are washed away, and the town’s residents have forgotten most of their past.

Laverne, the protagonist, decides to keep a journal to hold onto her memories. She realizes that every drop of water in Aloisville is dangerous and that one wrong move could mean the end of her life.

Mysterious forces prevent the residents from escaping, and calls for rebellion are on everyone’s lips. But Laverne has no interest in fighting, she just wants to survive.

Naomi Salman’s debut novella is a perfect blend of science fiction, horror, and dystopian elements that will leave readers captivated until the very end. The unique concept of memories becoming part of the water cycle creates a creepy and unsettling atmosphere that will keep readers on edge.

Nothing But the Rain should be at the top of your reading list if you’re a fan of spooky dystopian fiction.

21| the ferryman by justin cronin – may 2023.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin - new dystopian book

Step aboard the ferry to Prospera, a hidden island utopia where citizens are granted long, fulfilling lives until their monitors fall below 10 percent. From the brilliant mind behind The Passage comes a standalone novel that will leave you questioning everything you once believed.

The Ferryman follows Proctor Bennett, a ferryman tasked with shepherding citizens through the retirement process and enforcing it if necessary. But when his own monitor percentage begins to drop alarmingly fast and he is summoned to retire his own father, Proctor finds himself on a desperate mission to uncover the truth about this supposed paradise.

With rumors of a revolution brewing and a resistance group known as the “Arrivalists,” the once-stable society of Prospera begins to unravel. In this haunting and thought-provoking tale, Justin Cronin crafts a dystopian world that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

The Ferryman is a must-read for anyone seeking a thrilling and insightful dystopian novel in 2023.

20| salvage this world michael farris smith – april 2023.

Salvage This World Michael Farris Smith - southern dystopian novel

If you’re looking for a new and riveting dystopian novel to sink your teeth into this year, then Salvage This World is definitely one you should consider.

Set in the hurricane-ravaged bottomlands of South Mississippi, the novel explores a world where hope is scarce, jobs are few, and a religious extremist has seized power by preying on the vulnerability of the population. Against this backdrop, we follow the story of Jessie and her young son Jace, who are forced to flee and seek refuge in her desolate childhood home.

As their paths converge with those of other characters, the novel delves into themes of violence, survival, and the search for meaning in a world that seems to have lost its way. With its elegiac and profound style,

Salvage This World is one of the most thought-provoking and haunting new dystopian books that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

19| the memory of animals by claire fuller – april 2023.

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller - new dystopian books for adults

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller is a gripping adult dystopian novel that tells the story of Neffy, a marine biologist who signs up for an experimental vaccine trial during a devastating pandemic that causes memory loss, sensory damage, and death.

As chaos reigns outside the hospital walls, Neffy and her fellow volunteers grapple with their past mistakes and the uncertain future. Neffy finds solace in her memories, including her work with octopuses and a failed relationship that ended her career.

But as the lines between past, present, and future blur, she’s left with difficult questions to answer. Can she trust those around her? Can she forgive herself? And how will she go on if she survives?

With suspenseful storytelling and unforgettable characters, it asks what truly defines us and what we’re willing to do to save ourselves and those we love. So if you’re in the mood for a thrilling, thought-provoking read, be sure to check it out!

The Memory of Animals is one of the most beautifully written new dystopian books that explores themes of survival, grief, and hope.

18| moths by jane hennigan – march 2023.

Moths by Jane Hennigan - thriller dystopian book

If you’re looking for a gripping and thought-provoking dystopian novel to add to your reading list, look no further than Moths. This debut novel is a must-read for 2023 not just for dystopian but thriller fans too because it’s sure to send shivers down your spine.

The story takes place in a divergent future where humanity is threatened by a deadly toxin carried on the wind by moths. Men are dying in their sleep or turning into violent killers, and society as we know it has crumbled. But humanity is nothing if not resilient, and despite the odds, they find a way to survive.

Flash forward many years later, and only a few people remember what life was like before the change. Among them is Mary, a mother faced with a difficult decision: should she hold on to her memories of the past, or risk it all to fight for equality in a world that has become vastly different from the one she knew?

If you loved books like The Power, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vox, then Moths is the perfect addition to your bookshelf.

Moths is one of the most powerful and complex new dystopian books with characters so vividly drawn that you’ll find yourself rooting for them from the very first page.

17| the last beekeeper by julie carrick dalton – march 2023.

The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton - new dystopian books

The Last Beekeeper is one of the most emotional and beautiful dystopian novels that delve into the themes of family, truth, power, hope, and redemption.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where honey bees are presumed extinct, the story follows Sasha Severn as she returns to her childhood home in search of her father’s hidden research. Along the way, she discovers a group of squatters who become her new family, offering her security and hope.

However, her newfound peace is shattered when she witnesses the impossible – a honey bee, believed to be extinct. This discovery leads Sasha to believe that the bee may be connected to her father’s research.

Determined to uncover the truth, Sasha must confront the harsh realities of a world where power and truth are often at odds with each other.

Through the story’s exploration of forgiveness and redemption, Julie Carrick Dalton reminds us to cherish the beauty that still exists in this fragile world. Fans of Delia Owens’ novels will appreciate the intricate world-building and the complex characters in The Last Beekeeper.

The Last Beekeeper is one of the most beautifully written new dystopian books with a story that celebrates found family and is a poignant meditation on the importance of holding on to what we cherish in the face of adversity.

16| hell followed with us by andrew joseph white – new dystopian ya romance book, june 2022.

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White - YA Dark Fantasy Romance Book 2022 (Small)

This brilliant YA dystopian book is about Benji a sixteen-year-old trans boy who is on the run from the cult that raised him. The ruthless fundamentalist cult has unleashed Armageddon and decimated the population all around the world. Now Benji has to find a safe place where the cult can’t use the bioweapons they infected him with.

Soon Benji is saved by a group from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center. Only Nick, the group’s super handsome leader knows Benji’s secret and how it could wipe out humanity if it gets in the wrong hands. Despite everything, Nick offers a safe shelter for  Benji among the other queer teens as long as Benji works on controlling the monster inside him and uses it to defend their group. Benji agrees but soon discovers secrets that might just change his decision. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for new fantasy romance books set in a dystopian world.

Hell Followed With Us is a brilliantly entertaining LGBTQ+ dystopian novel about finding your path and using your powers for good with a pinch of romance.

15| scattered all over the earth by yoko tawada – new sci-fi dystopian novel, march 2022.

Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada - New Sci-Fi Dystopian Novel, March 2022

Welcome to the not-too-distant future: Japan, having vanished from the face of the earth, is now remembered as “the land of sushi.” Hiruko, its former citizen and a climate refugee herself, has a job teaching immigrant children in Denmark with her invented language Panska (Pan-Scandinavian): “homemade language. no country to stay in. three countries I experienced. insufficient space in brain. so made new language. homemade language.”

As she searches for anyone who can still speak her mother tongue, Hiruko soon makes new friends. Her troupe travels to France, encountering an umami cooking competition; a dead whale; an ultra-nationalist named Breivik; unrequited love; Kakuzo robots; red herrings; uranium; an Andalusian matador. Episodic and mesmerizing scenes flash vividly along, and soon they’re all next off to Stockholm.

With its intrepid band of companions, Scattered All Over the Earth (the first novel of a trilogy) may bring to mind Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or a surreal Wind in the Willows, but really is just another sui generis Yoko Tawada masterwork.

Scattered All Over the Earth is one of the most exciting new dystopian books for adults that’s both mind-expanding and surprisingly cheerful.

14| cold the night, fast the wolves by meg long – new sci-fi dystopian book, january 2022.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long - New Sci-fi Dystopian Book, January 2022

Seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen hates the sled race, especially after it claimed both her mothers’ lives five years ago. Alone on her frozen planet, she makes money any other way she can–until she double-crosses a local gangster.

Desperate to escape, Sena flees with his prized fighting wolf, Iska, and takes an offer from a team of scientists. They’ll pay her way off-world, on one condition–that she uses the survival skills her mothers taught her to get them to the end of the race. But the tundra is a treacherous place. When the race threatens their lives at every turn, Sena must discover whether her abilities are enough to help them survive the wild, and whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.

As the girl and the wolf forge a tenuous bond and fight to escape ice goblins, giant bears, and the ruthless gang leader intent on trapping them both, one question drives them relentlessly forward: Where do you turn when there is nowhere to hide?

If you’ve been looking for thrilling new atmospheric books to read this year then you should pick up this beautifully written dystopian novel.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is one of the most atmospheric new dystopian books about survival and found family that delivers a fresh twist on classic survival stories.

13| 40: a novel by alan heathcock – new sci-fi dystopian novel, august 2022.

40 A Novel by Alan Heathcock - New Sci-Fi Dystopian Novel, August 2022

In a future America ravaged by natural disaster, pandemic, and political unrest, a fundamentalist faction emerges. As the Novae Terrae gain power, enticing civilians with bread and circuses, a civil war breaks out between its members and the US government.

Mazzy Goodwin, a young soldier, only wants to find her little sister, Ava Lynn. One day, she wakes in a bomb crater to find wings emerged from her back. Has she died? Been gifted wings by God? Undergone a military experiment?

The world sees a miracle. Mazzy is coaxed into seeing it as an opportunity: to become the angel-like figurehead of the revolution, in return for being reunited with her sister. Her journey leads her to New Los Angeles, where the Novae have set up the headquarters for their propaganda machine––right in the ruins of Hollywood. Aided by friends old and new, she must navigate a web of deceit while staying true to herself.

Told in sharp, haunting prose, as cinematic as it is precise, Alan Heathcock’s 40 is a dizzyingly fantastical novel about the dangers of blind faith, the temptation of spectacle, and the love of family. In a tale by turns mythic and tragic, one heroine must come to terms with the consequences of her decisions––and face the challenges of building a new world.

40: A Novel is one of the most fascinating dystopian books for adults that’ll make you think and it tells the tale of an American myth of the future: a vision of civil war, spectacle, and disaster of biblical proportions.

RELATED: New Gothic Books To Read

12| The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings – Thriller Dystopian Novel, August 2022

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings - Thriller Dystopian Novel, August 2022

Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother’s disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behavior raises suspicions and a woman—especially a Black woman—can find herself on trial for witchcraft.

But fourteen years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of 30—or enroll in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At 28, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has her never understood her mother more. When she’s offered the opportunity to honor one last request from her mother’s will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time.

It’s a great choice if you’ve been looking for meaningful books and inspiring new books about witches .

The Women Could Fly is one of the most timely and thought-provoking new dystopian novels about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored.

11| the school for good mothers by jessamine chan – contemporary dystopian novel, january 2022.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan - Contemporary Dystopian Novel, January 2022

Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.

Until Frida has a very bad day.

The state has its eye on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgement, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion.

Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.

The School for Good Mothers is a dark dystopian novel about a young mother whose one lapse in judgment lands her in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.

10| manhunt by gretchen felker-martin – new sci-fi horror book, february 2022.

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin - new horror books 2022

If you enjoy post-apocalyptic horrors, this one is definitely going to be on your must-read lists. In case you are new to the genre, Felker-Martin’s remarkable piece is a superb start without a doubt. Travel the New England coast with Beth, Fran, and Robbie, who know they cannot trust anyone, but each other. Hunting feral men is their only key to survival, but plenty of adventure awaits our heroes.

2022 is a great year for new horror novels and if you are looking for perfectly written LGBT+ dystopian new horror books for adults, Manhunt is for you.

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin is definitely among the spookiest dystopian horror books of 2022.

9| the crossing gate by asiel r. lavie – new ya dystopian book, january 2022.

The Crossing Gate Asiel R. Lavie - New YA Dystopian Book, January 2022 (Small)

She can’t grow up. Literally.

In the kingdom of Elpax, juveniles must walk through the mysterious Crossing Gate to become adults—and seventeen-year-old Lenora is determined that her third attempt at crossing to adulthood will be successful. Even though adulthood means facing horrible realities, such as sin-spots appearing on her body whenever she commits a sin, it also means being able to have a job. And Lenora needs to work to support her struggling family.

But Lenora’s Crossing Day goes horribly wrong.

Accused of trying to start a revolution, Lenora must obey the kingdom’s laws to the letter if she wants to take suspicion off herself. But following the rules isn’t as easy as it sounds. Especially when she meets a mysterious and handsome stranger who makes her feel emotions she’s never experienced before—even though juveniles in Elpax aren’t supposed to be capable of falling in love.

With the long arm of the law looming over her and her family, Lenora must walk a tightrope between following the rules and investigating why she’s unable to cross. Not to mention discovering where her new adult emotions are coming from. But as Lenora uncovers more of Elpax’s terrible secrets, she realizes that fighting the system might be the only way to save her family, her country, and her first love.

The Crossing Gate is one of the most exciting sci-fi fantasy YA dystopian books with a Greek-inspired setting and classic fantasy elements.

8| goliath by tochi onyebuchi – new sci-fi dystopian novel, january 2022.

Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi - New Sci-fi Dystopian Novel, January 2022

In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighborhoods are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked.

A primal biblical epic flung into the future, Goliath weaves together disparate narratives—a space-dweller looking at New Haven, Connecticut as a chance to reconnect with his spiraling lover; a group of laborers attempting to renew the promises of Earth’s crumbling cities; a journalist attempting to capture the violence of the streets; a marshal trying to solve a kidnapping—into a richly urgent mosaic about race, class, gentrification, and who is allowed to be the hero of any history.

Goliath is one of the most anticipated adult dystopian books of 2022 that will make you think.

7| the light we lost by kyla stone -new fantasy dystopian book series, january 2022.

The Light We Lost by Kyla Stone -New Fantasy Dystopian Book Series, January 2022

The sun gives life. It is also capable of profound destruction. With little warning, a solar super flare erupts from the sun. A billion tons of superheated plasma hurtles through space toward Earth…

When all lights fail, who will save you? Thirteen-year-old Shiloh wakes with a dead body beside her, her brother missing, and no memory of what happened. As fiery northern lights blaze across the sky, she sets out into the night, determined to find him.

Haunted by the past, Undersheriff Jackson Cross vows to catch a vicious killer. But every clue he uncovers leads him further into a darkness he fears he cannot defeat.

Eli Pope has just been released from prison. Wrongly convicted of murder, the former Ranger has but one goal: exact vengeance upon those who betrayed him.

Meanwhile, Search-and-Rescue first responder Lena Easton begins a harrowing 1600-mile journey to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to find the children of the one person she couldn’t save.

As multiple solar storms strike Earth, transformers explode, the power grid fails, and communication networks collapse. Half the world goes dark, thrusting the planet into utter chaos.

With society crumbling around them, the survivors must fight not only for their lives, but for everything they hold dear–hope amid devastation, justice in the face of depravity, and ultimately, the perseverance of the human spirit against all odds.

The Light We Lost is one of the most thrilling new post-apocalyptic survival thriller dystopian books that explore the destructive power of coronal mass ejections with great twists and flawed but inspiring characters.

6| such a beautiful thing to behold by umar turaki – new sci-fi dystopian book, may 2022.

Such a Beautiful Thing to Behold by Umar Turaki - New Sci-Fi Dystopian Book, May 2022

A mysterious plague known as the Grey grips the small village of Pilam, which the world has quarantined without pity. Laying waste to Pilam’s residents, the sickness saps its victims of strength, drains the color from their eyes, and kills all promise. Only the young are immune. But beyond the barricades and walls of soldiers—the manifestation of a nation’s terror—there are rumors of a cure. Dunka, the eldest son of a family reeling from the Grey, takes on the daunting task of leaving Pilam to find that cure for his siblings and save them before it’s too late.

His brother and sisters, however, have plans of their own. Navigating the chaos of violence, hunger, and death, each of them tries to make sense of the bleak circumstances, forging new bonds with other juvenile survivors left to their own devices. Now an unlikely family of six, they choose their own perilous paths, at first separately and then together, coming to terms with the decisions they make and the ghosts they cannot leave behind.

Such a Beautiful Thing to Behold is a gripping dystopian novel for adults about survival, love, and the human spirit’s tenacious capacity for wonder.

5| all that’s left in the world by erik j. brown – new romance dystopian book, march 2022.

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown - New Romance Dystopian Book, March 2022

When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie’s house, he’s injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world’s population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. And if this new world has taught them anything, it’s to be scared of what other desperate people will do . . . so why does it seem so easy for them to trust each other?

After danger breaches their shelter, they flee south in search of civilization. But something isn’t adding up about Andrew’s story, and it could cost them everything. And Jamie has a secret, too. He’s starting to feel something more than friendship for Andrew, adding another layer of fear and confusion to an already tumultuous journey.

The road ahead of them is long, and to survive, they’ll have to shed their secrets, face the consequences of their actions, and find the courage to fight for the future they desire, together. Only one thing feels certain: all that’s left in their world is the undeniable pull they have toward each other.

All That’s Left in the World is one of the most popular new queer YA adventure romance dystopian books that’s a great read for adults too.

RELATED: New Dark Romance Books To Read

4| Shadowblade Academy 1: Darkness Calls by KC Kingmaker – New Fantasy Dystopian Book Series, February 2022

Shadowblade Academy 1: Darkness Calls by KC Kingmaker - New Fantasy Dystopian Book Series, February 2022

At Shadowblade Academy, everyone fears the shadows…

Being the ordinary sister of a supernatural powerhouse isn’t fun. I live in the Crust, an outsider town for normies, while she gallivants around her top-secret academy for Abnorms.

Then everything goes sideways on my twenty-first birthday. Mediums scream at me like possessed nuns. Dudes pop out of shadows, trying to kidnap me. My dreams become very strange.

Most importantly, my sister goes missing.

I have to go looking for her, which means finding her school. Problem is, I learn the academy trains magical assassins who manipulate shadows. Badass but terrifying.

Bullies at the academy don’t think I belong. Smoldering fae, vampire, and shifter men are obsessed with me for different reasons: attraction, hate, suspicion. And who the hell is the sexy ghost-man haunting my dreams?

I’m trapped in a place where I’m always looking over my shoulder, and I can’t even trust my own shadow…

Shadowblade Academy is a steamy paranormal romance book series set in a dystopian fantasy world with a kick-ass female lead, multiple love interests, and a splash of darkness with lots of mystery and dark humor.

3| black tide by k.c. jones – new thriller dystopian book, may 2022.

Black Tide by K.C. Jones - New Thriller Dystopian Book, May 2022

It was just another day at the beach. Then the world ended.

Mike and Beth were strangers before the night of the meteor shower. Chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more.

Following their drunken and desperate one-night stand, the two discover the astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying.

When a lost car key leaves them stranded on an empty stretch of Oregon coast and inhuman screams echo from the dunes, when the rising tide reaches for their car and unspeakable horrors close in around them, these two self-destructive souls must fight to survive a nightmare of apocalyptic scale.

Black Tide is a character-driven science fiction/horror dystopian novel that’s a perfect choice for Stephen King fans.

2| curfew by jayne cowie – new dystopian mystery thriller novel, march 2022.

Curfew by Jayne Cowie -New Dystopian Mystery Thriller Novel, March 2022

Imagine a near-future Britain in which women dominate workplaces, public spaces, and government. Where the gender pay gap no longer exists and motherhood opens doors instead of closing them. Where women are no longer afraid to walk home alone, to cross a dark parking lot, or to catch the last train.

Where all men are electronically tagged and not allowed out after 7 p.m.

But the curfew hasn’t made life easy for all women. Sarah is a single mother who happily rebuilt her life after her husband, Greg, was sent to prison for breaking curfew. Now he’s about to be released, and Sarah isn’t expecting a happy reunion, given that she’s the reason he was sent there.

Her teenage daughter, Cass, hates living in a world that restricts boys like her best friend, Billy. Billy would never hurt anyone, and she’s determined to prove it. Somehow.

Helen is a teacher at the local school. Secretly desperate for a baby, she’s applied for a cohab certificate with her boyfriend, Tom, and is terrified that they won’t get it. The last thing she wants is to have a baby on her own.

These women don’t know it yet, but one of them is about to be violently murdered. Evidence will suggest that she died late at night and that she knew her attacker. It couldn’t have been a man because a CURFEW tag is a solid alibi.

Curfew is a dark dystopian novel set in a world where all men are electronically tagged and placed under strict curfew, and the murder investigation threatening to undo it all.

1| walk the vanished earth by erin swan – new sci-fi fantasy dystopian novel, may 2022.

Walk the Vanished Earth by Erin Swan - New Sci-Fi Fantasy Dystopian Novel, May 2022

The year is 1873, and a bison hunter named Samson travels the Kansas plains, full of hope for his new country. The year is 1975, and an adolescent girl named Bea walks those very same plains; pregnant, mute, and raised in extreme seclusion, she lands in an institution, where a well-meaning psychiatrist struggles to decipher the pictures she draws of her past.

The year is 2027 and, after a series of devastating storms, a tenacious engineer named Paul has left behind his banal suburban existence to build a floating city above the drowned streets that were once New Orleans. There with his poet daughter he rules over a society of dreamers and vagabonds who salvage vintage dresses, ferment rotgut wine out of fruit, paint murals on the ceiling of the Superdome, and try to write the story of their existence. The year is 2073, and Moon has heard only stories of the blue planet—Earth, as they once called it, now succumbed entirely to water.

Now that Moon has come of age, she could become a mother if she wanted to–if only she understood what a mother is. Alone on Mars with her two alien uncles, she must decide whether to continue her family line and repopulate humanity on a new planet. A sweeping family epic, told over seven generations, as America changes and so does its dream, Walk the Vanished Earth explores ancestry, legacy, motherhood, the trauma we inherit, and the power of connection in the face of our planet’s imminent collapse.

Walk the Vanished Earth is a new environmental dystopian novel that’s thoughtful, warm, and hopeful and is about the end of the world but also about the beginning of something entirely new.

best new dystopian novels

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The 30 Best Dystopian Novels Everyone Should Read

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Blog – Posted on Friday, Feb 28

The 30 best dystopian novels everyone should read.

The 30 Best Dystopian Novels Everyone Should Read

Whether they’re sci-fi books about androids dominating the world or speculative fiction tales that aren’t so far from real life, dystopian novels are never not in vogue. From widely popular series to critically acclaimed works, these stories’ social commentary caters to both casual readers and literary critics, often making the list for the best books of all time . And the enduring popularity of dystopian novels signals our perpetual and collective curiosity about where society is going. 

Since the twentieth century, there has been a fairly consistent outpour of books in this genre. To help you navigate and choose between these introspective potential futures, here are 30 dystopian novels you should not miss out on. 

How long do you think you can last in a post-apocalyptic landscape yourself? Take our 1-minute quiz below to find out 😉

If the world ends today, how long will you survive for?

Test your survival skills in this 1-minute quiz!

1. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

While it was published in 1949, this famous work is predictably set in 1984. Orwell’s world foresees only three continental-sized nations, at least one of which is overseen by an ubiquitous, watchful government. A censorship worker in this nation finds himself questioning the totalitarian system and its effort to obliterate individual thought and emotions, soon beginning a search for others who may be in the same boat. 

On top of its other legacies, what is most astounding about this work of fiction is the meticulous worldbuilding that Orwell undertook. Based on his observations of society on the brink of the Cold War, Orwell crafted complex mechanisms such as “doublethink” and contradictory slogans like  “War Is Peace” with so much care and connection to real life that it’s easy to see how this fictional autocratic world could exist. And that’s not even to mention the story itself —  a chilling and unexpected journey that ensures that Nineteen Eighty-Four will stand the test of time.

2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Set in a world that many of us avid readers would find nightmarish, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is the story of Guy Montag, a “fireman” who is becoming disillusioned with his job — to put it simply, he’s assigned to set fire to books, rather than put fires out. Unfortunately, society’s short attention span no longer calls for the perusal of novels, and the authoritarian state wants to prevent people from thinking too much (if at all). What the government didn’t expect is Montag opening his mind to the mysteries of the written word and beginning a quest to try and salvage these books, as well as the minds of those around him. 

The Red Scare of the 1940s, which saw America gripped by an anti-communist sentiment that came close to hysteria, prompted Bradbury to write this eternal love story to books in the 1950s. But Bradbury’s warning horn against increased censorship is timeless, perhaps more important than ever in our age of Big Data, and will live on through Montag’s arduous journey. 

3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

In this once-futuristic world — the book was published in 1985 about the near future — America is taken over by a religious sect, and the order of the country is pushed back several centuries. Horrifyingly, women are domesticized and subordinated to men, even though environmental degradation and its impact on fertility means that fertile women are inordinately more precious and desired. In the middle of all of this is Offred, a young woman who’s forced to bear children for ruling-class men. 

The Handmaid's Tale ’s world is markedly different from many of the other worlds that we read about in well-known dystopian novels. Its focus on women’s experience, however, is not the only extraordinary quality about this book. Atwood’s unconventional style and alternating storylines let readers unravel this complex universe at their own pace before the plot escalates to a fever pitch, cementing Atwood’s masterpiece as one of the great pillars of dystopian fiction.

4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

In contrast to the well-crafted orders we’ve encountered thus far, The Road transports us to a universe shattered by an unnamed catastrophe. Ordinary lives are replaced by mad scrambles for food and supplies for those who survive. In this bleak “eat or be eaten” situation, a father and his young son trek southwards in anticipation of the winter, driven by their hopes to find and unite with the “good guys.”

Make no mistake:  this book is truly melancholic. From bleak atmospheres to the heartbreaking loss of humanity, both physically and morally, this post-extinction setting comes to life before readers’ eyes through McCarthy’s somber prose. Rather than questioning the structures of our society, The Road encourages readers to look inward and examine our compassion in a world that’s increasingly competitive and individualistic.

5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

In this dystopian classic, the World State government of the year 2540 AD controls the population not by telling them what to think, but by numbing them with happiness. Henceforth Huxley’s Brave New World introduces readers to a seemingly perfect realm, with genetically-engineered, carefree, and well-fed citizens. 

With mass production and Fordism in mind, Huxley’s merry consumers and blissful citizens grow up with this sort of technology and kept satisfied by it. So you can imagine how anyone who comes in from the outside “savage” world would appear to them… which is exactly what occurs, to tragic effect. The most striking and thus memorable thing about this novel is how it shows that the state doesn’t need to ban books or torture dissenters to silence them — our culture can purge itself of intellectuality simply through self-indulgence.

6. Blindness by José Saramago

Set in the 1990s, this Nobel Prize winner describes a city's social order that disintegrates as a curious contagion infects its population. As cases spiral out of control, food runs scarce, and criminals exploit the chaos, the militant state heightens surveillance and set up quarantines to try and maintain order. 

At the heart of Blindness is our refusal to see the violence and heartlessness that already exist in our society. Saramago is a famous allegorist, and he’s at his best in this work: with his unique style and resounding imagery, he emphasizes this harsh reality, and makes note of the importance of solidarity and compassion in dire situations.

7. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

In this disturbing world, youth alienation manifests in a much more dramatic manner than heavy metal rock laden with angst. Indeed, our protagonist, Alex, bonds with his rebellious friends by means of vandalism and atrocious crimes. As his parents and social institutions attempt to stop and help him, Alex begins to adopt a different view of his friends and the isolating culture that he has grown up in. 

Full of violence, psychological manipulation, and a secret language made up of Shakespearian and Russian loanwords, A Clockwork Orange is not the easiest read. Burgess’s system of elaborate slang may have been genius, but his hauntingly powerful descriptions of brutality aren’t exactly pleasant, and made the book rather controversial. Nonetheless, the exploration of youth’s dissatisfaction with what society expected from them, evident at the time of the book’s publication, is still magnificent and incredibly timely. 

8. The Children of Men by P.D. James

Set in 2021, James’s 1992 novel speaks of another society broken by infertility. As the last people to be born on Earth get killed in a pub fight and the world falls into disorder with no future for humanity, historian Theo Faron finds himself caught in a political fight with his dictatorial cousin, Xan. But then the struggles take a new turn when Theo finds out that there may be some hope for a future after all. 

The Children of Men provides a different vision of the end of humankind — one that’s not caused by a holocaust or an ice age, but rather by something much more gradual and believable. While our 2020 (fortunately!) doesn’t seem to be leading us to the death of our species, the suspenseful journey of Theo Faron may shock you with how close we are to the problem of depopulation. 

9. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick’s acclaimed novel transports its readers to a post-apocalyptic world in which conditions on Earth have been made unlivable by natural disasters. As a result, we see the rise of artificial creatures that resemble organic creatures, which include humanoids. A bounty hunter receives an order to kill six of these androids, who he now must identify among the actual humans. 

Action-packed and full of intriguing worldbuilding — from bizarre psychological tests to see if a human is indeed an android to social status determined by the collection of naturally bred animals — this novel will leave readers reeling. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? proves to be a loaded question, prodding us to think about what makes us human and what AI technology has in store for humanity. 

10. The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard

In the year 2145, the world sweats as global warming takes over, flooding cities and mutating animals into beasts. As civilization becomes ravaged by these prehistoric creatures, Dr Robert Kerans and his team venture into newly uncharted territory to research the now-wild world. 

Published in 1962, The Drowned World is one of the earliest works of “cli-fi” (climate fiction) written. This adventurous novel takes us on a journey into the new unknown, where territories that we once built are morphed into sweltering tropical labyrinths. Yet it’s more than a mere adventure: Ballard’s plot is ultimately a clever Trojan Horse to discover the implications of this grisly possibility and the psychological effects that it has on humans. 

11. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

In a glimmering glass city of the distant future, humans live like androids — emotionless, passionless, and nameless. Each human is identified by number and only one of them, mathematician D-503, seems to realize that he can do things and think about things differently. As he discovers his own feelings through his relationships with others, readers learn more about the odd conventions of this totalitarian system — and the consequences of defying it. 

If the plot of this book sounds familiar to you, that’s because it was the inspiration for many subsequent acclaimed dystopian novels, such as Nineteen Eighty-four and Brave New World . Published in 1921, it was an absolute trailblazer for this genre. Beyond its originality, We  also shines in its prose — its purposefully abrupt sentences and dry language emphasizes both the squarish quality of the mathematician narrator and the colorlessness of the world he lives in.

12. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

At the beginning of Never Let Me Go , we meet a caretaker in her thirties who reminisces about her school days as she runs into her old classmates. While this sounds like it could be just another young adult book mistakenly added to a list of dystopian novels, don’t be fooled: as we sink deeper into Kathy H.’s memories, elements of an unconventional and alarming society will emerge. 

Guiding through the entire maze is Ishiguro’s simple but emotive writing, which captures the eternal question of morality in an age of rapidly developing medical technology. And Never Let Me Go ’s setting in the 1980s, rather than the distant future, gives the story an eerie sense of reality — easily driving Ishiguro’s commentary home.

13. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven hops back and forth between the timelines of several key characters: a dead actor, his first wife, the paparazzi who tried to save him, his close friend, and a young aspiring actress who witnessed his death. As if that’s not enough, their lives were also disrupted by a deadly flu that’s wiped most of civilization out of existence. 

In this popular recent novel, Emily St. John Mandel explores the meaning of humanity by stripping away all the conditions that made it what it is. Rather than surprising you with fantastical mutations, Station Eleven leaves a deep impression on you by showing you what extreme conditions can do to human beings. Indeed, the depth of imagination and care in Mandel’s worldbuilding — what people remember, what survives of the old world, and what must be drastically adapted — gives this dystopian novel the uncanny cadence of a nonfiction account, as if she’s observed it all firsthand.

14. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

This classic (which you can now listen to !) tells the story of a Victorian scientist who tests his time machine and travels to the far-off future, where he finds a carefree world occupied by childlike people. The scientist spends some time uncovering the development of humankind before returning to where he parked his Time Traveller — only to realize it is gone. As his adventure continues, the grim underbelly of this seemingly indulgent future comes to light. 

As one of the first sci-fi works ever written, The Time Machine will take you on a wild ride without a particularly convoluted plot line ( just a very well-executed twist ). In a nutshell, this brilliantly simple story allows the hallmark commentary of late Victorian literature on duality and societies’ dark undersides to shine through.

15. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake tracks two friends, Jimmy and Crake, who happen to stumble upon the dark side of the Internet in their teenage years: a simple act fuelled by youthful curiosity that would change their lives forever. In their adult years, the world’s population takes a nosedive after an odd pandemic strikes, and survivors desire to create genetically “better” humans. At the center of these technological developments is Crake, now a grown scientist, and Jimmy. 

Very different from Atwood’s popular totalitarian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale , this first installation of The MaddAddam Trilogy is as much a tale of the rippling effects of childhood experiences as it is a warning against gene modification. Atwood’s striking writing fleshes out these dynamics with such depth that it will leave you  both awed and disturbed by how plausible these frightful developments seem to be. 

16. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Returning to the theme of life under totalitarian states, we have Katniss Everdeen’s rise to stardom in a horrific reality TV show called The Hunger Games. If you’re not already familiar, this involves two people from each District of the country being randomly picked out, brought together, and forced to kill each other in what is essentially a massive and deadly obstacle course — only one can emerge victorious, all for the sake of the upper class’s entertainment. 

This gripping survival story, also one in a series of three, became a pop culture phenomenon almost immediately after its publication in 2008. Beyond portraying a twisted, hierarchical society, The Hunger Games is about finding a way to rise above difficulties and the absurd ignorance that people may have for others’ suffering.

17. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

In Parable of the Sower ’s grim and disorderly vision of the future, climate catastrophe leads to scarce resources and global anarchy, sparing only a few gated neighborhoods such as the one in which Lauren Olamina lives. Yet even the safety of her community will come under threat, as Lauren and her family try to prop up whatever’s left of civilization’s moral order. 

Parable of the Sower obliterates all traces of a functioning society, leaving behind profound sorrow, but still honing in on the hope that one can still experience in such a situation. Even though it is told through Lauren’s youthful voice, the emotional depth explored makes the story hauntingly mature. 

18. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Plunging the world into a technological dark age after the collapse of civilization, The Chrysalids shows us what remains after the storm — a small community driven by the belief that only by maintaining strict normalcy can they avoid God’s punishment (unlike their predecessors). Subsequently, they become eugenicists, killing or sending “mutant” humans into the unknown. At the heart of this community is David, son to a devout man and authority figure, and his own secret mutation. 

Though dissimilar to Wyndham’s other sci-fi creations, this is often considered his best book. Fast-paced, suspenseful, and insightful in its reflection of social exclusion and discrimination, The Chrysalids is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

19. The Giver by Lois Lowry

You likely know this one already. In case you’re not familiar, let’s do a quick recap: The Giver is the story of a teenage boy, Jonas, who grew up in a utopia where everyone is content with their routines and colorless world — including Jonas. But all of this changes when he is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory, a role where he is to know all that others have forgotten. So begins a journey in which Jonas discovers hard truths about his world and must somehow come to terms with them. 

Though this beloved coming-of-age story is a shorter read when compared to other sci-fi and dystopian novels, it packs a powerful message. Lowry vividly takes the readers through the innocent internal dilemmas of a growing boy, highlighting the struggle to choose between individual freedom and security.

20. The Power by Naomi Alderman

Five thousand years into the future, the world is dominated by women, and a male author pens a work of historical fiction detailing how this matriarchy came to be — creating a meta book-within-a-book that allows Alderman to slyly comment on men’s perception of this change. The origin story itself, which is sparked by women’s sudden possession of electrical superpowers, is set in the 21st century, intertwining the stories of many different women from different parts of the world who cultivate this power to turn the tables against those who have been stifling them. 

If you go into this book expecting a gender equality utopia, you will be disappointed. At its heart, The Power is as much a book about systematic inequality as it is about women’s plight. The narrative’s unique concept explores the complexity and difficulty that the characters with superpowers have, and ultimately issues a warning against going too far on our quest to redress an imbalance. 

21. The Stand by Stephen King

From the pen of master story-teller Stephen King comes this horrific tale of good and evil, of humanity and chaos in a broken world. This enduring fantasy novel is the account of the 1% — specifically, their odysseys after the accidental unleashing of a lethal biological weapon.As mayhem rages across the world, survivors have to build a new order for themselves while avoiding infection. But two distinct groups, with different supernatural abilities, come to two drastically different conclusions about how society should go on, eventually confronting each other as their stories converge.

King’s skillful narration takes readers of The Stand on a roller coaster ride as they explore the pains of the characters’ losses, as well as their hopes for a better tomorrow.

22. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin’s powerful book tells the story of physicist Shevek on two wildly different (but parallel!) planets: he hails from the anarchic planet called Anarres, but ends up on the capitalist world of Uras. The two stories set in these different places and times are told alternately as we discover the strange features of their polar-opposite worlds. 

Though The Dispossessed is part of a series of seven books, it can definitely be enjoyed on its own. Interestingly, it is actually a utopian novel which explores and contrasts the freedoms of an anarchic society to the constraints of a capitalist one. Nonetheless, Le Guin’s utopia has been described as “ambiguous,” suggesting that there’s more than what’s on the surface — you’ll have to judge for yourself. 

23. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

This Japanese thriller novel is about a group of teenagers who are forced onto an island with nothing but weapons, and are expected to kill each other until only one survives — all as a part of a military training program. As chaos ensues, Shuya Nanahara decides to protect his friends rather than abide by this gruesome playbook… but the dark side of a fascist Japan becomes clearer with every passing day that this teenager defies the militant state. 

Though Battle Royale ’s grisly plot line kept it from being published right away, it enjoyed great success once it was printed, and continues to be a cult favorite to this day. (And if the plot sounds similar to The Hunger Games , that’s because Suzanne Collins was inspired by Takami’s ingenious story — all the more reason for you to pick it up!) 

24. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

In this bizarrely intriguing version of the future, an unknown city is ruled by a ginormous bear. If that’s not strange enough for you, get this: there’s an eccentric organism called Borne tangled in the grizzly’s fur. That fact only comes to light through Rachel, a girl who makes a living out of scavenging for products made by a biotech firm called the Company — which is how she stumbled upon Borne in the first place.

The resulting topsy-turvy literary sci-fi novel, Borne , brings the ecologically ravaged world to readers in the most unconventional way. It may take a while to get into Vandemeer’s writing, but the story that awaits is well worth your time. 

25. The Iron Heel by Jack London

The Iron Heel ’s realm is one in which the long-drawn socialist revolution had succeeded, and totalitarian states reign across the globe. In the US, the Oligarchy runs the show in the name of equality, although the reality of its governance proves to be very different. In a metafictional touch, the readers learn of the origins and problems of this world through the discovery of an autobiography manuscript written in the 1930s. 

First printed in 1908, this book impresses not only because it was among the first dystopian fiction ever published, but also because of its uncanny predictive power. While there is no Oligarchy running the White House now, hats off to Jack London and his interpretation of political developments, which were actually not far off from what the world ended up going through in the 20th century.

26. Saga of the Nine: Origins by Kawika Miles

In this new American dystopian, we follow both Jax, a lowly mill worker in an unnamed tyrannical future, and Mica Rouge, a veteran watching his country being torn apart in a not-too-distant time. In a war across time, both men are pulled into a fight against the Nine, the Ordean Reich, and their dystopian designs for not only the United States, but the world.

In this debut novel by American author Kawika Miles, readers will find themselves in a refreshing take on the dystopian genre. While the world Miles creates is rampant with your typical themes of censorship, corruption, rebellion, and tyranny, characters are rife with internal conflict due to the violence, betrayal, and dishonor within factions and amongst apparent comrades.

27. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Following unreliable narrator Billy Pilgrim, who flits back and forth between the memory of his service during World War II and his years after repatriating to America, Slaughterhouse-Five is clearly the story of a man driven to the brink by violence. Billy’s life becomes even more unbelievable when he gets abducted by an outer-space race whose conception of time and death eerily reflects the inhumane sentiments he encountered during the war. 

Though its plot might be a little mind-bending, Slaughterhouse-Five discusses the same questions of morality and materialism at its core. What really stands out is Vonnegut’s decision to let his character look back in time, which reminds us that dealing with the past is as big a part of progressing as searching for the future.

28. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Many are probably familiar with this classic from their middle school years: they make us learn it for a reason! But let’s run through it: a wartime evacuation flight crash-lands on a deserted island, leaving only a gang of preadolescent boys as its survivors. This band of ragtag boys are forced to organize themselves in order to survive. Meanwhile, their mini-society exposes the true horror at the heart of humanity. Lord of the Flies compresses the trials of growing up into a single event, thus accentuating the devastating consequences of a world that is selfish and without orders. 

29. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

In Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One , teenager Wade Watts joins an Easter egg hunt in the virtual world of his gaming community, hoping to reap its hefty rewards: the inheritance of both the company that produced the game and the fortunes of its creator. But what were once just virtual fights become very real as players battle each other for this unbelievable prize. 

Reader Player One intrigues on several counts — firstly, in the portrayal of the increasingly unequal world in which Wade lives; and secondly, in the book’s advanced technology, which is actually not far from our own. Cline’s work duly reminds us of how blurred the line between reality and virtuality is becoming, and how that may also be seen as a way to blur crucial social divides.

30. The Wall by John Lanchester

The Change has flooded the world — leaving Joseph Kavanagh’s island nation to build a wall to protect itself from the tide and asylum seekers who deemed “the Others.” Joseph’s job as a Defender is to keep these people out, although there are moments where he comes to question this task. 

Rightly called the “ dystopian fable for our time ” for its handling of immigration and xenophobia, this novel touches on all of the most urgent issues currently flooding our media. Most noteworthy is The Wall ’s ability to show what may be waiting for us several decades down the line, forcing us to take stock of the vulnerability of humans in the face of nature.

If suspenseful novels are your cup of tea, check out this list of the best ones here ! Or if you’d like some food for thought but are short on time, have a quick look at these super short stories . 

Continue reading

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best books of 2022

"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin.

"I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy.

"Black Cake" os Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel and one of the best of the year.

"Our Missing Hearts" by Celeste Ng (author of "Little Fires Everywhere").

"Carrie Soto Is Back" by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

A Bookworm’s 5 Favorite Books of 2022

Memoirs, dystopian fiction, and coming-of-age stories that stick with you.

best new dystopian novels 2022

I spent more time than ever reading books in 2022. I even achieved my Reading Challenge goal on Goodreads this year. And after reading a massive mix of historical and dystopian fiction, memoirs, and thrillers, I found that just five books stayed with me.

Whether you’re looking for a powerful memoir, epic coming-of-age stories, or dystopian fiction, these are some of the best books published in 2022.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow best books

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow  by Gabrielle Zevin

From the author of “The Storied Life of A.J. Firky” comes a  New York Times Best Seller about two friends who start a video game company. The story follows Sam and Sadie over three decades, beginning with their initial meeting as children in a hospital. Sam is a patient and Sadie is there for her sister. The two bond over video games and don’t see each other for another six years after a falling out. Meeting again in Boston, the two create a hit video game that leads to years of fame and tragedy that often comes with success. It was my favorite book of the year.

I'm Glad My Mom Died best books

I’m Glad My Mom Died  by Jennette McCurdy

Former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy adds her unique spin on the memoir genre with her debut book, “I’m Glad My Mom Died.” The story begins with her mother encouraging her to become an actress at age 6 — something that McCurdy didn’t really want to do, but she would do anything to make her mother happy. In the following years, she holds nothing back while recounting the calorie restrictions, makeovers, and more toxic behaviors her mother forced on her. These actions lead McCurdy to deal with eating disorders, addictions, and more into her young adulthood. When her mother dies of cancer, she decides to quit acting, get help, and take back her own life.

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Black Cake  by Charmaine Wilkerson

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is an incredible historical fictitious story following a brother and sister after the death of their mother. When Eleanor Bennett (mother of Byron and Benny) dies, she leaves behind two things — a black cake and a voice recording. The two siblings then must listen to a story about a young swimmer who escapes her island home as she is suspected of murder. Suddenly, Byron and Benny realize that they hardly knew their mother at all and begin to piece back together their own relationship.

Our Missing Hearts best books

Our Missing Hearts  by Celeste Ng

Author of “Little Fires Everywhere” Celeste Ng, “ Our Missing Hearts ” tells the story of 12-year-old Bird Gardner and the search for his Chinese American mother who suddenly left three years ago. Bird and his father live a simple life in a university apartment building, as his father shelves books at the library. The story takes place in an alternate universe where years earlier a mysterious economic crisis plagued the country. China was blamed and now any pro-China, or un-American views are punished. Parents that show unpatriotic views are eventually separated from their children, who are given new foster homes. Bird’s mother, Margaret, is a poet whose poem unexpectedly became an inspiration for revolt. When a mysterious letter arrives addressed to Bird, he must figure out where his mother is, find her, and ultimately discover what she has been doing the past three years.

Carrie Soto is Back

Carrie Soto is Back  by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From the writer of “Daisy Jones and The Six” comes a drama about a 37-year-old tennis player and her comeback to professional tennis. Carrie Soto has been determined to be the greatest of all time in women’s tennis since she was a young girl. Her father, a former champion in men’s tennis, has trained her entire life. After an injury that takes her out of the game for six years, Soto returns to take back her record that a younger player, Nicki Chan, has recently claimed. She retrains and begins her comeback in the major tennis grand slams, ending with the epic finale at the U.S. Open in New York.

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The best science fiction books of 2022: Uncertainty, dystopia and hope

Uncertainty and crisis are key to this year's best sci-fi offerings, from Janelle Monáe's The Memory Librarian to Ray Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea

By Sally Adee

30 November 2022

Robot-child reading a book in the workshop of its creator; Shutterstock ID 289821398; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Shutterstock/Vasilyev Alexandr

EVERY era of science fiction reflects its times. Iconic 1950s sci-fi was all lone male heroes and alien encounters. In 2022, uncertainty and fluidity rule, as we struggle to find a way out of a polycrisis of our own making, armed only with hope. Buckle up for the year’s best sci-fi.

“We already believed in the infinite web, so why not hard-wire an eye to each of its strands?” And that is how a fascist AI called New Dawn takes over in Janelle Monáe’s The Memory Librarian (Harper Collins, pictured above) . …

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The 19 best science fiction books of 2022 so far, according to Goodreads

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

  • Science fiction is a wide genre that includes dystopias, space epics , and apocalyptic fiction.
  • We turned to Goodreads to rank the best new science fiction books of 2022.
  • For more great novels, check out the best books of 2022 so far .

Insider Today

Science fiction stories have been entertaining readers for decades , from iconic reads like "Jurassic Park" to epic space adventures that take us across galaxies, through time, and in between dimensions. Science fiction classics will always have a place in readers' hearts, but new science fiction releases offer more and more mind-bending dystopias, speculations, and unique beings beyond our wildest imaginations. 

Goodreads is the world's largest platform for readers to rate, review, and recommend their favorite books, so we turned to Goodreads reviewers to rank the best new science fiction releases of 2022. These titles are ranked by how often they've been added to readers' "Want to Read" shelves and had to have been published this year to make the list.

The 19 best science fiction books of 2022 so far, according to Goodreads:

"the school for good mothers" by jessamine chan.

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan, available at Amazon and Bookshop ,  from $18.19 

With over 21,000 ratings on Goodreads, "The School for Good Mothers" is the most popular science fiction novel amongst Goodreads reviewers so far in 2022. Though Frida Liu is already struggling in nearly every aspect of her life, everything gets monumentally worse when a lapse in judgment leaves her in the hands of a Big Brother-like institution that will determine whether or not Frida is a "good" mother and thus, whether or not she is worthy of keeping her daughter.

"Sea of Tranquility" by Emily St. John Mandel

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Sea of Tranquility" by Emily St. John Mandel , available at Amazon and Bookshop ,  from $16.25 

Readers are loving Emily St. John Mandel's latest release, an expansive story of three people in vastly different situations across time and space, from the Canadian wilderness in 1912 to an Earthly book tour in the 22nd century to a detective sent to investigate an anomaly but discovers much more. From the bestselling author of " Station Eleven ," "Sea of Tranquility" is a playfully dynamic novel that begins with quickly shifting timelines but transforms into a masterful and gripping narrative.

"How High We Go in the Dark" by Sequoia Nagamatsu

best new dystopian novels 2022

"How High We Go in the Dark" by Sequoia Nagamatsu , available at Amazon and Bookshop ,  from $17.99 

In 2030, researchers discover the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who seems to have died of an ancient virus, accidentally unleashing a plague that will devastate and reshape humanity for generations. Told in a series of intricate and interwoven stories, readers love the compassionate and ambitious nature of this 2022 release.

"The Candy House" by Jennifer Egan

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Candy House" by Jennifer Egan, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $19.69

Own Your Unconscious is a revolutionary technology that allows people to access, download, and share every memory they've ever had. Though some have embraced the technology wholeheartedly, others see its greatest consequences. Told through a collection of linked narratives across different lives, families, and decades, "The Candy House" offers an intriguing science fiction novel about humanity's need for connection.

"The Kaiju Preservation Society" by John Scalzi

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Kaiju Preservation Society" by John Scalzi, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $21.99

From the author of the bestselling "Interdependency" series comes a new standalone novel set in New York City at the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Jamie makes a food delivery to an old acquaintance, he's pulled into what he's told is an "animal rights organization," though the animals are not from our Earth. Now part of the Kaiju Preservation Society, Jamie discovers the dinosaur-like creatures that roam an alternate, human-free dimension of Earth in this new novel that's an exciting mix of science fiction, fantasy, adventure, and comedy.

"Tell Me an Ending" by Jo Harkin

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Tell Me an Ending" by Jo Harkin, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $23.35

"Tell Me an Ending" follows four characters who are part of thousands across the world that have just learned they once chose to have a memory removed, but now have the opportunity to get it back. As psychologist Noor works to reinstate people's lost memory, she digs deeper into the technology in this speculative, dystopian sci-fi novel about the consequences of forgetting. 

"Dead Silence" by S.A. Barnes

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Dead Silence" by S.A. Barnes, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $20.59

When Claire Kovalik and her crew pick up a strange distress signal in space, they find the Aurora, a luxury space-liner that famously disappeared on its maiden voyage over 20 years ago. As they begin to investigate, this fast-paced sci-fi horror novel unfolds with paranormal elements and terrifying turns in a story that's been described as "The Titanic" meets "The Shining."

"The Paradox Hotel" by Rob Hart

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Paradox Hotel" by Rob Hart, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $20.49

In The Paradox Hotel, the super-rich gather before and after their time-traveling trips at the nearby timeport. As head of security for the hotel and former security for the US government's time travel organization, January Cole is puzzled why she can see what others can't, though her mental state and grip on reality are rapidly declining from traveling so drastically through time. When dark secrets and a possible killer emerge, January must uncover what is happening and why as her past, present, and future collide. 

"The Starless Crown" by James Rollins

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Starless Crown" by James Rollins, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $17.10

In this first book of a new science fiction/adventure series, a gifted young student foretells an apocalyptic future, for which she is sentenced to death. On the run with a banded team of outcasts including a soldier, a prince, and a thief, she must work with the others to uncover the dark secrets of the past to save the future of their world.

"Goliath" by Tochi Onyebuchi

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Goliath" by Tochi Onyebuchi, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $18.59

Set in 2050, "Goliath" explores a slowly emptying futuristic Earth where the wealthy have abandoned the planet in favor of space colonies, leaving the less fortunate to fend for themselves in a rapidly deteriorating landscape. This speculative, literary science fiction novel features several narratives in a story about race, class, and gentrification.

"Hunt the Stars" by Jessie Mihalik

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Hunt the Stars" by Jessie Mihalik, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.29

Desperately in need of enough credits to keep her crew together, bounty hunter Octavia Zarola agrees to take a job from her sworn enemy, Torran Fletcher, even though he insists on taking his crew along as well. As the crews set out on the hunt, Octavia begins to suspect a deeper, more sinister plot in which she may be a pawn, leaving her to decide where her loyalties lie.

"End of the World House" by Adrienne Celt

best new dystopian novels 2022

"End of the World House" by Adrienne Celt, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $25.49

In Paris on a last-hurrah friends' trip before an upcoming move, Bertie and Kate are offered a private tour of the Louvre by a strange man and soon find themselves alone in the museum. When the two get separated, Bertie finds herself in the middle of a strange mystery that forces her to confront the control she has over her own life in this genre- and mind-bending story set in a world on the edge of an apocalypse.

"The Memory Librarian" by Janelle Monáe

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Memory Librarian" by Janelle Monáe, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $19.65

"The Memory Librarian" is a collection of science fiction short stories that bring one of Janelle Monáe's albums to life with stories of liberation in a futuristic, totalitarian landscape. In collaboration with other talented writers, the themes of this read are expressed in stories of technology, memory, queerness, race, and love.

"City of Orange" by David Yoon

best new dystopian novels 2022

"City of Orange" by David Yoon, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $27

Loved for its character-driven narrative, "City of Orange" is the story of a man who wakes up in an apocalyptic, desolate landscape with only injuries and vague memories to guide him forward. As he tries to survive, the man encounters a young boy who seems to be the key to understanding where he is, how he got there, and what really happened. 

"The Blood Trials" by N.E. Davenport

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Blood Trials" by N.E. Davenport, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $25.49

When Ikenna's grandfather, the former Legatus, is murdered, she is certain that someone on the Tribunal ordered his death and is determined to uncover who. To get closer to the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials, a brutal and violent initiation with a staggering mortality rate, and faces unprecedented dangers and prejudices, all for the chance of justice.

"Light Years From Home" by Mike Chen

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Light Years From Home" by Mike Chen, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $21.10

15 years ago, Evie and Kass's dad and brother disappeared on a camping trip and though their father returned days later, convinced he'd been abducted by aliens, their brother remained missing. Evie never stopped searching for Jakob, so when her UFO network discovers a new event, she investigates and discovers her brother has finally returned — and has the FBI close on his tail.

"The Impossible Us" by Sarah Lotz

best new dystopian novels 2022

"The Impossible Us" by Sarah Lotz, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.99

In this science-fiction love story, Nick and Bee's paths cross over a misdirected email and sparks fly as they continue to send messages back and forth. When they decide to meet in person, nothing goes according to plan and it seems Nick and Bee are impossibly farther apart than they could have imagined. 

"Mickey7" by Edward Ashton

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Mickey7" by Edward Ashton, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $23.07

Mickey7 is an Expendable, an entirely disposable and replaceable person sent on a dangerous expedition to colonize Niflheim, ready to be replaced once again the moment this iteration of himself dies. When Mickey7 goes missing on a mission, his colony has already replaced him with a new clone, Mickey8. Knowing he'll be thrown in the recycler if his clone is discovered, Mickey7 must keep their existence a secret as the threat of native species and unsuitable human conditions on Niflheim threaten everyone's survival.

"Primitives" by Erich Krauss

best new dystopian novels 2022

"Primitives" by Erich Krauss, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $20.66

Set 30 years after The Great Fatigue ended most of humanity and left the human race in a primitive state, two people make shocking and gruesome discoveries a world apart. As Seth and Sarah find themselves in a deadly race to save humanity against fear, reality, and other survivors, their fates will intertwine in this new post-apocalyptic tale.

best new dystopian novels 2022

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Post Apocalyptic Media

2023 Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian Books

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Don't even think about sharing this article.

Looking to expand your TBR (“To Be Read”) list for 2023? Here are some upcoming post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels coming out in the new year!  

Below are the synopses and release dates for these titles (in alphabetical order). This isn’t a definitive list, as most publishers only have the first few months of 2023 on their websites at the moment, but it’s a great start! There is a huge variety of sub-genres, from eco-fiction to horror to LBGTQ to literary fiction to romance to thriller! Which of these are you the most interested in?  

By Mary Baader Kaley

New Adult – Dystopian 

Releasing January 10, 2023, from Angry Robot

best new dystopian novels 2022

In the far-future aftermath of a genetic plague that separated human society into two different groups – sickly yet super-intelligent Subterraneans and healthy but weak-minded Omniterraneans – a brilliant Subter girl is tasked with fixing the broken genetic code to reunite the two groups in the next generation.

But when a newer plague turns fatal for the surface-dwelling Omnits, the only group able to reproduce (giving birth to both Subter and Omnit children), Zuzan must find a cure or humanity won’t simply remain divided, it will become extinct.

But there’s more conflict at hand than a broken genetic code. The fragile connection between Subters and Omnits has frayed to the point of breaking – to the point of war – and it will take more than genius to repair; it will take heart.

Pre-Order here . 

by Michelle Min Sterling

Climate Disaster – Thriller

Releasing April 4, 2023, from Atria Books

best new dystopian novels 2022

In the far north of Canada sits Camp Zero, an American building project hiding many secrets.

Desperate to help her climate-displaced Korean immigrant mother, Rose agrees to travel to Camp Zero and spy on its architect in exchange for housing. She arrives at the same time as another newcomer, a college professor named Grant who is determined to flee his wealthy family’s dark legacy. Gradually, they realize that there is more to the architect than previously thought, and a disturbing mystery lurks beneath the surface of the camp. At the same time, rumors abound of an elite group of women soldiers living and working at a nearby Cold War-era climate research station. What are they doing there? And who is leading them?

An electrifying page-turner where nothing is as it seems, Camp Zero cleverly explores how the intersection of gender, class, and migration will impact who and what will survive in a warming world.

Pre-Order here .

Five Years After  (A John Matherson Novel (Volume 4)

by William R. Forstchen

Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

Releasing Aug 22, 2023, from MacMillan 

best new dystopian novels 2022

Five years after the EMP strike that fractured the United States, in the  New York Times  bestselling novel  One Second After , John Matherson is teaching at Montreat, attempting to lead a quiet life when he receives the news that President Bob Scales has mysteriously died. The Republic of New America has all but collapsed into regional powers, and the world at large is struggling to remain stable as regional conflicts ravage the post EMP landscape.

Suspecting assassination, John is pulled back into the fray as he joins the struggle to hold the tottering Republic together, while facing threats on multiple fronts. When another EMP is set off over the Eastern states, years of progress are put in peril. With so much of his work undone, John must find the strength within to start over, so that he can save the country and the people that he holds dear from even greater calamity.

Pre-order here .

Frontier 

by Grace Curtis

LGBTQ+ Western Romance

Release Feb 14, 2023, from Solaris Press

best new dystopian novels 2022

What passes for justice is presided over by the High Sheriff, and carried out by his cruel and ruthless Deputy.

Then a ship falls from the sky, bringing the planet’s first visitor in three hundred years. This Stranger is a crewmember on the first ship in centuries to attempt a return to Earth and save what’s left. But her escape pod crashes hundreds of miles away from the rest of the wreckage.

The Stranger finds herself adrift in a ravaged, unwelcoming landscape, full of people who hate and fear her space-born existence. Scared, alone, and armed, she embarks on a journey across the wasteland to return to her ship, her mission, and the woman she loves.

Fusing the fire and brimstone of the American Old West with sprawling post-apocalyptic science fiction, FRONTIER is a heartfelt queer romance in a high noon standoff set against the backdrop of our planet’s uncertain future.

by E.A. Field 

Paranormal Thriller – Zombies

Releasing July 14, 2023, from Rising Action

best new dystopian novels 2022

Nora Grace Moon thought her toughest challenge this semester would be managing her OCD, but when her deceased roommate turns up as a reanimated corpse, her world starts to collapse. 

When her uncle sends her a cryptic message, Nora realizes it must be a call for help. She reaches out to fellow gamer Wesley for advice, a US Marshal with real-life skills for tactical survival not just in-game. They venture out into a world that is growing more and more deadly by the moment—not only are the undead spreading, but other humans are taking advantage of the societal breakdown. And unknown to Nora and Wesley, they have been targeted by an ancient archeological society who will stop at nothing until they have what Nora has: an artifact that will unleash a new world order of the undead.

IRL is a paranormal thriller about leaving the online world and dealing with things “In Real Life.”

Add it on Goodreads.

The Light at the End of the World 

by Siddhartha Deb 

Literary Fiction (with an apocalyptic element)

Releasing May 30, 2023, from Soho Press

best new dystopian novels 2022

Delhi, the near future: a former journalist goes in search of answers after she finds herself stripped of identity and citizenship and thrust into a vast conspiracy involving secret detention centers, government-sanctioned murders, online rage, nationalist violence, and a figure of shifting identifies known as the “New Delhi Monkey Man.”

Bhopal, 1984: an assassin hunts a whistleblower through a central Indian city that will shortly be the site of the worst industrial disaster in the world’s history.

Calcutta, 1947: a veterinary student’s life and work connect him to an ancient Vedic aircraft.

And in 1859, a detachment of British soldiers rides towards the Himalayas in search of the last surviving leader of an anti-colonial rebellion.

These timelines interweave to form a kaleidoscopic, epic novel in which each section is a pursuit, centered around a character who must find or recover crucial but hidden truths in their respective time. The Light at the End of the World , Siddhartha Deb’s first novel in fifteen years, is a magisterial work of shifting forms, reminiscent of Cloud Atlas and Underworld .

The Marigold 

by Andrew F. Sullivan 

Releasing April 18, 2023, from ECW Press

best new dystopian novels 2022

The Marigold, a gleaming Toronto condo tower, sits a half-empty promise: a stack of scuffed rental suites and undelivered amenities that crumbles around its residents as a mysterious sludge spreads slowly through it. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates this toxic mold as it infests the city’s infrastructure, rotting it from within, while Sam “Soda” Dalipagic stumbles onto a dangerous cache of data while cruising the streets in his Camry, waiting for his next rideshare alert. On the outskirts of downtown, 13-year-old Henrietta Brakes chases a friend deep underground after he’s snatched into a sinkhole by a creature from below.

All the while, construction of the city’s newest luxury tower, Marigold II, has stalled. Stanley Marigold, the struggling son of the legendary developer behind this project, decides he must tap into a hidden reserve of old power to make his dream a reality — one with a human cost.

Weaving together disparate storylines and tapping into the realms of body horror, urban dystopia, and ecofiction, The Marigold explores the precarity of community and the fragile designs that bind us together.

Moths 

by Jane Hennigan 

Dystopian thriller 

Originally self-published, now releasing March 14, 2023, from Angry Robot 

best new dystopian novels 2022

But humanity, as it does, adapted and moved on. Now a matriarchal society reigns and men are kept in specially treated dust-free facilities for their safety, never able to return to the outside.

Mary has settled herself into the new world, taking care of the male residents at her facility. But she is one of the few people who remembers what life was like before the change, and she is haunted daily by her memories. Of her family. Of her joy. Of him …

Now the world is quiet again, but only because secrets are kept safe in whispers. And the biggest secret of all? No one wants to live inside a cage…

Nothing but the Rain

by Naomi Salman 

Cli-Fi Novella 

Releasing March 14, 2023, from Tor Dot Com 

best new dystopian novels 2022

The rain in Aloisville is never-ending, and no one can remember when it started. There’s not much they can remember. With every drop that hits their skin, a bit of memory is washed away. Stay too long in the wet, and you’ll lose everything you used to be.

By the time Laverne begins keeping a journal, the small town she calls home has been irreparably changed. Every drop of water is dangerous, from leaky faucets to the near-constant rainfall, and a careless trip outside can mean a life down the drain. With mysterious forces preventing escape, calls for rebellion seem to be on every resident’s lips. But Laverne has no interest in fighting. She has no interest in rebellion. She just wants to survive.

Pre-order here . 

The Scriptures – End of Days

by DRGN 

Christian Apocalypse 

Releasing April 4, 2023, from Penguin Random House

best new dystopian novels 2022

Sister Maiden Monster

by Lucy A. Snyder

Post-Apocalyptic Horror 

Releasing Feb 21, 2023, by Tor Nightfire 

best new dystopian novels 2022

To survive they must evolve.

A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.

Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?

Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.

Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,” Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation … and what we become after.

Through the Aftermath 

Edited by Shawn Shuster 

Short Stories

Releasing December (2022)  

best new dystopian novels 2022

Each story in this 85,000-word anthology is a unique tale of the end times. The topics range quite a bit from anthropomorphic bounty hunters in space to dystopian mind resellers to giant mechs to the most disturbing Thanksgiving story you may ever read.

All the stories are post-apocalyptic with sub-genres covering horror, thriller, drama, suspense, comedy, dystopian sci-fi, and anything else you can imagine!

Purchase it here !

World Running Down 

By Alex Hess 

LGBTQ+ Dystopia 

Releasing Feb 14, 2023, from Angry Robot 

best new dystopian novels 2022

Valentine Weis is a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Wrestling with body dysphoria, he dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City – a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk are much less likely to be shot full of arrows by salt pirates. But earning that kind of money is a pipe dream, until he meets the exceptionally handsome Osric.

Once a powerful AI in Salt Lake City, Osric has been forced into an android body against his will and sent into the wasteland to offer Valentine a job on behalf of his new employer – an escort service seeking to retrieve their stolen androids. The reward is a visa into the city, and a chance at the life Valentine’s always dreamed of. But as they attempt to recover the “merchandise”, they encounter a problem: the android ladies are becoming self-aware, and have no interest in returning to their old lives.

The prize is tempting, but carrying out the job would go against everything Valentine stands for, and would threaten the fragile found family that’s kept him alive so far. He’ll need to decide whether to risk his own dream in order to give the AI a chance to live theirs.

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Tina S. Beier

T. S. Beier is obsessed with science fiction, the ruins of industry, and Fallout. She is the author of What Branches Grow, a post-apocalyptic novel (which was a Top 5 Finalist in the 2020 Kindle Book Awards and a semi-finalist in the 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition) and the Burnt Ship Trilogy (space opera). She is a book reviewer, editor, and freelance writer. She currently lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, two feral children, and a Shepherd-Mastiff.

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A poet’s novel of utopia shows less an ideal than, perhaps, a road map

Phillip B. Williams

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Book Review

By Phillip B. Williams Viking: 592 pages, $32 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org , whose fees support independent bookstores.

Award-winning poet Phillip B. Williams’ debut novel, “Ours,” begins with a death — and a resurrection. A 17-year-old Black boy stands up shortly after a policeman fatally shoots him, as surprised as anyone else that he’s alive. He’s surrounded by the residents of the neighborhood: “Yes, they had left something behind to stand in that street together, blocked off from touching him and told to ‘Back up,’ had it yelled at them as though they were to have as little care and consideration for the boy as the ones who had shot him.”

From this contemporary opening, Williams takes readers back in time to the 1830s, when a woman known as Saint travels around Arkansas, freeing the enslaved and indirectly killing their so-called masters. She takes them to an area near St. Louis and founds a town called Ours, which she intends to keep safe and hidden from the outside world using her conjuring powers. She’s unsure where those powers came from. There’s a lot that Saint doesn’t know, doesn’t quite remember, but what she’s convinced of is that in order to keep the townspeople, called the Ouhmey, safe, she must keep them physically nearby and emotionally at a distance, for “if there’s anything more shockingly unpredictable than freedom, it’s love.”

"Ours" by Phillip B. Williams

Saint is only one of many characters whose stories unfold over the course of this deeply absorbing novel. Others include Luther-Philip and Justice, two boys born free in Ours, whose intimacy ebbs and flows through changing times and needs; Frances, whose pronouns and gender identity vary according to the eye of the beholder; and Joy, a young woman with a taste for vengeful violence, who accompanies Frances when the boardinghouse matrons they were staying with in New Orleans are murdered. Some get less page time than others but remain important. Luther-Philip’s mother, for instance, Miss Love, leaves the stage much earlier than her husband, Miss Wife, but her absence, and the way it came about, reverberates throughout the novel. Many of the characters’ conflicts and questions are never fully resolved, but that is because “Ours” is a book that embraces mystery and the unknown, whether found in conjuring and rituals or in the vagaries of lifelong relationships.

“Ours” has a fickle relationship with linearity. (I suspect it’s no coincidence that the novel’s title and town name is a homophone of “hours.”) The town’s denizens variously pass, reject, deviate from, travel through, ignore or lose time. It’s been interesting to see, then, how shorthand attempts to describe the book have leaned into the idea of Ours being an attempt at utopia, a word that doesn’t appear in the book.

A truism of our times is that the dystopia is already here — potentially a riff on a line attributed to author William Gibson , which goes something like “The future is already here. It’s just not very evenly distributed.” Dystopian fiction, John Scalzi wrote for The Times a few years ago, “lets us simulate our worst imaginings from the private security of our own homes, the better to avoid them in the real world.” The problem, of course, is that we haven’t managed to avoid many trappings of dystopian fiction: a rapidly changing climate and its attendant human displacement ; the rise of fascist ideas and rhetoric; a seemingly ever-widening income gap ; several ongoing genocides ; billionaires building bunkers in case of some worldwide cataclysmic event. By many metrics, the dystopias we’ve been envisioning for decades no longer feel quite so escapist, nor fictional.

It’s against this background that I’ve come to notice a rise in recent fiction that explores possible utopias. Allegra Hyde’s 2022 “Eleutheria,” for example, follows its white protagonist to the titular Bahamian island and to Camp Hope, a commune attempting to address the ravages of climate change by living differently. Last year, in Gabriel Bump’s “The New Naturals,” a deeply disillusioned and grief-stricken Black couple tries to create a utopian society in a bunker in western Massachusetts, where they hope to abandon the plagues of capitalism, politics, racism and global warming. Gabrielle Korn’s “Yours for the Taking,” published in December and set in a dystopian near-future, features the troubling consequences that arise when a white girlboss billionaire decides to create a feminist utopia by cultivating a society without men, to prove that in their absence, peace and harmony will prevail.

None of these novels end up fully endorsing their various utopias, nor is that their intent. Instead, they ask tricky questions about what attempting to create an ideal society entails: What compromises of exclusion are made in the name of future equality? What fundamental human realities do we ignore in our fantasies of perfect harmony? What happens when a foundational ideology works for some but not others? Perhaps most tellingly, these books seem to conclude that it’s largely impossible to manufacture a utopia — which isn’t to say that the project is entirely unworthy, only that curation won’t be how we arrive at equality, safety and peace.

I’m wary of codifying literary trends. In part, the recognition of a trend so often depends on what subset of literature you’re looking at. Science fiction writers, for example, have long been interested in both utopias and dystopias, but those novels from Hyde, Bump and Korn were not presented strictly as science fiction. Another reason for my caution is that many “trend” labels arise from what is essentially marketing language, from book editors and publicists — such as the one who pitched “Ours” to me as being about the creation of a utopian town. For better or worse, this framing remained with me as I read the novel.

Williams writes in his author’s note at the end of the book that “Ours” is his attempt “at creating a contemporary mythology for Blackness in the United States of America.” He says he “aimed to write an epic taking place during the antebellum period where slavery is not the main antagonist without disregarding or disappearing the enslaved.” In other words, the author’s own framework doesn’t include the idea of utopia. Even so, his novel still ends up demonstrating what a utopia can look like.

Ours is a manufactured town, yes, created by Saint for the purposes of providing both safety and freedom to its people, but she refuses to be its leader, and when her meddling causes harm, she suffers consequences, losing the Ouhmey’s trust. In many ways, the 1800s Ours runs itself, without need for a mayor or a police force; it’s a communal effort whose people help one another when and as needed, even when they don’t particularly like each other. They come together to protect the town when it’s under assault, not because it’s perfect, but because it is their home, where they find joy and sorrow and love and heartbreak, where they relive the traumas of their past enslavement while also comforting one another. It is a messy utopia, unpredictable and full of conflict, which is to say it is human.

The novel’s opening indicates that the town has changed drastically in the nearly 200 years of its existence, becoming what Williams calls a hood rather than a town, suffering from the same police violence enacted against Black people all over the country, including infamously in Ferguson, Mo., a real town that like Ours sits just outside St. Louis. And yet its sense of community remains intact.

In a 2022 interview , Williams expressed his interest in navigating “the terrain of harsh realities without falling into the trap of valorizing them,” acknowledging that “rarely are moments simply pure in either direction of beautiful or ugly, peaceful or challenging.” Fictional utopias often fail because they refuse to dwell in complexity, insisting on a moral or ideological purity that ignores the lived realities of human beings and all their hurts. In this sense, “Ours,” for all its elements of magic, fantasy and mythology, is a realistic depiction of how we might arrive at utopia: through people who are always trying to become, always finding ways to navigate and survive harsh realities, always reaching for moments of joy and intimacy.

Ilana Masad is a books and culture critic and author of “All My Mother’s Lovers.”

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Mission Local

Mission Local

Local news for a global city

Q&A with Chris Carlsson, author of new dystopian sci-fi ‘When Shells Crumble’

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Chris Carlsson holding his new book When Shells Crumble, in front of San Francisco bookstore City Lights Books.

While most dystopian novels take readers to a faraway land of oppression and revolution, Mission District historian, activist, and tour guide Chris Carlsson decided to use his own city as the staging ground of his new dystopian fiction, ‘When Shells Crumble.’

The book opens in 2024 with a judicial coup: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns election results in swing states Arizona and Wisconsin, handing the White House over to a Republican president who replaces the Democratic incumbent. Mass protests follow, ending in a declaration of national emergency and three years of punishing martial law. The federal government is further eroded by a barrage of natural disasters, including heat waves, food shortages and flooding.

Carlsson also tells the story of the people surviving the city’s darkest hour through the lens of a Black San Francisco family, the Robertsons, with a 101-year-old matriarch at the head. The youngest son in the family is Frank, a cop at the University of California, San Francisco, who was drafted into the new regime’s Homeland Security strike force in his 60s; an urban farmer granddaughter, Janet, navigates the rapidly changing city.

Carlsson, a longtime Mission resident, is a local historian runs the digital archive FoundSF , a collection of historic photos and articles detailing San Francisco’s forgotten days. He is active in unearthing the city’s past for current residents, leading bike tours pointing out San Francisco’s old waterways and the scars of the 1906 earthquake . He narrowly avoided becoming part of the city’s history himself, fighting off an eviction of his entire building in 2015 .

Mission Local sat down with Chris Carlsson for a Q&A on the thinking behind his new book, “When Shells Crumble.”

Mission Local: What motivated you to write this novel? 

Chris Carlsson : I think there’s a widespread sense of doom and despair that affects any thinking person. I wanted to address some of our worst nightmares, but to do it in a way that underscores the possibilities of intervention, of people engaging and resisting and changing the course of events. Bad things still happen, but out of the gloomy trajectory, many interesting things develop — among future social movements, among characters that embody some of the basic conditions we probably can recognize in our own lives today. Like most sci-fi, it’s a commentary on what is as much as what might be. 

ML: Why did you want to write a sci-fi novel?

CC : When I think of fiction, I generally lean towards speculative fiction. I’m not much of a hard-science guy, though I appreciate it, and am endlessly curious about the human dynamics and social interactions that give rise to science, technology, ways of working and making our world, etc. And we live in a bio-medical capital in San Francisco, so recognizing how much wealth is flowing into research and development around longevity, medical care, aging and all that, combined with the endless tinkering going on out of sight from most of us, by all sorts of tech-savvy folks, it was easy to make those elements key to the story.

ML: In “When Shells Crumble,” there are several subplots. Which one is your favorite? Which one was the first to be born? And what was the process of joining them all together — did it come to you naturally, or was it planned from the start? 

CC : Good question. I started out with the Robertson clan. I spent a good long time developing their storylines, along with “Large Larry” Lansing, the big cannabis entrepreneur who strikes it rich before the story starts by helping out a biotech startup with its “Hempattery” idea. But I chopped off the first 14 chapters of the book before publishing, so a lot of that got left on the cutting-room floor. Then, I knew I wanted nature to have a voice, to be an active historical agent in its own right. It took more than a third of the book before that found its vehicle and became a driving part of the story. I was very happy with that thread by the time I was done. It’s difficult to say one or another is my favorite, but I do have a number of favorite scenes that succeeded at what I was trying to get to.

ML: How do you think your personal experience as an activist, and your understanding and engagement with the city of San Francisco as a local historian, tie into how you shape the characters — for example, the Robertson family?

CC : My depth of knowledge about San Francisco, both socially and ecologically, gives me a great foundation from which to develop characters and events. If I didn’t know so much about the city’s history, I think a certain plausibility would be lost, and certainly the geography of the city would be faulty in key ways. 

The Robertson family, for whom I provide a family tree on the first pages of the book, are in the middle of everything in the book. Not all of them, but Frank the cop and his niece, Janet, a farmer and organizer, are primary characters. I wanted Frank to be a window into the forces of repression and how there are fissures there, too, especially because of the many people of color employed in those bureaucracies. Janet and her best friend, Vero, are immediately swept up into all sorts of underground and resistance activities and, as the story progresses, we meet a lot of people, organizations, and scenarios that they are in the middle of. 

I’ve been an activist of sorts since the late 1970s (rather less active these days, though still very supportive of the ongoing protests against the Gaza genocide, against fossil fuels and the banks that sustain them, against police violence and inequality, etc..)  I’ve lived through a lot, from publishing Processed World and distributing it on the streets of the Financial District during the Reagan/Bush years, to the eruption of Critical Mass and bike politics and activism from the early 1990s through its first 20 years, to the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, to Occupy in 2011, and much in between and after. I try to incorporate a lot of those experiences in my attempts to describe how future social movements might emerge and contest far harsher conditions than we’ve had to face yet.

The Robertson clan, as a Black San Francisco family with roots in the WWII Great Migration (the 100-year-old matriarch is in the story, too), gave me a chance to appreciate the centrality of the black experience in San Francisco going back decades. When I first moved into the city (I had my teen years in Oakland), I got a place at Haight and Cole streets when the upper Haight was 50 percent boarded up and the entire length of Page Street from Golden Gate Park to Market was owned by African-Americans. I felt right at home there, having grown up adjacent to Black America in Oakland and, before that, in Chicago’s South Side. But, as the gentrification engine began grinding through the neighborhood, the demographics quickly changed and, as we know, San Francisco’s Black population has fallen dramatically (from approximately 100,000 in 1970 to about 35,000 now). So I feel that absence and wanted to bring it to the center of my book. 

ML: For a dystopian book, why did you choose to let it take place from 2024 to 2027?

CC : As I alluded to above, most people are struggling with all sorts of dark forebodings, worrying about everything from catastrophic climate collapse to a full-blown fascist takeover of the country. It all feels quite imminent. So, instead of shrugging that away, and hoping/pretending that it won’t get that bad, I went for it. Why not just let it all come at us and see how we might respond with compassion and solidarity and empathy to that?

ML: Were there any coincidences in reality as you were writing the book? 

CC : Hilariously, as I was writing about a massive atmospheric river bringing weeks of torrential rains and flooding to California, it began to happen! Last winter, as I was rolling towards the climax of the novel, I felt like I’d invoked the storms that hit us as the year turned from 2022 to 2023. 

ML: How is “When Shells Crumble” different from your previous novel, “After the Deluge? “

CC : “When Shells Crumble” was going to be the prequel to “After the Deluge,” which I wrote 20 years ago. That novel, “Deluge,” is set in the year 2157, and it portrays San Francisco as a green city utopia, plenty of everything for everyone, no scarcity to speak of, everyone works as much or as little as they like at whatever they feel like doing, there is no money, no markets and no capitalism. I wanted to describe a world that I’d rather live in than this one.

The plot, however, is driven by two young men, one a recent arrival, through whose eyes we see how this different society “works.” The other is a teenager growing up at the edge of Bernal Heights Park, who turns out to have a “thing” for fire, and we follow him as he goes around setting fires. What does utopia do with bad behavior? When there are no cops and no jails? But “Crumble” became its own book, set in the immediate future, and too far removed from the other timeline to really be a prequel. Nevertheless, I managed to include a smattering of details that readers of the first book will recognize as reappearing far in the future.

ML: Do you have any future book ideas? 

CC : Oh sure. I always have a few things on the stove. But nothing that will appear right away. There are plans for a revised 2nd edition of “Hidden San Francisco,” which unfortunately was published almost on the day the pandemic really started. So bookstore appearances, media coverage, all that was all canceled, and the book languished in the darkness imposed by Covid-19. I managed to sell several hundred copies directly, but anyway, the publisher and I are excited about an expanded 2nd edition, probably to come out in 2025. 

You can buy “When Shells Crumble’”on Chris Carlsson’s website for $25, and at San Francisco bookstores, including City Lights Books, Medicine for Nightmares, Bird and Beckett, Dog-Eared Books, Borderlands, and Bound Together Books.

Xueer is a data reporter for Mission Local through the California Local News Fellowship. Xueer is a bilingual multimedia journalist fluent in Chinese and English and is passionate about data, graphics, and innovative ways of storytelling. Xueer graduated from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism with a Master's Degree in May 2023. She also loves cooking, photography, and scuba diving.

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Ukraine, Gaza and the Long Shadow of German Guilt

In “Out of the Darkness,” Frank Trentmann details the way people in the country that started World War II are still confronting and atoning for the atrocities of their government.

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By Peter Fritzsche

Peter Fritzsche is a professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the author, most recently, of “Hitler’s First Hundred Days: When Germans Embraced the Third Reich.”

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OUT OF THE DARKNESS: The Germans, 1942-2022, by Frank Trentmann

“Stalingrad” is what Germans talked about as they settled down for coffee and cake on Sunday afternoons in the first five decades after World War II — the “bitter fate” of prisoners in Soviet camps, the five million German soldiers who lost their lives in the wider conflict, and the widows and orphans they left behind. They brought up “Dresden” and the 20 million people who had lost their homes in the Allied bombing. Almost every family told stories of one of the 12 million refugees who fled the Red Army’s advance or had been expelled from the eastern territories, from Breslau, Danzig and Königsberg. One after another, they followed paths of self-pity.

“Everything that the German Volk did to the Jews,” a liberal justice minister told an audience of Jewish attorneys in 1951, “happened to itself.” War stories gathered up victims, all of whom, on both sides, deserved “the same high degree of care,” a Bavarian assembly president insisted. Few of the Sunday coffee visitors saw Allied victory as liberation or fully recognized the grave injuries German soldiers had inflicted on Europe’s civilians across what The New York Times called “ the new dark continent .”

This attitude did not hold forever. In the remarkably rich “Out of the Darkness,” the historian Frank Trentmann tracks the “moral transformation of Germany,” from the Battle of Stalingrad in the early 1940s right through debates about Germany’s historical responsibilities in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine eight decades later. In a country where the austere concrete slabs of “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” anchor the capital complex that surrounds the old Berlin Wall, World War II casts a very long shadow.

The tense debate over whether the country that started the Second World War should send arms to Ukraine — whether it should confront Russia or appease Putin and avoid any whiff of militarism — is only one in a series of dramatic developments shaping the nation’s temper. Just this century, the country has seen the near bust-up of the European Union over Greek debt after the global financial crisis of 2008; the absorption of hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia in 2015; and the entry of the far-right Alternative for Germany into Parliament in 2017. For the last 80 years, Trentmann writes, all aspects of life from family to work to the environment have been debated in terms of right and wrong, featuring “conflicts about guilt, shame and making amends.” Paradoxically, reunification in 1990 stirred up rather than settled questions about who Germans have been and how they should shape their future.

As the damage of a lost war became clear and hunger spread, most German citizens saw their own hardship first. “In July 1946,” Trentmann notes, “the average German man in his 20s weighed 130 pounds. By February 1948, that had dropped to 114 pounds.” But the poker game of who suffered most gradually gave way to a more broad-minded accounting of responsibility and obligation. In West Germany, a massive redistribution of state resources in the early 1950s recognized the general claims of Jewish Germans and other survivors of the Holocaust. Germany’s restitution remains incomplete, but “never in the history of the world,” Trentmann emphasizes, “has a state been so generous to its victims.”

The public debate “between those clinging stubbornly to the idea” that World War II had been a “regular war,” he writes, and “those seeking to confront the past” structured civil society. By the mid-1950s, a protest culture made up of students and trade unionists opposed the establishment of a new German army and demonstrated against lenient sentences for war criminals. On Saturday mornings, information booths set up by citizen activists dotted market squares across Germany.

As Trentmann shows, the story was not the same on both sides of the wall. The construction of the wall in 1961 established a genuine East German identity, a “second birth”: Citizens adjusted their futures to the socialist project, allowing East Germans to put the past behind them and leave atonement to the capitalists in the West. East Germans joined factory brigades and tenant collectives, but mostly they “beavered away at home and in their dachas,” three million cabins for 16 million people.

Their moral stasis, kept in bounds by an extensive surveillance apparatus, would not last. By the end of the 1960s, East Germans had TVs, young people owned cameras and mopeds, and 40 percent of the population was overweight. Still, images of Western affluence remained stuck in their heads. In 1985, ninth graders in Magdeburg asked to complete an essay on “the year 2010” disclosed dreams about fancy cars and Cinderella marriages of hairdressers to bankers; only one student hoped that “everything should be as under socialism.”

When dreams did come true with reunification, former East Germans were shocked to find them tarnished by unemployment, lack of respect and a civic culture developed on the other side of the gate that was more attuned to German misdeeds than German suffering. Many young East Germans felt they had become exiles in their own country. “No work, no love, no homeland, no happiness,” Katja Kramer, a once-optimistic 36-year-old computer engineer, wrote as the wall fell and she was laid off.

Given the mixed success of reunification, Trentmann refrains from writing a happy ending in which “a nation of sinners turned into saints.” He also recognizes the costs and complexities of the quest for moral security in the East and West: the amnesty granted to German war criminals in the 1950s after the initial wave of denazification trials, the postponed engagement with the Holocaust, the ostentatious (and sometimes insidiously self-absolving) performance of the “good German.”

Nonetheless, as Trentmann captures, the post-1945 transformation has been remarkable. The willingness of Germans to open their borders to refugees — mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan — stands out. An astonishing 55 percent of the population, he observes, “helped refugees in one way or another.” One-quarter were “‘active helpers’ who accompanied refugees to doctors and the authorities, taught them German, helped with the shopping or took them along to the local sports club.” The arrival of so many new residents (in a country of 80 million) showed a clear way of being at home in the war-torn world by making new homes for others.

Of course, moral tensions still abound. Issues such as aid to Ukraine or open doors to immigrants divide Germans, especially in the East, where many see the “blossoming landscapes” they had been promised by Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1990 as invaded by “outsiders.” This is ironic, Trentmann writes, because these are the same regions that most need “to attract newcomers to survive.”

And Jews continue to remain awkwardly set apart in German society, as the response to protests against the war in Gaza has made clear. Since October last year, government agencies have restricted demonstrations and cultural institutions have rescinded awards and canceled exhibitions in an effort to penalize antisemitism, muffling pro-Palestinian voices and equating disagreement with Israel, even by Jews, with racial prejudice.

Criticism of the government of Israel, comparisons of current events with others in the Holocaust, shock at the mass death of Palestinians — none of this is self-evidently antisemitic. Nor does it constitute evasion of Germany’s crimes in the past or its responsibilities in the present. In the name of moral clarity (or perhaps simplicity), such protective measures have pressed Jews, unsurprisingly people with varied opinions, into the old monolithic category of “the Jew.”

“Out of the Darkness” usefully reveals the roots of these ethical knots. Trentmann is still hopeful that Germans can untangle them. “Time and again,” he points out, racists “have found themselves outnumbered by the tens of thousands of citizens who joined candlelit processions” against intolerance, xenophobia and assaults on democratic institutions. “There is no German identity without Auschwitz,” Joachim Gauck said in 2015, when he was the country’s president. He was taking note of a civic achievement rather than a state rule.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS : The Germans, 1942-2022 | By Frank Trentmann | Knopf | 774 pp. | $50

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the accompanying ground offensive have forced Palestinians into makeshift tents in the overcrowded territory around Rafah. Daily life is a struggle against hunger, cold and  a growing sanitation crisis .

Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said that the American government now considers new Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories to be “ inconsistent with international law ,” marking a reversal of a policy set under the Trump administration.

The main U.N. agency providing aid to Gaza’s besieged population has “reached a breaking point”  amid donors pulling funding, its leader has warned. The agency has lost $450 million in funds since allegations that some of its employees had ties to Hamas.

Stranded in Rafah: After months of telling residents in Gaza to move south for safety, Israel now says it plans to invade Rafah, the territory’s southernmost city. Two Gazans describe what it is like to live there right now .

A Father’s Heartache: Beginning in December, Mustafa Abutaha, a professor of English in Gaza who lost a son to the war, sent us dozens of voice and video messages , providing a window inside Nasser Medical Complex before it was raided by Israeli forces.

Building Political Pressure: Omer Neutra and Edan Alexander, young men from the New York area who were serving together in the Israeli military, were taken captive on Oct. 7 near Gaza. Their families now share one urgent goal : to free them.

An Arab Vision for Gaza: Mohammed Dahlan, a Palestinian exile and an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, provided some insights into what Arab governments are privately planning  for the battered enclave after the war ends.

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  6. The Best Dystopian Novels To Read Right Now

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  4. Which of These 4 Dystopian Classics is the Best?

COMMENTS

  1. Post-Apocalyptic & Dystopian Fiction

    For NEW fiction releasing in 2022. Must be Post-Apocalyptic & Dystopian Fiction Sub-types can be: EMP, solar storm, nuclear war, zombies, bioterrorism, civil war, Asteroid, etc. Please double check to see if the book is published in 2022.

  2. The Best Dystopian Books of 2022

    Amazon named Our Missing Hearts one of the best books of the year, and it was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards fiction category. The Best Philosophical Fiction of 2022 The best dystopian books of 2022, the latest annual addendum to my previous roundup list of The 110 Best Dystopian Novels.

  3. 50 Dystopian Books To Read In 2022

    1 Akira 'Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set' by Katsuhiro Otomo Amazon See On Amazon In the world of Akira, Tokyo was leveled in 1988 — an attack that set World War III in motion. Nearly 40 years...

  4. The 22 best dystopian novels to read in 2021

    Selected as one of TIME's 100 Best YA Books of All Time, "An Ember in the Ashes" uses fantasy elements to create a dystopia where all must vow allegiance to the Martial Empire and live in fear...

  5. Best Dystopia Books of 2022

    The Apocalypse War: The Bloody Fist of Justice. (The Apocalypse War #3 / 3) by John Ware. Category: Science Fiction, Dystopia. Release date: August 10, 2022. N/A. Poster Girl. by Veronica Roth. Category: Science Fiction, Dystopia.

  6. The best dystopian novels and works of fiction

    Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021), a novel by a writer drawn throughout his career to systems in mid-collapse (the English aristocracy, Japan after the surrender, 1930s Shanghai, post-Roman Britain), employs a related approach. Here, tropes familiar from dystopian SF - a future society split between a country-dwelling elite and city-locked proles, gene-editing for children, robot ...

  7. Celeste Ng's powerful new dystopian novel reflects our headlines ...

    DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Celeste Ng is best known for her 2017 bestselling novel "Little Fires Everywhere," which was set in the upscale suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio. That novel was ...

  8. Discovery: The best new Dystopian books

    Anna Varlese In a world fuelled by war and hate, can two key members of opposite sides find love? Reviewed by Sally Altass Dystopian Eudaimonia Meghan Godwin 1984 meets The Handmaid's Tale in this riveting, new dystopian novel. Reviewed by Meredith Lindsey Dystopian Primitives Erich Krauss

  9. 45 Dystopian Books Everyone Should Read in 2024: Top Dystopian Novels

    1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Hailed by the New York Times as "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction," Margaret Atwood crafted a novel that feels as relevant today as it...

  10. Best New Dystopian Books For Adults

    Sentient Lake Journey, Orphean Adventure, Societal Collapse Narrative Buy It HERE Publication Date: April 2024 Genres: Literary Fiction, Dystopian Adventure Synopsis: Leif Enger's I Cheerfully Refuse takes you on a wild sail with Rainy, our musician-turned-mariner, on a quest that's anything but ordinary.

  11. The 30 Best Dystopian Novels Everyone Should Read

    Set in a world that many of us avid readers would find nightmarish, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is the story of Guy Montag, a "fireman" who is becoming disillusioned with his job — to put it simply, he's assigned to set fire to books, rather than put fires out.

  12. The Best Books of 2022

    Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. From the author of "The Storied Life of A.J. Firky" comes a New York Times Best Seller about two friends who start a video game company ...

  13. The best science fiction books of 2022: Uncertainty ...

    Humans The best science fiction books of 2022: Uncertainty, dystopia and hope. Uncertainty and crisis are key to this year's best sci-fi offerings, from Janelle Monáe's The Memory Librarian to ...

  14. The 19 Best Science Fiction Books of 2022, According to Goodreads

    Amazon. "The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $18.19. With over 21,000 ratings on Goodreads, "The School for Good Mothers" is the most popular ...

  15. The Best Books of 2022

    The Best Books of 2022 | The New Yorker The Best Books of 2022 Each week, our editors and critics recommend the most captivating, notable, brilliant, thought-provoking, and...

  16. 23 Best Dystopian Novels for a Thought-Provoking Read

    7. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. The story follows the life of a "handmaid," based on the Biblical concept of handmaids giving birth to children to be given over to their "mothers.". This seminal feminist dystopia explores issues of bodily autonomy, while a quiet underground resistance gains strength. 8.

  17. 18 New Works of Fiction to Read This Spring (Published 2022)

    Ditlevsen's collected memoirs, released last year in English as "The Copenhagen Trilogy," were among the Book Review's 10 best books of 2021, earning praise for "stunning clarity, humor ...

  18. 2023 Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian Books

    Tina S. Beier December 9, 2022, 9:13 AM Don't even think about sharing this article. Looking to expand your TBR ("To Be Read") list for 2023? Here are some upcoming post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels coming out in the new year! Below are the synopses and release dates for these titles (in alphabetical order).

  19. The Best Books of 2022

    Stay True: A Memoir, by Hua Hsu. In this quietly wrenching memoir, Hsu recalls starting out at Berkeley in the mid-1990s as a watchful music snob, fastidiously curating his tastes and mercilessly ...

  20. Poet Phillip B. Williams' novel 'Ours' shows more of a roadmap than a

    Book Review. Ours. By Phillip B. Williams Viking: 592 pages, $32 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.

  21. 9 New Books We Recommend This Week

    In fiction, we recommend debuts from DéLana R.A. Dameron, Alexander Sammartino and Rebecca K Reilly, alongside new novels by Cormac James, Ashley Elston and Kristin Hannah. Happy reading ...

  22. Q&A with Chris Carlsson, author of new dystopian sci-fi 'When Shells

    Chris Carlsson holding his new book When Shells Crumble in front of San Francisco bookstore City Lights Books. Photo provided by Chris Carlsson. While most dystopian novels take readers to a faraway land of oppression and revolution, Mission District historian, activist, and tour guide Chris Carlsson decided to use his own city as the staging ...

  23. The Best New and Redesigned SUVs for 2022

    The 2022 Lexus NX is a compact luxury SUV. It offers a bold exterior design, new touchscreen infotainment system, and a wide range of engine choices including a hybrid and plug-in hybrid.

  24. Book Review: 'Out of the Darkness,' by Frank Trentmann

    When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. OUT OF THE DARKNESS: The Germans, 1942-2022, by Frank Trentmann