The Greatest Dystopian Novels

Walter Graves

Updated November 1, 2024 35.8K views 72 items

Ranked By

23.7K votes

2.8K voters

13 reranks

Voting Rules

Novels set in a fictional society that is (in some important way) frightening

Dystopias have become a fascinating genre over the last century as disillusioned writers witnessed and reacted against imperialism, two world wars, including the Nazi and Stalin regime and the treacherous Holocaust. These writers played with the darkest sides of humanity, unearthed by war and technology and used satiric irony to present a destructive vision of the future. Dystopian novels are characterized by a lack of individual freedom, heroes that know something is wrong and contain many WTF moments that make you rethink the current status quo and become aware of the constructed nature of our values and standards.This dystopian novel list is nowhere near a complete list of all dystopian books, but on it are some of the greatest dystopian works of literature of all time (though most is from the 20th and 21st centuries). If you're a fan of H.G. Wells or George Orwell but are looking for more recent content, the best dystopian books list is the place to be.

If you want dystopia without the reading, check out the greatest dystopian and near-future movies or get some synopses on the 13 best dystopian novels.

Most divisive: Atlas Shrugged

Over 2.8K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Very Best Dystopian Novels

HOW RANKINGS WORK

1
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell
1,454 votes
Nineteen Eighty-Four, sometimes published as 1984, is a dystopian novel by English author George Orwell published in 1949. The novel is set in Airstrip One, a province of the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation, dictated by a political system euphemistically named English Socialism under the control of a privileged Inner Party elite, that persecutes individualism and independent thinking as "thoughtcrimes". The tyranny is epitomised by Big Brother, the quasi-divine Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality but who may not even exist. The Party "seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power." The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, is a member of the Outer Party, who works for the Ministry of Truth, which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism. His job is to rewrite past newspaper articles, so that the historical record always supports the party line. Smith is a diligent and skillful worker but he secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother.
- First Published: 1949-06-08
- Subjects: Brainwashing, Literature, Classics, English Language, English Literature
- Genres (Book): Utopian and dystopian fiction, Social science fiction, Political fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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2
Animal Farm
George Orwell
1,226 votes
Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novella by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described Animal Farm as a satirical tale against Stalin, and in his essay "Why I Write", he wrote that Animal Farm was the first book in which he had tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, "to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole". The original title was Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, though the subtitle was dropped by U.S. publishers for its 1946 publication and subsequently all but one of the translations during Orwell's lifetime omitted it. Other variations in the title include: A Satire and A Contemporary Satire.
- First Published: 1945-08-17
- Subjects: Monarch, Literary, Literature, Classics, Drama
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Roman à clef, Satire, Children's literature, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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3
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
1,174 votes
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury published in 1953. It is regarded as one of his best works. The novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. The title refers to the temperature that Bradbury understood to be the autoignition point of paper. The novel has been the subject of interpretations primarily focusing on the historical role of book burning in suppressing dissenting ideas. In a 1956 radio interview, Bradbury stated that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 because of his concerns at the time about the threat of book burning in the United States. In later years, he stated his motivation for writing the book in more general terms. The novel has won multiple awards. In 1954, it won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and the Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal. It has since won the Prometheus "Hall of Fame" Award in 1984 and a 1954 "Retro" Hugo Award, one of only four Best Novel Retro Hugos ever given, in 2004. Bradbury was honored with a Spoken Word Grammy nomination for his 1976 audiobook version. The novel has been adapted several times.
- First Published: 1953
- Subjects: Bibliophilia, American science fiction, Literature, Book burning, Classics
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Children's literature, Dystopia, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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4
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
1,059 votes
Brave New World is a novel written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540, the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that combine profoundly to change society. Huxley answered this book with a reassessment in an essay, Brave New World Revisited, and with Island, his final novel. In 1999, the Modern Library ranked Brave New World fifth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, Robert McCrum writing for The Observer included Brave New World chronologically at number 53 in "the top 100 greatest novels of all time", and the novel was listed at number 87 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.
- Subjects: Literary, Technology, Brainwashing, Literature, Classics
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Children's literature, Dystopia, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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5
Lord of the Flies
William Golding
1,051 votes
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 dystopian novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare versus the common good earned it position 68 on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999. The novel is a reaction to the youth novel The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne. Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel. Although it was not a great success at the time—selling fewer than 3,000 copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print—it soon went on to become a best-seller. It has been adapted to film twice in English, in 1963 by Peter Brook and 1990 by Harry Hook, and once in Filipino. In 2005 the novel was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. It was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's list.
- First Published: 1954
- Subjects: Monarch, Ethics, Literature, Young adult, Classics
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Allegory, Fiction, Young adult literature, Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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6
A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
821 votes
A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess published in 1962. Set in a near future English society that has a subculture of extreme youth violence, the novella has a teenage protagonist, Alex, who narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. When the state undertakes to reform Alex—to "redeem" him—the novella asks, "At what cost?". The book is partially written in a Russian-influenced argot called "Nadsat". According to Burgess it was a jeu d'esprit written in just three weeks. In 2005, A Clockwork Orange was included on Time magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The original manuscript of the book has been located at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada since the institution purchased the documents in 1971.
- First Published: 1962
- Subjects: Brainwashing, Classics
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Satire, Dystopia, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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7
V for Vendetta
Alan Moore
644 votes
V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics. The story depicts a dystopian and post-apocalyptic near-future history version of the United Kingdom in the 1990s, preceded by a nuclear war in the 1980s, which has left most of the world destroyed. The fascist Norsefire party has exterminated its opponents in concentration camps and rules the country as a police state. The comics follow its titular character and protagonist, V, an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, as he begins an elaborate and theatrical revolutionist campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government and convince the people to rule themselves, while inspiring a young woman, Evey Hammond, to be his protégé. Warner Bros. Pictures released a film adaptation of the same title in 2006.
- Subjects: England, Anarchism
- Genres (Book): Science Fiction, Speculative fiction, Humour
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8
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick
572 votes
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. First published in 1968, the book served as the primary basis for the 1982 film Blade Runner. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic near future, where Earth and its populations have been damaged greatly by nuclear war during World War Terminus. Most types of animals are endangered or extinct due to extreme radiation poisoning from the war. To own an animal is a sign of status, but what is emphasized more is the empathic emotions humans experience towards an animal. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who is faced with "retiring" six escaped Nexus-6 brain model androids, the latest and most advanced model, while a secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-par IQ who aids the fugitive androids. In connection with Deckard's mission, the novel explores the issue of what it is to be human. Unlike humans, the androids possess no sense of empathy. In essence, Deckard probes the existence of defining qualities that separate humans from androids.
- First Published: 1968
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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9
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
1,258 votes
The Hunger Games is a 2008 science fiction novel by the American writer Suzanne Collins. It is written in the voice of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the dystopian, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games is an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death. The book received mostly positive feedback from major reviewers and authors. It was praised for its storyline and character development, though some reviewers have noted similarities between Collins' book and Koushun Takami's Battle Royale. In writing The Hunger Games, Collins drew upon Greek mythology, Roman gladiatorial games, and contemporary reality television for thematic content. The novel won many awards, including the California Young Reader Medal, and was named one of Publishers Weekly 's "Best Books of the Year" in 2008.
- First Published: 2008-09-14
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Alternate history, Young adult literature, Adventure fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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10
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
961 votes
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of speculative fiction, by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Set in the near future, in a totalitarian Christian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency. The novel's title was inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which is a series of connected stories The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. It has been adapted for the cinema, radio, opera, and stage.
- First Published: 1985
- Subjects: Feminism
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia, Feminist science fiction, Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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11
The Giver
Lois Lowry
941 votes
The Giver is a 1993 American social science fiction children's novel by Lois Lowry. It is set in a society which is at first presented as a utopian society but then has the reader question whether the societies' utopia is worth the cost. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth and thirteenth years of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness," a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, as there may be times where one must draw upon the wisdom gained from history to aid the communities' decision making. Jonas struggles with concepts of all of the new emotions, and things being introduced to him, and whether they are inherently good, evil, in-between, and if it's even possible to have one without the other. The Community lacks any color, memory, climate and terrain whatsoever, all in effort to preserve structure, order, and a true sense of equality beyond personal individuality. The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold more than 10 million copies.
- First Published: 1993
- Subjects: Ethics, Literature, Young adult, Classics, Children's literature
- Genres (Book): Social science, Speculative fiction, Soft science fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Children's literature
- Original Language: English Language
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12
The Road
Cormac McCarthy
650 votes
The Road is a 2006 novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. It is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization and, in the intervening years, almost all life on Earth. The novel was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006. The book was adapted to a film by the same name in 2009, directed by John Hillcoat.
- First Published: 2006-09-26
- Subjects: Survival skills, Literary, Adventure, United States of America
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Fiction, Literary fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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13
Watchmen
551 votes
Watchmen is a comic-book limited series written by Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins published by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987, and collected in 1987. Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore's proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced Moore to create original characters instead. Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to deconstruct and parody the superhero concept. Watchmen depicts an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the United States to win the Vietnam War. In 1985, the country is edging toward nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and moral struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement. Creatively, the focus of Watchmen is on its structure.
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14
The Running Man
Stephen King
284 votes
The Running Man is a science fiction novel by Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the omnibus The Bachman Books. The novel is set in a dystopian United States during the year 2025, in which the nation's economy is in ruins and world violence is rising. The story follows protagonist Ben Richards as he participates in the game show The Running Man in which contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are chased by "Hunters" employed to kill them. The book has a total of 101 chapters, laid out in a "countdown" format. The first is titled "Minus 100 and Counting ..." with the numbers decreasing, until the last chapter, "Minus 000 and Counting". The Running Man was loosely adapted into a film with the same name, which was released five years after the book in 1987. The film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Richards. The film was later made into a video game released on several home computers.
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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15
Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins
856 votes
Catching Fire is a 2009 science fiction young adult novel by American novelist Suzanne Collins, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games, it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem. Following the events of the previous novel, a rebellion against the oppressive Capitol has begun, and Katniss and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark are forced to return to the arena in a special edition of the Hunger Games. The book was first published on September 1, 2009, by Scholastic, in hardcover, and was later released in ebook and audiobook format. Catching Fire received mostly positive reviews, with reviewers praising Collins' prose, the book's ending, and the development of Katniss's character. According to critics, major themes of the novel include survival, authoritarianism, rebellion, and interdependence versus independence. The book has sold more than 19 million copies in the U.S. alone. A film adaptation of the novel was released on November 22, 2013.
- First Published: 2009-09-01
- Genres (Book): Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia, Young adult literature, Adventure fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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16
Logan's Run
George Clayton Johnson, William F. Nolan
402 votes
Logan's Run is a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, it depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching a particular age. The story follows the actions of Logan, a Sandman charged with enforcing the rule, as he tracks down and kills citizens who "run" from society's lethal demand—only to end up "running" himself.
- First Published: 1967
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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17
Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
861 votes
Mockingjay is a 2010 science fiction novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is the last installment of The Hunger Games, following 2008's The Hunger Games and 2009's Catching Fire. The book continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to unify the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol. The hardcover and audiobook editions of Mockingjay were published by Scholastic on August 24, 2010, six days after the ebook edition went on sale. The book sold 450,000 copies in the first week of release, exceeding the publisher's expectations. It received a generally positive reaction from critics.
- First Published: 2010-08-24
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Thriller, Young adult literature, Adventure fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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18
The Children of Men
P. D. James
367 votes
The Children of Men is a dystopian novel by P. D. James that was published in 1992. Set in England in 2021, it centres on the results of mass infertility. James describes a United Kingdom that is steadily depopulating and focuses on a small group of resisters who do not share the disillusionment of the masses. The book received very positive reviews from many critics such as Caryn James of The New York Times, who called it "wonderfully rich" and "a trenchant analysis of politics and power that speaks urgently". The academic Alan Jacobs said, "Of all James’ novels, The Children of Men is probably the most pointed in its social criticism, certainly the deepest in its theological reflection."
- First Published: 1992
- Subjects: Human extinction, Infertility
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia
- Original Language: English Language
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19
A Scanner Darkly
Philip K. Dick
286 votes
A Scanner Darkly is a BSFA Award-winning 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The semi-autobiographical story is set in a dystopian Orange County, California, in the then-future of June 1994, and includes an extensive portrayal of drug culture and drug use. The novel is one of Dick's best-known works and served as the basis for a 2006 film of the same name.
- First Published: 1977
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Roman à clef, Dystopia, Psychological novel, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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20
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline
426 votes
Ready Player One is a science fiction and dystopian novel by Ernest Cline. The book was published by Random House on August 16, 2011. The audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton. In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2012 Prometheus Award.
- First Published: 2011-08-16
- Genres (Book): Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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21
The Long Walk
Stephen King
223 votes
The Long Walk is a dystopian novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1979 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books, and has seen several reprints since, as both paperback and hardback. Set in a dystopian present, the plot revolves around the contestants of a grueling walking contest, held annually by a totalitarian version of the United States of America. In 2000, the American Library Association listed The Long Walk as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000. According to Stephen King, it is the first novel he wrote, begun eight years before his novel Carrie was published in 1974, when he was a freshman at the University of Maine in 1966–1967.
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Horror Film, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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22
Utopia
Thomas More
270 votes
Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs.
- First Published: 1516
- Subjects: Utopias, Socialism, Political Science, Utopia
- Original Language: Latin Language
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23
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
543 votes
The Maze Runner is the first book in a young-adult post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction trilogy of the same name by James Dashner. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, and was made into a 2014 major motion picture by 20th Century Fox. The novel spawned two sequels: The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. Dashner also wrote a prequel to The Maze Runner, entitled The Kill Order, that came out in 2012. He also announced that another prequel, The Fever Code, is set to be released in 2016.
- First Published: 2009-10-06
- Genres (Book): Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Dystopia, Young adult literature, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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24
Starship Troopers
Robert A. Heinlein
449 votes
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December 1959. The first-person narrative is about a young soldier named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military service branch equipped with powered armor. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs". Rico and the other characters discuss moral and philosophical aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, corporal punishment, capital punishment, and war. Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.
- First Published: 1959-12
- Subjects: Military
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Philosophical fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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25
Divergent
Veronica Roth
734 votes
Divergent is the debut novel of American novelist Veronica Roth, published by HarperCollins Children's Books in 2011. The novel is the first of the Divergent trilogy, a series of young-adult dystopian novels set in the Divergent Universe. The novel Divergent features a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago and follows Beatrice "Tris" Prior as she explores her identity within a society that defines its citizens by their social and personality-related affiliation with five factions, which removes the threat of anyone exercising independent will and re-threatening the population's safety. Underlying the action and dystopian focused main plot is a romantic subplot between Tris and one of her instructors in the Dauntless faction, nicknamed Four. The novel has been compared to other young adult books such as The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner because of its similar themes and target audience. In particular, the novel explores the themes common to young adult fiction, such as adult authority and the transition from childhood to maturity, as well as such broader motifs as the place of violence and social structures within a post-apocalyptic society.
- First Published: 2011-04-25
- Genres (Book): Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia, Young adult literature, Science Fiction
- Dig Deeper The Best Characters in the Divergent Series, Ranked
- Also ranks #2 on Books Like The Hunger Games
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26
The City of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau
324 votes
The City of Ember is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. Similar to Suzanne Martel's The City Under Ground published in 1963 and Helen Mary Hoover's This Time of Darkness published in 1980, the story is about Ember, an underground city that is slowly running out of power and supplies due to its aging infrastructure. The young protagonist, Lina Mayfleet, and her friend, Doon Harrow, manage to decode a message and follow clues left behind by the original builders of the City of Ember that would lead them to safety in the outside world. It is the first "Book of Ember" in the eponymous series, which also includes The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood, and the final installment The Diamond of Darkhold. In 2008, the book was adapted into a film by Walden Media and Playtone. A graphic novel adaptation by comic book artist Niklas Asker was released on September 25, 2012.
- Subjects: Adventure
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Children's literature, Fiction, Young adult literature
- Original Language: English Language
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27
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
99 votes
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the Southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the story spans thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The monks of the fictional Albertian Order of Leibowitz take up the mission of preserving the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the day the outside world is again ready for it. A Canticle for Leibowitz is based on three short stories Miller contributed to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It is the only novel published by the author during his lifetime. Considered one of the classics of science fiction, it has never been out of print and has seen over 25 reprints and editions. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. Inspired by the author's participation in the Allied bombing of the monastery at Monte Cassino during World War II, the novel is considered a masterpiece by literary critics.
- First Published: 1960
- Subjects: American science fiction, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Christianity, Classics, Monasticism
- Genres (Book): Post-holocaust, Speculative fiction, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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28
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
322 votes
Never Let Me Go is a 2005 dystopian science fiction novel by Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro. It was shortlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize, for the 2006 Arthur C. Clarke Award and for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award. TIME magazine named it the best novel of 2005 and included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. It also received an ALA Alex Award in 2006. A film adaptation directed by Mark Romanek was released in 2010.
- First Published: 2005
- Subjects: Cloning, Women, Organ donation, England
- Genres (Book): Fiction, Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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29
Insurgent
Veronica Roth
557 votes
Insurgent is a book written by Veronica Roth.
- First Published: 2012-05-01
- Genres (Book): Romance novel, Young adult literature, Science Fiction
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30
Battle Royale
Koushun Takami
309 votes
Battle Royale is a novel by Japanese writer Koushun Takami. Originally completed in 1996, it was not published until 1999. The story tells of junior high school students who are forced to fight each other to the death in a program run by the authoritarian Japanese government, now known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. It was previously entered into the 1997 Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel competition but was eventually rejected in the final round due to its content. The novel became a surprise bestseller. It was ranked fourth by the 2000 Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, an annual mystery and thriller guidebook, and sold over a million copies. In 2000, one year after publication, Battle Royale was adapted into a manga series, written by Takami himself, and a feature film. The film was also controversial and successful, with it being condemned by Japan's National Diet, yet becoming one of the country's highest-grossing films. The film spawned a sequel, and two more brief manga adaptations were also created. The novel itself has been translated into Korean, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Norwegian, Turkish and Hungarian.
- First Published: 1999-04
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Alternate history, Dystopia, Thriller
- Original Language: Japanese Language
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31
Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
276 votes
Oryx and Crake is a novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. She has described the novel as speculative fiction and "adventure romance" rather than science fiction because it does not deal with "things that have not been invented yet" and goes beyond the realism she associates with the novel form. Oryx and Crake was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 2003. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction that same year, and for the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction. A television adaptation of Oryx and Crake and its follow-up novels The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam is being developed for HBO by Darren Aronofsky under the title of MaddAddam.
- Subjects: Dystopia, Genetic engineering
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia, Novel, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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32
We
Yevgeny Zamyatin
295 votes
We is a dystopian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin completed in 1921. The novel was first published in 1924 by E. P. Dutton in New York in an English translation.
- First Published: 1924
- Subjects: Communism
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction
- Original Language: Russian Language
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33
The foundation trilogy
Isaac Asimov
51 votes
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34
The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood
204 votes
The Year of the Flood is a novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, released on September 22, 2009 in Canada and the United States, and on September 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The novel was mentioned in numerous newspaper review articles looking forward to notable fiction of 2009. The book focuses on a group called God's Gardeners, a small community of survivors of the same biological catastrophe depicted in Atwood's earlier novel Oryx and Crake. The earlier novel contained several brief references to the group. It answers some of the questions of Oryx and Crake and reveals the identity of the three real human figures who appear at the end of the earlier book and sets the scene for the final book of the trilogy, MaddAddam.
- First Published: 2009
- Subjects: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Novel, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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35
Naked Lunch
William S. Burroughs
200 votes
Naked Lunch is a novel by American writer William S. Burroughs, originally published in 1959. The book is structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes. Burroughs stated that the chapters are intended to be read in any order. The reader follows the narration of junkie William Lee, who takes on various aliases, from the US to Mexico, eventually to Tangier and the dreamlike Interzone. The vignettes are drawn from Burroughs' own experience in these places, and his addiction to drugs. The novel was included in Time magazine's "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005". In 1991, David Cronenberg released a film of the same name based upon the novel and other Burroughs writings.
- First Published: 1959
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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36
Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson
209 votes
Snow Crash is Neal Stephenson's third novel, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's other novels it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography, memetics and philosophy. Stephenson explained the title of the novel in his 1999 essay In the Beginning... was the Command Line as his term for a particular software failure mode on the early Apple Macintosh computer. Stephenson wrote about the Macintosh that "When the computer crashed and wrote gibberish into the bitmap, the result was something that looked vaguely like static on a broken television set—a 'snow crash' ". Stephenson also mentioned a book by Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, as one of the main influences for Snow Crash. The book presents the Sumerian language as the firmware programming language for the brainstem, which is supposedly functioning as the BIOS for the human brain. According to characters in the book, the goddess Asherah is the personification of a linguistic virus, similar to a computer virus.
- First Published: 1992-06
- Subjects: The Internet, Computers, Cyberspace, Anarchism, Nanotechnology
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk, Postcyberpunk, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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37
The Golden Compass
Brian Sibley
61 votes
- Genres (Book): Children's literature
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38
Anthem
Ayn Rand
344 votes
Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in England. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated.
- First Published: 1938
- Subjects: Literary, Education, Literature, Classics, Adventure
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Psychology, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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39
Uglies series
Scott Westerfeld
90 votes
Uglies is a book series by Scott Westerfeld for young adults. Westerfeld originally intended for Uglies to be a trilogy. However, after publishing the series' first three novels, Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, he ultimately wrote an additional fourth book, Extras. This fourth book is dedicated “[t]o everyone who wrote to me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy.’” The first three novels focus on the exploits of Tally Youngblood. In the post-apocalyptic future society where Tally lives, teenagers, upon reaching their sixteenth birthday, undergo a surgery to mold them into a so-called “Pretty.” When Tally’s new friend Shay runs away to the Smoke, a secret refugee for those who oppose the city’s government, the future of Tally’s own operation becomes uncertain. Dr. Cable, the head of the mysterious Special Circumstances, cuts Tally a deal: betray her friends and help the city locate the runaways or remain an “Ugly” forever. When Tally joins the Smokies, she learns a chilling truth: the surgeries that the city performs are not just intended to render its inhabitants beautiful.
- Genres (Book): Young adult literature, Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Original Language: English Language
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40
The Caves of Steel
Isaac Asimov
41 votes
The Caves of Steel is a novel by Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story, and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated, that science fiction is a flavor that can be applied to any literary genre, rather than a limited genre itself. Specifically, in the book Asimov's Mysteries, he states that he wrote the novel in response to the assertion by editor John W. Campbell that mystery and science fiction were incompatible genres. Campbell had said that the science fiction writer could invent "facts" in his imaginary future that the reader would not know. Asimov countered that there were rules implicit in the art of writing mysteries, and that the clues could be in the plot, even if they were not obvious, or were deliberately obfuscated. He went on to write several science-fiction mysteries in both novel and short-story form, as well as mainstream mysteries such as Murder at the ABA, which was not science fiction. The book was first published as a serial in Galaxy Magazine, October to December 1953. A Doubleday hardcover followed in 1954. A television adaptation was made by the BBC and shown in 1964: only a few short excerpts still exist.
- First Published: 1954-06
- Subjects: Adventure
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Children's literature, Mystery, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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41
Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand
579 votes
Atlas Shrugged is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing. Atlas Shrugged includes elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance, and it contains Rand's most extensive statement of Objectivism in any of her works of fiction. The book depicts a dystopian United States, wherein many of society's most prominent and successful industrialists abandon their fortunes and the nation itself, in response to aggressive new regulations, whereupon most vital industries collapse. The title is a reference to Atlas, a Titan described in the novel as "the giant who holds the heavens on his shoulders". The significance of this reference appears in a conversation between the characters Francisco d'Anconia and Hank Rearden, in which d'Anconia asks Rearden what advice he would give Atlas upon seeing that "the greater [the titan's] effort, the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders". With Rearden unable to answer, d'Anconia gives his own response: "To shrug". The theme of Atlas Shrugged, as Rand described it, is "the role of man's mind in existence".
- First Published: 1957-10-10
- Subjects: Literary, Literature, Capitalism, Classics, Adventure
- Genres (Book): Romance novel, Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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42
Unwind
Neal Shusterman
36 votes
Unwind is a 2007 science fiction novel by young adult literature author Neal Shusterman. It takes place in the United States, after a civil war somewhere in the near future. After a civil war—known as the Second Civil War or the Heartland War—is fought over abortion, a compromise was reached, allowing parents to sign an order for their children between the ages of 13 and 18 years old to be unwound—taken to "harvest camps" and having their body parts harvested for later use. The reasoning was that, since 100% was required to be used, unwinds did not technically "die", because their individual body parts lived on. In addition to unwinding, parents who are unable to raise their children to age thirteen for retroactive abortion have the option to "stork" their child by leaving it on another family's porch. If they don't get caught, the "storked" baby then becomes the other family's responsibility. Unwind received positive reviews upon release, with praise focusing on the novel's immersive environment and sociological implications. It also received many awards from young adult literature authorities. A film adaptation of Unwind is currently in production by independent producers.
- First Published: 2007
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Adventure, Biopunk, Science Fiction
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43
Wool Omnibus Edition
Hugh Howey
60 votes
Wool Omnibus Edition is a book written by Hugh Howey.
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44
The Passage
Justin Cronin
194 votes
The Passage is a book written by Justin Cronin.
- First Published: 2010-06-08
- Subjects: Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Horror Film, Vampire, Virus
- Genres (Book): The New York Times Best Seller list, Epic Science Fiction and Fantasy, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia
- Original Language: English Language
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45
That Hideous Strength
C. S. Lewis
57 votes
That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra and once again feature the philologist Elwin Ransom. Yet unlike the principal events of those two novels, the story takes place on Earth rather than in space or on other planets in the solar system. The story involves an ostensibly scientific institute, the N.I.C.E., which is a front for sinister supernatural forces. The novel was heavily influenced by the writing of Lewis's friend and fellow Inkling Charles Williams, and is markedly dystopian in style. In the book's preface Lewis acknowledges science-fiction writer Olaf Stapledon and his work: "Mr. Stapledon is so rich in invention that he can well afford to lend, and I admire his invention so much that I should feel no shame to borrow." In the foreword, Lewis states that the novel's point is the same as that in his non-fiction work The Abolition of Man, which argues that there are natural laws and objective values, which education should teach children to recognise.
- First Published: 1945
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Original Language: English Language
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46
The Plot Against America
Philip Roth
62 votes
The Plot Against America is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004. It is an alternative history in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by Charles Lindbergh. The novel follows the fortunes of the Roth family during the Lindbergh presidency, as antisemitism becomes more accepted in American life and Jewish-American families like the Roths are persecuted on various levels. The narrator and central character in the novel is the young Philip, and the care with which his confusion and terror are rendered makes the novel as much about the mysteries of growing up as about American politics. Roth based his novel on the isolationist ideas espoused by Lindbergh in real life as a spokesman for the America First Committee and his own experiences growing up in Newark, New Jersey. The novel depicts the Weequahic section of Newark which includes Weequahic High School from which Roth graduated.
- First Published: 2004-09
- Subjects: United States of America, Election
- Genres (Book): Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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47
This Perfect Day
Ira Levin
47 votes
This Perfect Day, by Ira Levin, is a heroic science fiction novel about a technocratic dystopia. It is often compared to Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World. Levin won a Prometheus Award in 1992 for this novel. This Perfect Day is one of two Levin novels yet to be adapted to film.
- First Published: 1970
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Horror Film, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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48
Matched
Ally Condie
242 votes
Matched, by Allyson Braithwaite Condie, is the first novel in the Matched trilogy. The novel is a dystopian YA novel about a tightly-controlled society in which young people are "matched" with their life partners at the age of 17. The main character is seventeen-year-old Cassia Reyes, who is Matched with her best friend, Xander Carrow. However, when viewing the information for her Match, the picture of another young man - Ky Markham, an acquaintance outcast at her school - is flashed across the screen. As Cassia attempts to figure out the source of the mishap, she finds herself conflicted about whether her Match is appropriate for her - and whether the Society is all that it seems to be. This book is followed by Crossed and Reached.
- First Published: 2010-11-30
- Genres (Book): Romance novel, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Young adult literature
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49
Red Rising
Pierce Brown
175 votes
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50
The White Plague
Frank Herbert
27 votes
The White Plague is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert.
- First Published: 1982
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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51
Earth Abides
George R. Stewart
199 votes
Earth Abides is a 1949 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer George R. Stewart. It tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and its rebirth. The story was set in the United States in the 1940s, in Berkeley, California. Isherwood Williams emerges from isolation in the mountains to find almost everyone dead. Earth Abides won the inaugural International Fantasy Award in 1951. It was included in Locus Magazine's list of best All Time Science Fiction in 1987 and 1998 and was a nominee to be entered into the Prometheus Hall of Fame. In November 1950, it was adapted for the CBS radio program Escape as a two-part drama starring John Dehner.
- First Published: 1949
- Subjects: Risks to civilization, humans, and planet Earth
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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52
Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel
199 votes
Emily St. John Mandel
- First Published: September 9, 2014
- Subjects: Dystopia
- Genres (Book): Literary, Sci-Fi
- Original Language: English
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53
Super Sad True Love Story
Gary Shteyngart
49 votes
Super Sad True Love Story is the third novel by American writer Gary Shteyngart. The novel takes place in a near-future dystopian New York where life is dominated by media and retail.
- First Published: 2010-07-27
- Genres (Book): Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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54
Scythe
29 votes
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55
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Michael Chabon
30 votes
The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a 2007 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The novel is a detective story set in an alternative history version of the present day, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Sitka, Alaska, in 1941, and that the fledgling State of Israel was destroyed in 1948. The novel is set in Sitka, which it depicts as a large, Yiddish-speaking metropolis. The Yiddish Policemen's Union won a number of science fiction awards: the Nebula Award for Best Novel, the Locus Award for Best SF Novel, the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History for Best Novel. It was shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel and the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel.
- First Published: 2007-05-01
- Subjects: Jewish history, Alaska, Israel
- Genres (Book): Alternate history, Fiction, Novel
- Original Language: Yiddish Language, English Language
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56
The Man Who Was Thursday
G. K. Chesterton
141 votes
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book is sometimes referred to as a metaphysical thriller.
- First Published: 1908
- Subjects: Literary, Espionage, Police procedural, Literature, Classics
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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57
Stand on Zanzibar
John Brunner
122 votes
Stand on Zanzibar is a dystopian New Wave science fiction novel written by John Brunner and first published in 1968. The book won a Hugo Award for Best Novel at the 27th World Science Fiction Convention in 1969, as well as the 1969 BSFA Award and the 1973 Prix Tour-Apollo Award.
- First Published: 1968
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Novel, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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58
The Iron Heel
Jack London
66 votes
The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908. Generally considered to be "the earliest of the modern Dystopian", it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. It is arguably the novel in which Jack London's socialist views are most explicitly on display. A forerunner of soft science fiction novels and stories of the 1960s and '70s, the book stresses future changes in society and politics while paying much less attention to technological changes. The book is unusual among London's writings in being a first-person narrative of a woman protagonist written by a man. Much of the narrative is set in the San Francisco Bay Area, including events in San Francisco and Sonoma County.
- First Published: 1908
- Subjects: Social science, Literary, Mythology, Socialism, Literature
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Science Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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59
Metro 2033
Dmitry Glukhovsky
135 votes
Metro 2033 is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. It is set in the Moscow Metro where the last survivors hide after a global nuclear holocaust. It was published in 2005 in Russia and on March 28, 2010 in the United States. Metro 2033 has spawned a sequel, Metro 2034, a book franchise written by several other writers, and an eponymous video game title.
- First Published: 2005
- Genres (Book): Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
- Original Language: Russian Language
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60
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Carrie Ryan
121 votes
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a New York Times best-selling post-apocalyptic zombie novel by first-time author Carrie Ryan that is marketed to young-adults. It was published in 2009 by Random House Delacorte Press in the United States, and by Hachette Gollancz in Australia and the United Kingdom. This is the first volume of a trilogy; the second book in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, was released on March 9, 2010 and The Dark and Hollow Places followed in March 2011. As the story opens, an unexplained disaster has turned much of the human race into mindless, cannibalistic undead. They roam the forest of the title, seeking to destroy a band of survivors barricaded inside a walled village deep in the woods. However, the fence that protects these villagers also imprisons them within a dystopian society marked by violence, secrecy, and repression. The forest thus profoundly influences all the action of the novel.
- First Published: 2009-03-10
- Genres (Book): Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Dystopia, Young adult literature, Zombie
- Original Language: English Language
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61
Keep the Aspidistra Flying
George Orwell
130 votes
Keep the Aspidistra Flying, first published in 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and status, and the dismal life that results.
- First Published: 1936
- Subjects: Literature, Standard of living, Classics, Social status, London
- Genres (Book): Novel
- Original Language: English Language
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62
Erewhon
Samuel Butler
141 votes
Erewhon: or, Over the Range is a novel by Samuel Butler which was first published anonymously in 1872. The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed where Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be read as "nowhere" backwards even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed, as it would have been pronounced in his day. The book is a satire on Victorian society. The first few chapters of the novel dealing with the discovery of Erewhon are in fact based on Butler's own experiences in New Zealand where, as a young man, he worked as a sheep farmer on Mesopotamia Station for about four years, and explored parts of the interior of the South Island and which he wrote about in his A First Year in Canterbury Settlement.
- First Published: 1872
- Subjects: Utopias
- Genres (Book): Satire
- Original Language: English Language
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63
Vurt
Jeff Noon
108 votes
Vurt is a 1993 science fiction novel written by British author Jeff Noon. Both Noon and small publishing house Ringpull's debut novel, it went on to win the 1994 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was later listed in The Best Novels of the Nineties.
- First Published: 1993
- Subjects: England, Virtual reality
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Original Language: English Language
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64
I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman
Jacqueline Harpman
17 votes
I Who Have Never Known Men, originally published in French as Moi qui n'ai pas connu les hommes, is a 1995 science fiction novel by Belgian author Jacqueline Harpman. It is the first of Harpman's novels to be translated into English. It was originally published by Seven Stories Press, then republished by Avon Eos. The New York Times described it as "bleak but fascinating", and "about as heavyhearted as fiction can get".
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65
Grass
Sheri S. Tepper
16 votes
Grass is a 1989 science fiction novel by Sheri S. Tepper. Nominated for both the Hugo and Locus awards in 1990, in 2002 it was included in the SF Masterworks collection. It is the first novel in Tepper's Arbai trilogy.
- First Published: 1989
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction
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66
Only Lovers Left Alive
119 votes
Only Lovers Left Alive is a 1964 science fiction novel by Dave Wallis. It describes a society where there are no adults and teenagers are able to run wild. With its theme of teenagers in charge and out of control, the book hit a chord with the emerging counter-culture, and a film adaptation starring the Rolling Stones and directed by Nicholas Ray was planned in the mid-1960s.
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction
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67
Kallocain
Karin Boye
107 votes
Kallocain is a novel by Karin Boye.
- First Published: 1940
- Subjects: Privacy, Communism, Surveillance
- Genres (Book): Dystopia, Science Fiction
- Original Language: Swedish
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68
Lord of the World
Robert Hugh Benson
22 votes
Lord of the World is a 1907 novel by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson that centers upon the reign of the Anti-Christ and the End of the World. It has been called prophetic by Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
- First Published: 1908
- Subjects: Literature, Adventure, Religion
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Utopian and dystopian fiction, Biography, Dystopia, Fiction
- Original Language: English Language
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69
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter
57 votes
Dr. Adder is a dark science fiction novel by K. W. Jeter set in a future where the United States has largely broken down into reluctantly cooperating enclaves run by a wide variety of strongmen and warlords, with a veneer of government control that seems largely interested in controlling technology. Dr. Adder is an artist-surgeon, who modifies sexual organs of his patients to satisfy the weirdest of perversion; he is clearly depicted as a partly criminal, partly counter-cultural figure in a future Los Angeles which anticipates the cyberpunk idea of the Sprawl. Dr. Adder is Jeter's debut novel. It was originally completed in 1972, and then published in 1984 by Bluejay Books — the first fictional work it ever published — with illustrations by Matt R. Howarth. According to Philip K. Dick, the publication of this book was delayed for a decade due to the extreme violence and graphic sex, and but for this delay it would have been recognized as the first cyberpunk novel.
- First Published: 1984
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction
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70
The Joy Makers by James Gunn
James Gunn
13 votes
- Genres (Book): Speculative fiction
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71
grass
Ernest Haycox
15 votes
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72
The Joy Makers
15 votes
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