Top 25 Dystopian Books

This is a list of the best dystopian novels and books.

The list was created by parsing comments on the r/books subreddit, and takes into account both number of mentions and the comment scores.

This list uses data from 2018 and 2019, but as we get more data the list may change and will hopefully become a list of the best dystopian books of all time.

1. The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood, Valerie Martin

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are

2. Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

Sixty years after its publication, Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown m

3. 1984

George Orwell

In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory st

4. Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligenc

5. Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by K

6. Red Rising

Pierce Brown

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable

7. Station Eleven

Emily St John Mandel

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group

8. A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the cent

9. Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a wo

10. Metro 2034

Dmitry Glukhovsky

The basis of two bestselling computer games Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light, the Metro books have put Dmitry Glukhovsky in the vanguard of Russian speculative fiction alongside the creator of Night Wa

11. American War

Omar El Akkad

-An audacious and powerful debut novel: a second American Civil War, a devastating plague, and one family caught deep in the middle--a story that asks what might happen if America were to turn its mos

12. Golden Son

Pierce Brown

As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he fai

13. The Giver

Lois Lowry

Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.

14. The Year of the Flood

Margaret Atwood

Set in the visionary future of Atwood’s acclaimed Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood is at once a moving tale of lasting friendship and a landmark work of speculative fiction. In this

15. The Hunger Games: Special Edition

Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line

16. Scythe

Neal Shusterman

Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.<

17. Vox

Christina Dalcher

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.On the day the

18. Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)

Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Pe

19. Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

Alternate Cover Edition can be found here. Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Minis

20. It Can't Happen Here

Sinclair Lewis

“The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”—SalonIt Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main St

21. MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

A man-made plague has swept the earth, but a small group survives, along with the green-eyed Crakers – a gentle species bio-engineered to replace humans. Toby, onetime member of the Gods Gardeners and

22. Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents

Octavia E. Butler

A multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner’s powerful saga of survival and destiny in a near-future dystopian America.One of the world’s most respected authors of science fiction imagines an

23. Dust

Hugh Howey

Wool introduced the world of the silo. Shift told the story of its creation. Dust will describe its downfall. Jul

24. Wool

Hugh Howey

Thousands of them have lived underground. They've lived there so long, there are only legends about people living anywhere else. Such a life requires rules. Strict rules. There are things that must no

25. Severance

Ling Ma

Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic

Top 25 Dystopian Books

1. The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood, Valerie Martin

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are

46 commentsAmazon

2. Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

Sixty years after its publication, Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown m

50 commentsAmazon

3. 1984

George Orwell

In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory st

49 commentsAmazon

4. Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligenc

47 commentsAmazon

5. Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by K

28 commentsAmazon

6. Red Rising

Pierce Brown

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable

33 commentsAmazon

7. Station Eleven

Emily St John Mandel

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group

28 commentsAmazon

8. A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the cent

26 commentsAmazon

9. Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a wo

19 commentsAmazon

10. Metro 2034

Dmitry Glukhovsky

The basis of two bestselling computer games Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light, the Metro books have put Dmitry Glukhovsky in the vanguard of Russian speculative fiction alongside the creator of Night Wa

21 commentsAmazon

11. American War

Omar El Akkad

-An audacious and powerful debut novel: a second American Civil War, a devastating plague, and one family caught deep in the middle--a story that asks what might happen if America were to turn its mos

16 commentsAmazon

12. Golden Son

Pierce Brown

As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he fai

17 commentsAmazon

13. The Giver

Lois Lowry

Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.

12 commentsAmazon

14. The Year of the Flood

Margaret Atwood

Set in the visionary future of Atwood’s acclaimed Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood is at once a moving tale of lasting friendship and a landmark work of speculative fiction. In this

10 commentsAmazon

15. The Hunger Games: Special Edition

Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line

8 commentsAmazon

16. Scythe

Neal Shusterman

Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.<

12 commentsAmazon

17. Vox

Christina Dalcher

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.On the day the

10 commentsAmazon

18. Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)

Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Pe

7 commentsAmazon

19. Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

Alternate Cover Edition can be found here. Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Minis

6 commentsAmazon

20. It Can't Happen Here

Sinclair Lewis

“The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”—SalonIt Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main St