Favourite dystopian books

A complex, exciting, dystopian thriller with global ambitions and a compelling narrative that brings environmental issues and the interconnectivity of species into focus. Anyone who enjoys a really good adventure thriller will love it.

A pacy dystopian page-turner.

Set against the backdrop of a climate catastrophe, this gripping dystopian thriller is oppressively atmospheric as it depicts a reality where if you can’t pay, you can’t breathe. 

This compelling tale is set in Addis Prime, a dystopian city which is strictly controlled by the Authority. Combining elements of Ethiopian culture with space-age technology, this fast-paced Afrofuturistic adventure is a thrilling read.

In the town of Fennis Wick, there are two rules: eldests go to military camp when they turn 14, and you don’t talk to wanderers, like Maggie. This dystopian novel, set in a seemingly idyllic town, will send a shiver down the spine. 

An absorbing, exciting, sci-fi adventure based on an ingenious concept, thoughtfully planned and with a strong environmental message.

Save the planet and live forever. Just upload your personality into a Pleeka, a replica human body which doesn’t consume food or produce waste. But at what cost? This futuristic, dystopian thriller will have readers on the edge of their seats. 

15-year-old Damien is desperate for his Mage powers to emerge– but when he uses a forbidden spell to awaken them, he discovers a host of secrets that threaten his entire world. A thrilling dystopian fantasy.  

When the sickness came, the adults became ill. The lucky ones died but many mutated into brainless, deformed monsters with a seemingly insatiable appetite – for children.

In an eerie futuristic world, society has figured out a way to bring people back from the dead…

The people around her may wear their lives tattooed on their skin, but Leora discovers that not everything is as it seems when her beloved dad passes away in this gripping opening to a brand-new YA trilogy.

A chilling story of a future where Longevity drugs have made sections of the population almost immortal. This is a thought-provoking read.

The first in a series, this enthralling sci-fi/fantasy novel grips readers throughout, presenting them with tough questions about identity, ethics and the nature of truth.

Set in a post-apocalyptic, sanitised world, this dystopian thriller contains many powerful elements that reflect some of the ways in which our society is already developing.

A perilous adventure with dystopian and environmental themes that cut unnervingly close to potential reality, The Dog Runner is a tense, thrilling adventure full of close calls, but also glowing with heart, whether it’s the relationship between Ella and Emery or their love for the ​“doggos” helping them get to where they need to be.

Callum is a Nought but his best friend Sephy is a Cross – the daughter of one of the most influential politicians in the country.

This collection of Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars, issues 1–3, is a fascinating graphic novel, melding a dystopian Mars society with the popular American sport of women’s Roller Derby. 

Exodus is a disturbing and relevant epic that explores many contemporary themes.

Everything 15-year-old Pearl knows is Seed, the nature-loving community she’s lived in all her life: cut off from the outside world and led by the mysterious Papa S. An uncompromising and truly fantastic read, Seed will stay with you for a long time.

In a Britain laid to waste by catastrophic global warming, a motorcycle courier, Christy, and an atheist campaigner are on the run.

Welcome to Panem: its Capitol repressively rules twelve satellite Districts, enslaving the populations as workers and controlling them through hunger.

Amy and her family are cryogenically frozen and stored aboard the Godspeed to travel to a new planet – but Amy is wrongly unfrozen 50 years early, forcing her to experience life aboard the ship.

Fourteen year old Sam Templeton is having a completely normal day until his teacher disappears in the middle of a class. But he soon discovers that it isn’t only their teacher who is gone – everyone over the age of fifteen has inexplicably disappeared from the small town of Perdido Beach.

The first in a four part series, this imaginative and engrossing story is a clever spin on the dystopian genre. The author expertly creates a believable, alternative world featuring a strong, moral heroine.

This is a truly exceptional novel, exciting, gripping and intense, with relatable protagonists whose agonies become the reader’s own.