Dystopian Book reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 233 Reddit reviews across 6 subreddits and 20 posts to rank the best Dystopian Book brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/suggestmeabook, r/booksuggestions, r/BookRecommendations, r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis, r/writinghelp. Top-rated brands include Margaret Atwood (4.9/5), George Orwell (4.9/5), Hugh Howey (4.9/5).
Stats
Reviews233
Subreddits6
Posts20
Brands85
Products100
233 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Margaret Atwood
4.9
(20)
"If you haven’t, Handmaid’s Tale by Atwood is a must. It’s a top ten for sure. No flashy science fiction elements, but high quality literature in a dystopian setting."
"MaddAddam trilogy-Atwood"
"Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake"
"Any of the Oryx & Crake books by Margaret Atwood"
"The Handmaid’s Tale and its sequel The Testaments"
"The Handmaid's Tale, also by Margaret Atwood."
"The Oryx & Crake trilogy by Margaret Atwood."
"The Maddadam Series (starting with Oryx & Crake) - Margaret Atwood. Similar - a disease wipes people out, but the world is dystopian before this happens."
"*1984* was a clear influence on *The Handmaid's Tale* by Margaret Atwood. Excellent novel."
"Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood)"
#2
George Orwell
4.9
(10)
"Animal Farm by Orwell. All three are quick reads but really powerful."
"There's the usual dystopian: 1984"
"There's the usual dystopian: Animal Farm"
"1984 by George Orwell"
"Animal Farm by George Orwell"
"1984 by George Orwell"
"1984"
"1984 by George Orwell"
"1984 by George Orwell"
"1984-loved this book but hated the ending."
#3
Hugh Howey
4.9
(9)
"The *Silo* trilogy by Hugh Howey (first book is *Wool*) is very good"
"Silo series by Hugh Howley"
"The Wool series. Wool. Shift. Dust. Hugh Howey."
"Also will always love the Silo series by Hugh Howie. Why did he stop writing?! Have read this multiple times."
"The Silo series by Hugh Howey"
"The Silo Trilogy by Hugh Howey"
"Also, Dust and other series by Hugh Howie."
"The Silo Trilogy by Hugh Howey (new series on Apple based on it is great too)"
"Can I suggest the Silo series by Hugh Howie. It’s more adult than young adult but it has the grunge dystopian aesthetic you might like."
#4
Paolo Bacigalupi
4.5
(8)
"Seconded! Came here to say something Bacigalupi, but windup girl is my fav"
"The Waterknife by Paolo Bacigalupi"
"The Windup Girl and his other book The Water Knife are really good."
"The Windup Girl"
"The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi"
"The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi"
"The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi"
"The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi"
#5
Aldous Huxley
5.0
(7)
"There's the usual dystopian: Brave New World"
"Brave New World by Aldous Huxley"
"Brave new world by Aldous Huxley."
"Brave New World by Aldous Huxley"
"Aldous Huxley's Brave New World."
"H for Huxley - Brave New World"
"Brave new world-read it, loved it, and has a good ending when normally I hate dystopian endings"
#6
Emily St. John Mandel
5.0
(7)
"Station Eleven by Emily St Mandel"
"Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel"
"Loved Station Eleven. Read it during covid, probably shouldn't. Still loved it."
"I loved station eleven - different and slow paced but beautiful"
"Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel"
"Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: another beautiful dystopian novel--this one involves a pandemic"
"Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel)"
#7
Cormac McCarthy
4.7
(7)
"Cormac McCarthy: The Road"
"The Road"
"The Road. As unrelentingly bleak as it is, I thought it was a masterpiece."
"The Road - Cormac McCarthy"
"The Road by Cormac McCarthy"
"The Road by Cormac McCarthy"
"I really enjoyed The Road by Cormack McCarthy."
#8
Ray Bradbury
4.6
(7)
"There's the usual dystopian: Fahrenheit 451"
"Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury"
"If you love this book then also go on and read Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury."
"B for Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451 and for Burgess: a Clockwork Orange"
"Franheit 451."
"I found Fahrenheit 451 much more interesting and easier to read"
"Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury"
#9
Suzanne Collins
4.6
(7)
"The Hunger Game series by Suzanne Collins"
"Hunger games"
"Check out The Hunger Games if you haven’t already read that."
"The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins"
"Hunger games on Mars for the first one, sci Fi, space battles and other planets for the rest of the series. Love them, my favorite series from recent years for sure"
"The Hunger Games is first person, and it’s pretty damn good."
"Hunger games. A bit mainstream though"
#10
Neal Shusterman
4.1
(7)
"Unwind by Neal Shusterman"
"Unwind - Neal Shusterman"
"Unwind dystology"
"Unwind by Shusterman"
"Scythe by Neal Shusterman"
"Unwind by Neal Shusterman"
"Scythe by Neal Shusterman is a good one. It's the start of a new series"
#11
Octavia E. Butler
4.8
(6)
"Also seconding The Earthseed Series, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler!"
"Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler!"
"The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler"
"Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler"
"The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler"
"Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler. Doesn't get more dystopian."
#12
Stephen King
4.7
(6)
"The Stand by Stephen King"
"I second “The Stand”"
"One of my all time favorites is The Stand."
"The Stand - Stephen King. A disease wipes out most of the population - really great story of good vs evil"
"The Stand by Stephen King"
"Stephen King: The Stand"
#13
Scott Westerfeld
4.3
(6)
"I enjoyed the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield."
"Uglies is a great series. Highly recommend"
"Uglies Series (uglies, pretties, specials, extras) by Scott Westerfeld"
"I loved The Uglies when I was a teen!"
"The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld"
"The Uglies"
#14
Octavia Butler
4.8
(5)
"Octavia Butler: The Parable of the Sower"
"Parable of The Sower"
"Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler"
"Parable of the Sower"
"Parable of the sower is pretty good ( so I've heard)"
#15
Veronica Roth
4.0
(6)
"Divergent, Maze Runner, Lunar Chronicles, Red Rising - all amazing dystopian series"
"Divergent by Veronica Roth"
"Divergent Trilogy (ONLY the trilogy) by Veronica Roth"
"The Divergent series by Veronica Roth"
"Divergent by Veronica Roth"
"Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth"
#16
Justin Cronin
4.6
(5)
"The Passage trilogy is so good! I bought them for myself and a set for each of my daughters."
"The Passage Trilogy Justin Cronin"
"The Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin. Characters that are so well-done you feel like you know them. It has several threads of stories that get sewn together. Been on more than a dozen "Best of" lists."
"The Passage by Justin Cronin"
"The Passage"
#17
Lois Lowry
4.3
(4)
"THE GIVER by Lois Lowry"
"The Giver by Lois Lowry"
"The giver. I read it as school assignment (English) and I like it"
"The Giver by Lois Landry"
#18
Ling Ma
4.3
(4)
"I recently read Severance by Ling Ma, and it was very good"
"Severance - Ling Ma"
"Severance by Ling Ma"
"Severance"
#19
N. K. Jemisin
5.0
(3)
"The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin."
"Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin. Three books, great world and story building. Almost zero romance."
"My favorite dystopian books are a series called The Broken Earth by N K Jemisin. Absolutely incredible."
#20
Pierce Brown
5.0
(3)
"Divergent, Maze Runner, Lunar Chronicles, Red Rising - all amazing dystopian series"
"Red Rising by pierce brown"
"Red Rising series - think grown up hunger games on Mars"
#21
Anthony Burgess
5.0
(3)
"A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess"
"B for Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451 and for Burgess: a Clockwork Orange"
"A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess"
#22
Kazuo Ishiguro
5.0
(3)
"Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro"
"Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro"
"I for Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go"
#23
Robert McCammon
4.7
(3)
"Swan Song by Robert Mccammon"
"Swan Song by Robert McCammon. A 900 page epic that is also a fast-paced, fun page turner."
"Swan Song by Robert McCammon"
#24
John Christopher
4.7
(3)
"C for John Christopher - the Death of Grass"
"Strongly recommend The Death of Grass: A post-apocalyptic vision of the world pushed to the brink by famine, John Christopher's science fiction masterpiece."
"Death of Grass by John Christopher"
#25
Ira Levin
4.7
(3)
"This Perfect Day by Ira Levin"
"This perfect day - ira levin"
"I really liked This Perfect Day by Ira Levin."
#26
Michael Grant
4.3
(3)
"Would HIGHLY recommend the gone series by Michael Grant. Perfectly captures the dystopian, sci-Fi, fantasy vibe."
"The Gone series by Michael Grant"
"Definitely the Gone series by Michael Grant! Young adult/dystopian/supernatural"
#27
Richard K. Morgan
4.0
(3)
"I frequently see Altered Carbon recommended on requests like this. It's on my dystopian tbr!"
"Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan"
"Altered Carbon trilogy."
#28
Agustina Bazterrica
3.7
(3)
"Tender Is The Flesh is actually tattooed into the nooks and crannies of my brain, one of the few books I have ever left in a public place because the thought of carrying it another millimeter was too far."
"Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica"
"Tender Is The Flesh is overrated. The author wrote it after watching a documentary like "food kills" and converting to veganism. So the metaphor is absolutely hamfisted and the message beaten to death."
#29
Walter Tevis
5.0
(2)
"Mockingbird by Walter Tevis"
"Mockingbird by Walter Tevis. It's a pretty unique take on the genre with the main character being an AI."
#30
Richard Matheson
5.0
(2)
"'I Am Legend' - Richard Matheson. Nothing like the film."
"I Am Legend"
#31
Kim Liggett
5.0
(2)
"I really loved The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. Dystopian, not really end of the world. Sort of Hunger Games meets the Handmaids tale."
"The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. I couldn’t put it down"
#32
Marie Lu
5.0
(2)
"“Legend” by Marie Lu is great. It’s set in a dystopian near future where the US is split into two opposing nations and it follows 2 teens from different backgrounds."
"Legend by Marie Lu"
#33
Neal Stephenson
5.0
(2)
"Diamond Age and Snow Crash"
"Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson"
#34
N.K. Jemisin
5.0
(2)
"Seconding The Fifth Season by N K Jemison."
"The fifth season by N K Jemison!"
#35
Teri Terry
4.5
(2)
"Slated trilogy + prequel by Teri Terry"
"Slated series by Teri Terry"
#36
P.D. James
4.5
(2)
"The Children of Men"
"Pd James: The Children of Men"
#37
Mike Carey
4.5
(2)
"The book of koli by MR Carey and the two sequels is great!"
"The Book of Koli by Mike Carey"
#38
James Dashner
4.5
(2)
"Divergent, Maze Runner, Lunar Chronicles, Red Rising - all amazing dystopian series"
"Maze runner"
#39
Ben Winters
4.5
(2)
"The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben Winters (pre-apocalyptic series)"
"Golden State by Ben Winters. Dystopia set where the highest aspiration of the government is to ensure that everyone agrees to exactly one set of facts and one version of reality."
#40
Blake Crouch
4.5
(2)
"I just finished the WayWard Pines series by Blake Crouch and highly recommend. I flew through them."
"Dark Matter/Blake Crouch"
#41
Orson Scott Card
4.0
(2)
"Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card"
"Enders game is also good"
#42
Jacqueline Harpman
4.0
(2)
"I’d recommend I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman"
"Definitely dystopian. Not sure about horror, but you follow a character who doesn't know much about the world she inhabits so the mystery and unknown lend such an eerie vibe to the entirety of the book."
#43
Celeste Ng
4.0
(2)
"Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng"
"Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng"
#44
Colson Whitehead
5.0
(1)
"Zone One (Colson Whitehead)"
#45
Hillary Jordan
5.0
(1)
"When She Woke (Hillary Jordan)"
#46
Andy Weir
5.0
(1)
"The Martian by Andy Weir - an astronaut/engineer/botanist gets stranded on Mars and has to learn to survive on his own. It's very accessible sci-fi with plenty of light-hearted writing and humour sprinkled in."
#47
M.K. Wren
5.0
(1)
"One of my all time favourites is The Gift Upon the Shore by M K Wren. Hard to find but a really good book."
#48
Peter Heller
5.0
(1)
"The Dog Stars (Peter Heller)"
#49
Dmitry Glukhovsky
5.0
(1)
"Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky is brilliant."
#50
Marissa Meyer
5.0
(1)
"Divergent, Maze Runner, Lunar Chronicles, Red Rising - all amazing dystopian series"
#51
William Golding
5.0
(1)
"G for Golding - Lord of the Flies"
#52
Louise Erdrich
5.0
(1)
"Future Home of the Living God (Louise Erdrich)"
#53
M.T. Anderson
5.0
(1)
"Feed by M.T. Anderson is chilling genius."
#54
Mohsin Hamid
5.0
(1)
"Exit West (Mohsin Hamid)"
#55
Frank Herbert
5.0
(1)
"Dune takes place in the far future, and the government is terrible and oppressive. If you read the first book, I highly recommend reading the second (Dune Messiah)"
#56
Koushun Takami
5.0
(1)
"Battle Royale by Koushun Takami if you like Hunger Games."
#57
Omar El Akkad
5.0
(1)
"American War (Omar El Akkad)"
#58
Philip K. Dick
5.0
(1)
"The man in the high castle by Philip K Dick."
#59
Lily Brooks-Dalton
5.0
(1)
"The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton"
#60
Denis Johnson
4.0
(1)
"Fiskadoro, by Denis Johnson"
#61
M. T. Anderson
4.0
(1)
"If you want to read amazing dystopian fiction in the first person, check out Feed by M.T. Anderson."
#62
Jorge Sanchez
4.0
(1)
"Deadbreak by Jorge Sanchez"
#63
P. D. James
4.0
(1)
"Children of Men by P.D. James. The book ending is different from the movie ending, and better."
#64
K. C. Phillips
4.0
(1)
"By Dust & Duty by K. C. Phillips! Soulmate themes, moderate spice, very dystopian with happy endings."
#65
Caffall
4.0
(1)
"All the Water in the World - Caffall ( Huck Finn meets Station 11)"
#66
Emily Suvada
4.0
(1)
"This Mortal Coil - Emily Suvada"
#67
Mary Shelley
4.0
(1)
"The Last Man by Mary Shelley"
#68
O.T. Nelson
4.0
(1)
"The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson (older but good)"
#69
Stephen Markley
4.0
(1)
"The Deluge by Stephen Markley"
#70
Alexandra Bracken
4.0
(1)
"The Darkest Minds"
#71
Jeanne DuPrau
4.0
(1)
"The city of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (it’s a series, apparently there are 4 books now)."
#72
Dave Eggers
4.0
(1)
"The Circle - Dave Eggers"
#73
William Forschten
4.0
(1)
"One Second After by William Forschten"
#74
Charlotte McConaghy
4.0
(1)
"Migration by Charlotte McConaghy"
#75
Ally Condie
4.0
(1)
"Matched by Ally Condie"
#76
Deon Meyer
4.0
(1)
"Fever by Deon Meyer"
#77
David Graham
4.0
(1)
"Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham"
#78
S.M. Stirling
4.0
(1)
"Dies The Fire by S.M.Stirling. he is up to 16 or 17 books in the series but the first three are a solid stand alone trilogy."
#79
Claudia Gray
4.0
(1)
"Defy the Stars - Claudia Gray"
#80
Sarah Crossan
4.0
(1)
"Breathe by Sarah Crossan"
#81
Jose Saramago
4.0
(1)
"Jose Saramago: Blindness"
#82
Ayn Rand
4.0
(1)
"Anthem by Ayn Rand is a good one. It’s got more of a classic novel feel like 1984 and Animal Farm, but it’s a quick read and I enjoyed it enough to read it a few times over."
#83
Charlie Fletcher
4.0
(1)
"A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by Charlie Fletcher"
#84
Nora Roberts
3.0
(1)
"Year One by Nora Roberts (this one has a touch more romance but it's not the central plot)"
#85
Dan Wells
3.0
(1)
"Ruins - Dan Wells"
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