The dystopian genre is filled with many amazing books to read. But choosing which ones to read is not always easy. That is why we made this list of the 30 must read dystopian novels of all time. Keep reading to find out which books made our list!
As someone that devours dystopian novels, I am always eager to find new ones to read. There are tons of classics and new novels that are pushing this genre to new heights.
And while this list will only include 30 books, we know that is just the beginning. We may consider these 30 books must reads but that doesn’t mean you should stop there. Seek out even more dystopian novels and discover a world with endless possibilities. You can see the full list below!
The 30 Must Read Dystopian Novels of All Time
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
- Zone One by Colson Whitehead
- The Children of Men by P.D. James
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- The Stand by Stephen King
- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- The Iron Heel by Jack London
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- Year One By Nora Roberts
- Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Divergent by Veronica Roth
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
- The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner
- I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson
Must Read Dystopian Novels
One of the most popular dystopian novels must be The Handmaid’s Tale. Some people may have read it in school while others read it for fun but either way, it is an impactful novel. Another classic dystopian novel that is up there is 1984. They both tackle serious issues and make us imagine the worst-case scenarios.
The dystopian genre wasn’t always aimed towards younger readers. It tackled series issues like the world ending after World War II as people began to imagine the worst possible outcome. After seeing the nuclear bomb, you can’t really blame them.
Some of my favorite books in this genre are books that haven’t gotten the love they deserve. Station Eleven is a modern classic and a novel that more people should read. The Iron Heel by Jack London is another great novel that was published over a century ago. It is credited as one of the first dystopian novels ever written.
Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver was a dystopian novel that was written for a younger audience. And that opened the floodgates and led to novels like The Hunger Games. It is hard to ignore the impact of The Hunger Games as that novel led to many dystopian novels releasing soon after. And while they didn’t capture the magic that Suzanne Collins had, they still made a name for themselves.
Conclusion
That ends this list of the 30 best dystopian novels of all time. What did you think of the list? What novels should we have included? Let us know in the comments below!
I like getting the lists, but why are they always so badly edited that there’s lots of doubles? It’s kind of irritating.
I’m not sure they’re edited at all. Making sure there are no duplicates in the list after so many people have in commented about that should be step number one for editing these at this point. There’s almost never a list without duplicates.
“The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan
Dystopian and post-apocalyptic are not the same. It’s only dystopia if it showcases the problems with a mis-ordered, but supposedly perfect society. Almost half the list doesn’t really fit the genre.
Is A Wrinkle in Time dystopian?