Best Dystopian Novels Of All Time – Our Top 5
* Links marked with a * are affiliate links
Dystopian novels are having something of a revival following the pandemic and these are our picks of the very best dystopian novels of all time. These are hard hitting, compelling works of fiction that reflect back at us the very worst of our societies.
1.Best Dystopian Novel – The Road – Cormac McCarthy
Make no mistake, this novel is bleak. Set in a post apocalyptic world, this Pullitzer prize winning novel is the story of a journey of an unnamed father and son. Without doubt a modern classic, The Road is both haunting and compelling and stays with you long after you read it.
Throughout the novel we have no idea what the apocalyptic event is, only its terrifying impact on earth and humanity; the fact that the earth is dying. For this reason some critics have named it as the the most important environmental book ever written; highlighting to just what extent humanity is dependent on an intact eco system.
Viewing this as simply a book about the folly of man is to leave out so much though. Not only does it encompass suffering (some of the imagery is not easily set aside) but in the end the book is also a book about love. In a book where there is almost no hope this is the only tiny glimmer.
2. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
This is the kind of dystopian novel that has just enough reality in it that you can envision it becoming your reality in your lifetime – and is thus terrifying.
Set in the US, some time in the not so distant future, it’s a society where women have lost all rights and are subjugated to men. The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the handmaids, or procreators, in a society where fertility has become everything.
Although this is a novel seen through the eyes of a woman, it’s a novel for everyone to read – the slide from freedom to captivity for women is too plausible and terrifying not to take as a warning.
3. 1984 – George Orwell
No collection of dystopian novels would be complete with George Orwell’s 1984. Although it’s a novel that has been almost universally read it bears reading again… and again.
Written more than 70 years ago, it is nonetheless as relevant today as it ever was. Orwell’s depiction of an all seeing, all knowing state was remarkably prescient – although he never predicted perhaps that people would willingly film themselves and upload it or invite Siri and google to listen to their every move in their homes.
The Ministry Of Truth, two minutes of hate, and the relentless thought police mean that this novel serves as a brutal warning of the future. One that is, perhaps, partly already here.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever. ” George Orwell, 1984.
4. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Not just for adults, the dystopian genre is perhaps even more popular in the young adult or teen market. Thanks to the film version of this novel, it reigns supreme as the most popular dystopian novel in the young adult market.
The appeal of The Hunger Games goes beyond just the teen market though. It is eminently readable, capturing perfectly our obsessions with Reality TV, physical perfection, class divisions, poverty and ultimately, the lottery that is life.
Set in imaginary Panem, a post apocalyptic, future vision of the US, it depicts the Hunger Games, a reality show where you either win, or you die.
5. The Chrysalids- John Wyndham
Set in a post nuclear, apocalyptic society, The Chrysalids, written in the 1950s, is as relevant today as the day it was created.
Based in a society of religious and genetic fundamentalists, David, the novel’s hero is a child slowly coming to terms with the world in which he lives. In this world, any kind of genetic deviation is not tolerated as an ‘abomination’, something he himself grapples with, due to his hidden differences.
The book perfectly highlights society’s bigotry and the intolerance that outsiders face as a consequence of fear. Although it was written in the shadow of a feared nuclear apocalypse its themes apply just as easily to modern society as society during The Cold War.
