From post-apocalyptic worlds ravaged by violence and struggle to futuristic societies led by a totalitarian government, you can always rely on dystopian fiction to push the boundaries of expectation.

Despite the dystopian-like vibes of the last few years, our love of unsettling novels hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, lots of people found comfort in dystopian literature and TV during the pandemic. 

And now, what was once a genre dominated by classics such as 1984 and Brave New World or young adult series such as The Hunger Games has grown to explore more contemporary visions of the future which speak to modern anxieties about the climate, technology and more.

So, if you’re looking for a novel that can speak to the uncertainty, discomfort and general angst of the modern world, keep reading to check out our pick of the best modern dystopian fiction to read now.  

The Memory Of Animals by Clare Fuller

The Memory Of Animals, the new book from the Costa Novel Award-winning author of Unsettled Ground, is a haunting novel about love, survival and everything in between.

It follows the story of Neffy – a young woman who answers the call to take part in an experimental vaccine trial to run away from the grief and guilt that’s consuming her. Once she arrives, however, disaster strikes – and as the world falls silent, she and the four strangers on her unit are left to survive on their own with questions no one can answer.

But as she ponders the precarity of her situation, Neffy is introduced to a piece of technology that gives her the ability to revisit memories from her life before. Intoxicated by this new escape, she slips further and further away from the perilous reality in front of her. Will this obsession become her downfall? 

Coming out later this week, The Memory Of Animals is one to get excited about.

Pre-order The Memory Of Animals by Clare Fuller (Penguin) at Bookshop, £16.14

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling

An eerily prescient novel about climate change, society and what could lie ahead, Camp Zero follows the stories of a handful of climate change survivors as they arrive at a new base in northern Canada.

But Camp Zero is hiding many secrets. And before long, the people living there realise there’s a disturbing mystery lurking beneath this supposedly safe haven.

Shop Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling (John Murray) at Bookshop, £16.14

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

Set on an unnamed island, off an unnamed coast, The Memory Police presents a future version of society where memories are no longer under personal control.

Instead, when things begin disappearing from the island, most of the inhabitants forget they ever existed. Except, that is, from the few who remember, left to live in fear of the memory police and their primary aim: to ensure what disappears remains forgotten forever. 

Shop The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa (Harvill Secker) at Bookshop, £9.49

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

I Who Have Never Known Men may be the oldest book on this list – it was first published in French back in 1995 – but the timeless nature of its narrative puts it right at home with some of the more recent books on this list.

Set in a bunker deep underground, I Who Have Never Known Men follows the story of a young girl imprisoned in a cage with 39 older women. Kept in isolation and guarded 24 hours a day, the women have no idea why they’re there.

Before long, however, things change – and the older women realise their young companion is the key to their escape and survival in the strange new world that awaits. 

Shop I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Vintage) at Bookshop, £9.49

How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

How High We Go In The Dark is so much more than a collection of short stories about the global impact of a virus released from the Siberian permafrost – but that should be enough to get you started.

Genre-defying and thought-provoking, Sequoia Nagamatsu’s debut novel offers a truly unique reading experience.

Shop How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu (Bloomsbury Publishing) at Bookshop, £16.14

Severance by Ling Ma

Released in 2018, this dystopian pandemic novel by Ling Ma feels scarily prescient in light of the years that followed its publication.

Set in New York City, the book follows Candace Chen – a young, unfulfilled woman working in Bible production – as a mysterious fungal infection takes over the world and changes her life forever.

Told through a series of flashbacks and present-day narration, Severance provides an eye-opening look at modern work culture and what it takes from us.

Shop Severance by Ling Ma (Text Publishing) at Bookshop, £8.54

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

The Water Cure was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize shortly after its release back in 2018, and it’s not hard to see why.

Mysterious and unsettling with a Handmaid’s Tale-esque feel, the book follows the story of three sisters who live with their parents on an island isolated from society to keep them safe. It’s only when three strangers arrive, however, that things begin to fall apart.

Shop The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (Hamish Hamilton) at Bookshop, £8.54

The Stranding by Kate Sawyer

This captivating and unique novel from Kate Sawyer follows a woman called Ruth, who trades in her claustrophobic life in the city for a new beginning in New Zealand. When she arrives, however, she is confronted by a global catastrophe that threatens her survival.

Confronted with the fact that the world she left behind no longer exists, Ruth is left alone with a complete stranger to deal with her new reality.

Shop The Stranding by Kate Sawyer (Hodder & Stoughton) at Bookshop, £14.24

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven may have been published in 2014, but it’s commentary on celebrity and what it means to rebuild once everything is lost feels as relevant as it did when it was first released.

Set both before and after the world is transformed by a deadly virus, Station Eleven is an elegiac story about what defines humanity.

Shop Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Pan Macmillan) at Bookshop, £9.49

The Power by Naomi Alderman

If you’re a fan of feminist dystopia, then you’ll love Naomi Alderman’s The Power. The novel – which has been adapted into a TV series starring Toni Collette – is set in a world where teenage girls inexplicably gain the power to conduct electricity through their hands, giving them the option to cause excruciating pain and even death.

Speculative and thrilling, The Power explores what happens when the power dynamics in society are drastically altered, and exposes our world in the process.

Shop The Power by Naomi Alderman (Penguin) at Bookshop, £9.49

Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Leave The World Behind may be more dystopian-adjacent than most of the other novels on this list, but its certainly unsettling.

Set just outside New York City, the novel opens with a family arriving at a holiday home for a week away. But when a couple arrive at the house in a panic, with news that the city has been struck by a major power outage, their idyllic holiday quickly comes to an end.

With no phone and TV signal, the two families are forced to figure out what’s going on – all while deciding whether they can trust the people they’re now living with.

Shop Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Bloomsbury Publishing) at Bookshop, £8.54

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Set in a world where girls are banished from society for a year at 16 to shake off their ‘dangerous’ magic and return purified and ready for marriage, The Grace Year follows the story of Tierney James – a young girl who is fast-approaching her time to leave.

As gripping as it is thought-provoking, The Grace Year provides a close and eye-opening look at female relationships and the decisions we’re forced to make as we grow up.

Shop The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (Cornerstone) at Bookshop, £9.49

The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Scarily realistic and thought-provoking, The School For Good Mothers is one of those dystopian novels that sends shivers down your spine. The novel – which is Chan’s debut – follows the story of Frida Liu, a young mother whose momentary lapse in judgement sees her land in a government reform program, the outcome of which will determine who gets custody of her child.

A commentary on modern-day parenting and the pressure to be ‘perfect’, The School For Good Mothers is one to add to your list.

Shop The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (Penguin) at Bookshop, £8.54

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

The End We Start From is one of those books that sticks with you long after you finish it. Simultaneously haunting and hopeful, it follows the story of a woman who gives birth to her first child as the world falls apart around her.

Over the weeks that follow the new family is forced to travel from place to place in search of safety – all while the newborn child experiences the world for the first time.

Shop The End We Start From by Megan Hunter (Picador) at Bookshop, £9.49

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings

Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power, The Women Could Fly is a feminist dystopia set in a world where witches are real and young women – in particular, young Black women – are closely monitored for signs of magic and regularly put on trial for witchcraft.

With this fear in the back of her head, the book follows one young woman as she tries to come to terms with the disappearance of her mother 14 years ago, and eventually decide what she actually wants from life.

Shop The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings (Pan Macmillan) at Bookshop, £16.14

Are You Happy Now by Hanna Jameson

This brand-new book from The Last’s Hanna Jameson is a mysterious and thought-provoking novel about a society in crisis. The emergency at hand? People are sitting down and refusing to get up all around the world, and it’s not clear whether it’s an illness, lifestyle or even a choice.

Now, everyone is faced with a choice – feel everything, or nothing at all.

Shop Are You Happy Now by Hanna Jameson (Penguin) at Bookshop, £14.24

The Last Children Of Tokyo by Yōko Tawada

Short and sharp, Yōko Tawada’s novel is set in a future Japan where pollution and natural disasters have scarred the face of the earth and children are born frail and grey-haired.

Following the story of Yoshiro – a 108-year-old who remains the picture of health – and his sickly grandchild Mumei, The Last Children Of Tokyo sees the pair struggle through the challenges of life in search of an answer.

Shop The Last Children Of Tokyo by Yōko Tawada (Granta Books) at Bookshop, £9.49

Images: courtesy of publishers