Penguin Best Dystopian books of all time.

Whether it's the super-surveillance of Oceania or the repressive regime of Gilead, dystopian novels are resonating more strongly than ever with readers around the world.

1984

1984
ByGeorge Orwell

1949 • 5,782 Readers • 328 pages 4.2

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange
ByAnthony Burgess

1962 • 1,422 Readers • 149 pages 3.9

Anthem

Anthem
ByAyn Rand

1936 • 255 Readers • 48 pages 3.5

Brave New World

Brave New World
ByAldous Huxley

1930 • 3,027 Readers • 332 pages 3.9

Cat's Cradle

Cat's Cradle
ByKurt Vonnegut

1963 • 1,141 Readers • 192 pages 4.1

Chain Gang All Stars

Chain Gang All Stars
ByNana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

2022 • 477 Readers • 384 pages 4.1

China Dream

China Dream
ByMa Jian,Flora Drew(Translator)

2018 • 23 Readers • 192 pages 2.5

Eve of Man

#1 of 2 in Eve of Man

Eve of Man
ByGiovanna Fletcher,Tom Fletcher

2018 • 27 Readers • 400 pages 3.2

Fatherland

Fatherland
ByRobert Harris

1993 • 110 Readers • 404 pages 3.8

Gliff

Gliff
ByAli Smith

2024 • 4 Readers • 288 pages

It Can't Happen Here

It Can't Happen Here
BySinclair Lewis

1935 • 123 Readers • 384 pages 3.7

Noughts & Crosses

#1 of 5 in Noughts and Crosses

Noughts & Crosses
ByMalorie Blackman

2001 • 124 Readers • 132 pages 3.8

Ready Player One

#1 of 2 in Ready Player One

Ready Player One
ByErnest Cline

2008 • 2,854 Readers • 384 pages 3.9

Slaughterhouse 5

Critical Insights

Slaughterhouse 5
ByKurt Vonnegut

1968 • 2,384 Readers • 292 pages 4.1

The Day Of The Triffids

#1 of 2 in Triffids

197 • 365 Readers • 196 pages 3.8

The Death of Grass

The Death of Grass
ByJohn Christopher

1956 • 60 Readers • 214 pages 3.8

The Handmaid's Tale

#1 of 2 in The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale
ByMargaret Atwood

1985 • 2,877 Readers • 324 pages 4.1

The Machine Stops

The Machine Stops
ByE.M. Forster

1909 • 112 Readers • 48 pages 4.1

The Power

The Power
ByNaomi Alderman

2016 • 703 Readers 3.7

The School for Good Mothers

2022 • 292 Readers • 336 pages 3.8

The Time Machine

The Time Machine
ByH. G. Wells

1894 • 1,150 Readers • 140 pages 3.7

The Water Cure

The Water Cure
BySophie Mackintosh

2018 • 99 Readers • 241 pages 3.3

We

We
ByYevgeny Zamyatin,Bela Shayevich(translator)

1924 • 503 Readers • 256 pages 3.7

Wool

#1 of 5 in Wool

Wool
ByHugh Howey

2011 • 1,225 Readers • 592 pages 4.1