Dystopias book series in reading order

by James Axler

by Margaret Atwood

by Ernest Cline

Robert Kirkman

181 books• 31 series

Robert Kirkman, born 30 November 1978, is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and producer. Kirkman co-created The Walking Dead, Invincible, Tech Jacket, Outcast, Oblivion Song and Fire Power for Image Comics, wrote Ultimate X-Men, Irredeemable Ant-Man and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics, and worked with Todd McFarlane on Haunt. Kirkman is one of the five partners of Image Comics and serves as its COO. The catalogue gathers 181 volumes published between 2001 and 2026, listed as graphic novel and omnibus collections, from Battle Pope, Vol. 1: Genesis (2001) to The Emissary (2026). Charlie Adlard shares the credit on 2 volumes and Sean Phillips on 1.

James Axler is the pen name under which Mark Ellis wrote scores of Deathlands and Outlanders novels. The books are post-apocalyptic men's adventure: survivalism, the regression of civilisation, imaginary wars and the invented territory called Deathlands. The Axler name carries 234 titles published between 1986 and 2025, from Pilgrimage to Hell (1986) to Wraith Winter (2025). Volumes run long at a median of 347 pages, and Earthblood is a third series beside the two main runs.

Margaret Atwood

89 books• 8 series

Margaret Atwood, born November 18, 1939, is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic and inventor. The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopian novel from 1985, is the best-known Atwood work. Atwood's output includes 18 poetry books, 18 novels, 11 non-fiction books, nine short fiction collections, eight children's books and two graphic novels. The catalogue opens with The Circle Game (1964) and runs to Book of Lives (2025), with The Edible Woman (1969) and Surfacing (1972) along the way. Series include MaddAddam, Handmaid's Tale and Angel Catbird. Awards include two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Franz Kafka Prize and the Order of Canada.

Veronica Roth

27 books• 12 series

Divergent (2011) opens the catalogue of Veronica Roth, an American novelist and short story writer born August 19, 1988. Sales of the Divergent trilogy exceed 35 million copies worldwide. Insurgent (2012), Allegiant (2013) and Four (2014) follow early in the list, which counts 28 titles through Seek the Traitor's Son (2026). Carve the Mark, Curse Bearer and Sixth Faction are the other named series. Dystopias, courage, identity and social classes appear among the subject headings.

Frank Beddor

13 books• 2 series

Frank Beddor, born July 31, 1958, is an American former world champion freestyle skier who has also worked as a film producer, actor and stuntman. Beddor's producing credits include There's Something About Mary and Wicked. As an author, Beddor wrote The Looking Glass Wars (2004), and the catalogue lists 13 books to 2017 across the Looking Glass Wars and Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars series. Subjects include fantasy, dystopias and graphic novels.

Stephen King

223 books• 25 series

Horror fiction is the field most closely tied to Stephen King, an American author born on September 21, 1947, and nicknamed the "King of Horror". King's work also reaches into suspense, crime, science fiction, fantasy and mystery, and includes roughly 200 short stories, most later gathered in collections. Carrie (1974) was the debut that set King in horror; Different Seasons (1982), four novellas in one volume, marked the first major step outside it. The catalogue lists 223 books from 1971 to 2026, starting with The Blue Air Compressor, a short story, and reaching Other Worlds Than These (2026). Series on file include Holly Gibney, the Bill Hodges Trilogy, Green Mile, Shining and Talisman.

Paranormal romance, contemporary romance and romantic suspense make up the work of Rebecca Zanetti, a bestseller on both the New York Times and USA Today lists. The catalogue counts 93 books from 2011, when Claimed, Fated and Hunted appeared, through Bound by Fire (2026). Zanetti's series include Dark Protectors, Realm Enforcers, Scorpius Syndrome, Sin Brothers, Deep Ops, Maverick Montana, Anna Albertini Files, Laurel Snow, Knife's Edge, Alaska and Grimm Bargains. Subjects include vampires, soldiers, disease and dystopia.

Pierce Brown

10 books• 2 series

Pierce Brown writes science fiction, and the Red Rising saga accounts for the whole catalogue. Red Rising (2014), Golden Son (2015) and Morning Star (2016) come first, followed by the Iron Gold tetralogy, which runs from Iron Gold and Dark Age (2018) to Lightbringer (2023). Ten catalogued books carry Brown's name, graphic novels made with Rik Hoskin among them. Dystopia and resistance to government are the recurring subjects.

Jay Kristoff

26 books• 8 series

Jay Kristoff, born 11 November 1973, is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction for adult and young adult readers who lives in Melbourne. Stormdancer (2012) is the first catalogued book, followed by Kinslayer (2013), Endsinger (2014), Illuminae (2015), Gemina (2016), Nevernight (2016) and Godsgrave (2017); Allwinter (2025) is the newest of 26 books. Series include Lotus War, Illuminae Files, Nevernight Chronicle, Empire of the Vampire, Lifelike and Aurora Cycle. Japan, shoguns, griffins and space flight appear among the subjects.

Nora Roberts

279 books• 37 series

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is an American writer of romance under that name. As J. D. Robb, Roberts writes police procedurals with science-fiction elements, and has also published as Jill March and, in the UK, as Sarah Hardesty. This listing carries 280 Roberts books, opening with Irish Thoroughbred (1981); The Missing is scheduled for 2027. Series on the page include the In Death Universe, the MacGregors, Night Tales, the Calhoun Women, the Chesapeake Bay Saga, Irish Hearts and the O'Hurleys.

Contemporary romance and romantic suspense are the two fields Canadian author Elle Kennedy works in. Born on 19 January 1982, Kennedy has won a RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America. The catalogue credits 78 books to Kennedy, starting with Bad Moon Rising (Short Story) in 2007 and reaching Bad Idea, due in 2027. Kennedy's series include Killer Instincts, Off-Campus, Briar U, Campus Diaries, Avalon Bay, Outlaws, Prep and Small Town Scandals. Subjects tagged on the books include hockey and sports romance.

S.M. Stirling

96 books• 25 series

Born in France on September 30, 1953, Stephen Michael Stirling writes science fiction and fantasy as S.M. Stirling and holds Canadian and American nationality. Stirling is the author of the Draka alternate history novels, the Nantucket books combining time travel with alternate history, and the Emberverse. The catalogue starts with Snow Brother (1985), then The Sharpest Edge (1986), Marching Through Georgia (1988) and Under the Yoke (1989). Series include Raj Whitehall, Fifth Millennium, Island in the Sea of Time, Dies the Fire, Lords of Creation, Shadowspawn and T2. Subjects include time travel, the regression of civilization, imaginary wars and space warfare.

Neal Asher

44 books• 10 series

Neal Asher, born in 1961, is an English science fiction writer living near Chelmsford. Asher's fiction works in space opera and military science fiction: artificial intelligence, human-alien encounters, space warfare and dystopias run through it. The Polity universe holds most of the catalogue, with Agent Cormac, Spatterjay, Rise of the Jain and Far Future Polity set inside it, and the Owner Trilogy standing apart. Forty-four books span 1994 to 2026, from Africa Zero to Dark Agent.

Justin Cronin

6 books• 1 series

Justin Cronin is an American novelist with six books catalogued between 2001 and 2023. Mary and O'Neil (2001) and The Summer Guest (2004) came first. A vampire trilogy followed, grouped here as the Passage series: The Passage (2010), The Twelve (2012) and The City of Mirrors (2016). The Ferryman (2023) is the most recent title. Dystopian fiction, survival and epic fantasy carry the subject tags. No further Cronin title is listed, and the catalogue is dormant.

Ann Aguirre, born on 27 August 1970, is an American writer of speculative fiction across urban fantasy, romantic science fiction and post-apocalyptic dystopian young adult fiction. Apocalyptic paranormal romance appears under the shared name Ellen Connor with Carrie Lofty, and paranormal romantic suspense under the name Ava Gray. The catalogue lists 160 books, from Grimspace (2008) and Wanderlust (2008) to The Hocus Pocus Handbook (2026). Series include Sirantha Jax, Razorland, Corine Solomon and Ars Numina, plus Ava Gray series such as Alpha Billionaire and Valkov Bratva. Subjects include interstellar travel and women astronauts.

Greg Rucka

105 books• 35 series

Greg Rucka, born November 29, 1969, is an American novelist and comics writer. The Atticus Kodiak novels carry Rucka's name, as do the creator-owned comics Whiteout, Queen & Country, Stumptown and Lazarus. For DC Comics, Rucka wrote long runs on Detective Comics, Wonder Woman and Gotham Central, and co-created Kate Kane, the second Batwoman; the Marvel work includes Elektra, Wolverine and The Punisher. Crossover material by Rucka includes No Man's Land, Infinite Crisis and New Krypton. The catalogue lists 106 titles from 1994 onward, with Keeper (1996) and Whiteout (1998) among the early entries and a Batwoman collection scheduled for 2027.

Marcus Sakey

14 books• 3 series

Marcus Sakey is an American author and the host of the Travel Channel show Hidden City. 14 catalogued books run from The Blade Itself (2007) to Afterlife (2017). The Brilliance Saga is the one series; the rest are standalone novels and short fiction, among them Good People (2008), The Amateurs (2009) and The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes (2011). Criminals, ex-convicts, kidnapping and a dystopian strand fill the subjects, and the catalogue is likely complete.

Tim Lebbon, born in London on 28 July 1969, is a British writer of horror and dark fantasy. The catalogue also records science fiction, thrillers, dystopias and media tie-ins among the subjects. Faith in the Flesh (1998), White (1999), Hush (2000) and The Nature of Balance (2001) are among the earlier books, and Halo: Parasite's Wake (2026) is the newest. Tim Lebbon's series include Noreela, Toxic City, Relics and Rage War.

Dystopian science fiction is what the catalogue records for G. Michael Hopf, with the end of the world, the regression of civilisation, survival, electromagnetic interference and the United States among the subjects. The 29 books run from The End (2013) to Cries of a Dying World (2023), with The Long Road (2013), Sanctuary (2014) and The Line of Departure (2014) early in the sequence. Beyond The Fray, Van Zandt Chronicles and Driver 8 Trilogy are the three series credited to Hopf, and New World stands as a character entry. Nothing has been listed since 2023, so the entry is dormant.

Charlaine Harris

78 books• 14 series

Charlaine Harris, born Jean Charlaine Harris Schulz on November 25, 1951, in Tunica, Mississippi, is an American author specialising in mysteries. The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Harris's best-known series, became HBO's True Blood, which ran for seven seasons from 2008 to 2014. The catalogue starts with Sweet and Deadly (1981) and A Secret Rage (1984) and reaches The Last Wizards' Ball (2025). Sookie Stackhouse, Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, Gunnie Rose and Midnight, Texas are among the series. Vampires, werewolves and women librarians appear in the subjects, and Harris lives in Texas.

T.J. Klune (Travis John Klune) won a Lambda Literary Award for Into This River I Drown (2013) and once worked as a claims examiner for an insurance company. Bear, Otter, and the Kid (2011) is the first of 47 catalogued books, and We Burned So Bright (2026) is the newest, with The Stars Look Like Home due in 2027. The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries are named novels. Green Creek and Tales From Verania are series, and subjects include M/M romance, LGBTQ+ fiction and fantasy.

A. American is the byline of Chris Weatherman, who also publishes as Angery American. The catalogue holds 22 books published between 2012 and 2026, starting with Going Home (2012) and reaching Resurgence (2026). Subjects include survivalism, electromagnetic pulse, electric power failures, refugees, social conflict, Florida, dystopian fiction and war and military writing. The Survivalist sequence is the main run, with Charlie's Requiem, standalone novels and non-fiction listed beside it. Forsaking Home and Resurrecting Home both reached the USA Today bestseller list, and Weatherman appeared in the first season of the History Channel series Alone.

Adrian Tchaikovsky

83 books• 21 series

Adrian Tchaikovsky is the name under which British author Adrian Czajkowski, born in June 1972, publishes fantasy and science fiction. The natural world shapes the writing, which often treats artificial intelligence and alienness through non-human characters. Tchaikovsky is best known for Shadows of the Apt and for the Children of Time series, which won a Hugo Award; Children of Time also took the 30th Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016. The catalogue holds 86 books, opening with Empire in Black and Gold (2008), and Last Song of Ash is due in 2027. Further series include Final Architecture, Tyrant Philosophers, Dogs of War and Echoes of the Fall.

Lois Lowry

52 books• 8 series

Lois Lowry, born Lois Ann Hammersberg on March 20, 1937, is an American writer of books for children and young adults. Lowry's work includes The Giver Quartet, Number the Stars, the Anastasia series and Rabble Starkey, and takes on dystopias and difficult themes for young readers. Number the Stars won the Newbery Medal in 1990 and The Giver won it in 1994. Gooney Bird Greene received the 2002 Rhode Island Children's Book Award. Several Lowry books, The Giver among them, have been challenged or banned in some schools. The catalogue holds 52 Lowry books from A Summer to Die (1977) to Building 903 (2026).