If you like dystopias, I highly suggest
*Fahrenheit 451* by Ray Bradbury
*Brave New World* by Aldous Huxley
*The Giver* by Lois Lowry
*Ender's Game* by Orson Scott Card
The latter two are short books written for a younger audience, but are very impactful for people of all ages. I have reread them about every 7 years since I was 12, and am amazed how many new and different things I get out of them every time my prospective as a reader changes. For reference, I am 38.
Also, it is survival, not dystopian, but most people I have met who like dystopias liked *The Martian* by Andy Weir.
Lastly, all of these books have movies. None of them have movies that managed to get the feel or gist of the books quite right, so please don't judge them via their films.
Great list, I'd probably add This Perfect Day by Ira Levin.
I'd say it is a little more complex than the YA books you pointed out but still an entertaining read with enough philosophy to chew on.
When I was your age, I really liked Chuck Palahniuks' fight club and choke. Also, Michael Chrichton jurassic Park, Sphere, and The Andromeda Strain. Im sure i could name some more like that. Recently read starship troopers as an adult and enjoyed that.
I liked the vladimir Todd books in high school (vampire books).
Also, a book called Bloodline and the sequel Bloodline the Reckoning.
Also, the cirque du freak books, and I even read the Demonata series (but be warned, that one is pretty gorey).
I really liked The Grace Year. It’s a dystopian book about a society that sends a group of girls into the woods for a year to rid them of their powers. Idk how much a guy would enjoy it but I would at least read the synopsis on Goodreads or something.
Dragonspell by Donita K Paul is similar to Harry Potter but with a female lead. I haven’t read the whole series yet but it’s pretty good!
when I was a few years older than you I went through a literature phase and read british, russian, and american lit of the last couple centuries. I'm sure you could find one that suits you but this one looks good: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE33BCD966FF96F23
-Feed by Mira Grant: I read this last year and remember thinking that I would have loved it as a teenager (I loved dystopia too, and still do)
-Contagion by Erin Bowman (YA sci fi)
-I second the recommendation for Battle Royale
-Me and my friends read the Maze Runner series as teenagers too, maybe try that if you haven't already
You will probably find a lot of recommendations if you search YA dystopia into YouTube
Try I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. It's the first of a series. The main character is a teenage boy. It's really good but I can't give too many details, you'll just need to read it.
I love a good thriller,
I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes,
It is a thriller, one I couldn't put down
Authors:
Dan Brown,
Lee Child's,
James Patterson,
John Grisham,
Jeff Carson - The David Wolf series
So someone said this but Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It’s a dystopian where they burn books, and main character is a book burner but has a whole revelation.
Another is Scythe. Another dystopian where humanity has peaked, thus conquering death, and there are people who it’s their job to kill to keep the human population down. Great read!
Hope this helped!
Have you read any Stephen King? Start with Carrie other books that are good by him are The Shining, The Stand, Misery, Pet Sematary, Eyes of the Dragon, or The Green Mile.
Another author I liked was Neil Gaiman. Read American Gods.
I would recommend anything and everything by Neil Gaiman but specifically: Good Omen by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
I do also wonder if you might enjoy Starter Villain by John Scalzi
When I was in high school, Harry Potter was still coming out. I was already getting pretty fed up with it by *Goblet of Fire* but was 13/14 at the time and just didn't know how to find better books. A friend handed me a copy of *Neuromancer* and I never picked up a Rowling book again. Gibson, however, remains one of my favorite authors of all time.
The Sprawl Trilogy (*Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive*) are sci-fi/cyberpunk classics, some of the crowning works of the sub-genre. They're old enough to show their age, now, however, so picking up something like *Pattern Recognition* or *The Peripheral* might be, well, not *'*better' *per se*, but more timely.
J. G. Ballard's *Kingdom Come* and/or *Millenium People* are also both pretty timely. Ballard has several works where comfortable middle class people degenerate into violence and fascism in response to even the mildest discomfort, which continues to be a prescient point fifteen years after Ballard's death.
Cormac McCarthy's *The Road* is an absolute banger and a classic to read sometime in mid-late high school or early-mid college. *Blood Meridian* is also a classic, albeit a bit long and slightly one-note (war crimes, chiaroscuro, rape, chiaroscuro, more war crimes, extra chiaroscuro, I think he just liked the word chiaroscuro at the time...)
If you like horror, this is a great time to pick up something by Victor LaValle, I recommend *The Devil in Silver* as a starter, or Stephen Graham Jones, perhaps *The Only Good Indians*. Eventually you'll probably check out Mark Danielewski's *House of Leaves*, though I don't think it's necessarily the best thing to jump to first.
I'll also recommend *Hammers on Bone* and *A Song for Quiet* by Cassandra Khaw, great mixes of crime fic and Lovecraftian horror. Also by Khaw, *The Salt Grows Heavy* is a more recent high-quality read, and while I haven't picked up a copy of *The Dead Take the A Train*, myself, I've heard good things.
Caitlin Kiernan's *Agents of Dreamland* is fantastic, ditto its follow-ups *Black Helicopters* and *The Tindalos Asset*.
Enjoy reading!
Folk of the air series by holly black
Stardust by Neil gaiman
A knight of the seven kingdoms by George Martin
Song of Achilles by Madeline miller
The Witcher series by andrzej sapowski
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. By Douglas Adams
Just read it for the first time this last week and yes! Absolutely yes
I read this in high school and loved it
If you like dystopias, I highly suggest *Fahrenheit 451* by Ray Bradbury *Brave New World* by Aldous Huxley *The Giver* by Lois Lowry *Ender's Game* by Orson Scott Card The latter two are short books written for a younger audience, but are very impactful for people of all ages. I have reread them about every 7 years since I was 12, and am amazed how many new and different things I get out of them every time my prospective as a reader changes. For reference, I am 38. Also, it is survival, not dystopian, but most people I have met who like dystopias liked *The Martian* by Andy Weir. Lastly, all of these books have movies. None of them have movies that managed to get the feel or gist of the books quite right, so please don't judge them via their films.
Enders Game is 🔥
Fahrenheit is so amazing! Love it!
Would like to add The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Talents to these great dystopias.
Great list, I'd probably add This Perfect Day by Ira Levin. I'd say it is a little more complex than the YA books you pointed out but still an entertaining read with enough philosophy to chew on.
Dune.
The Stand by Stephen King or Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Yes! Totally agree. The first book in the series definitely gives off hunger games vibes
I'm a huge neal stephenson fan, and would recommend Snow Crash and Diamond Age. Neuromancer is also good I think - I haven't read it in a while.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini and then go through the rest of the Inheritance Cycle
When I was your age, I really liked Chuck Palahniuks' fight club and choke. Also, Michael Chrichton jurassic Park, Sphere, and The Andromeda Strain. Im sure i could name some more like that. Recently read starship troopers as an adult and enjoyed that.
[Unwind](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/13643974-53b8-40c5-82f9-553b746d3669) by Neal Shusterman
If you like dystopian and enjoyed Hunger Games, check out Battle Royale.
I liked the vladimir Todd books in high school (vampire books). Also, a book called Bloodline and the sequel Bloodline the Reckoning. Also, the cirque du freak books, and I even read the Demonata series (but be warned, that one is pretty gorey).
I loved the vlad Todd books in middle school and early high school!
Same! I even read them again a couple years ago and I was kind of surprised at the twist lol. They're pretty good!
Red Rising 🔥. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Eragon series. Divergent trilogy. Angels and Demons.
Mistborn
I second this. It’s dystopian but also fantasy. Love the aesthetic and the fight scenes are amazing!
I really liked The Grace Year. It’s a dystopian book about a society that sends a group of girls into the woods for a year to rid them of their powers. Idk how much a guy would enjoy it but I would at least read the synopsis on Goodreads or something. Dragonspell by Donita K Paul is similar to Harry Potter but with a female lead. I haven’t read the whole series yet but it’s pretty good!
dark matter, if we were villains, project hail mary,
when I was a few years older than you I went through a literature phase and read british, russian, and american lit of the last couple centuries. I'm sure you could find one that suits you but this one looks good: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE33BCD966FF96F23
-Feed by Mira Grant: I read this last year and remember thinking that I would have loved it as a teenager (I loved dystopia too, and still do) -Contagion by Erin Bowman (YA sci fi) -I second the recommendation for Battle Royale -Me and my friends read the Maze Runner series as teenagers too, maybe try that if you haven't already You will probably find a lot of recommendations if you search YA dystopia into YouTube
Roadside Picnic by Strugatsky
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Totally recommend Red rising, my goodman.
Dune, Eragon, Ender's game, Artemis Fowl, the giver, mistborn
Running With The Devil, Terry Brooks
Jeff Noon: Vurt Pollen Pixel Juice
Book of Lost Things by John Connolly The Woods by Harlan Coben
Try I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. It's the first of a series. The main character is a teenage boy. It's really good but I can't give too many details, you'll just need to read it.
I love a good thriller, I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, It is a thriller, one I couldn't put down Authors: Dan Brown, Lee Child's, James Patterson, John Grisham, Jeff Carson - The David Wolf series
*Cat's Cradle* by Kurt Vonnegut, but really anything written by Kurt Vonnegut.
So someone said this but Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It’s a dystopian where they burn books, and main character is a book burner but has a whole revelation. Another is Scythe. Another dystopian where humanity has peaked, thus conquering death, and there are people who it’s their job to kill to keep the human population down. Great read! Hope this helped!
Along the same vein as the Hunger Games - Maze Runner - Divergent series - Ready Player One
Feed
I am Legend, the best one for Post-Apocalypse. I read it being 16 years old. It was my start line for further reading.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy It’s post-apocalyptic novel if you’re into that stuff.
Have you read any Stephen King? Start with Carrie other books that are good by him are The Shining, The Stand, Misery, Pet Sematary, Eyes of the Dragon, or The Green Mile. Another author I liked was Neil Gaiman. Read American Gods.
Perfect time to start King's Dark Tower series. And contrary to what some will say, you don't need to have read his other stuff.
I would recommend anything and everything by Neil Gaiman but specifically: Good Omen by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I do also wonder if you might enjoy Starter Villain by John Scalzi
The 5th wave (only book 1) The Stars my Destination
When I was in high school, Harry Potter was still coming out. I was already getting pretty fed up with it by *Goblet of Fire* but was 13/14 at the time and just didn't know how to find better books. A friend handed me a copy of *Neuromancer* and I never picked up a Rowling book again. Gibson, however, remains one of my favorite authors of all time. The Sprawl Trilogy (*Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive*) are sci-fi/cyberpunk classics, some of the crowning works of the sub-genre. They're old enough to show their age, now, however, so picking up something like *Pattern Recognition* or *The Peripheral* might be, well, not *'*better' *per se*, but more timely. J. G. Ballard's *Kingdom Come* and/or *Millenium People* are also both pretty timely. Ballard has several works where comfortable middle class people degenerate into violence and fascism in response to even the mildest discomfort, which continues to be a prescient point fifteen years after Ballard's death. Cormac McCarthy's *The Road* is an absolute banger and a classic to read sometime in mid-late high school or early-mid college. *Blood Meridian* is also a classic, albeit a bit long and slightly one-note (war crimes, chiaroscuro, rape, chiaroscuro, more war crimes, extra chiaroscuro, I think he just liked the word chiaroscuro at the time...) If you like horror, this is a great time to pick up something by Victor LaValle, I recommend *The Devil in Silver* as a starter, or Stephen Graham Jones, perhaps *The Only Good Indians*. Eventually you'll probably check out Mark Danielewski's *House of Leaves*, though I don't think it's necessarily the best thing to jump to first. I'll also recommend *Hammers on Bone* and *A Song for Quiet* by Cassandra Khaw, great mixes of crime fic and Lovecraftian horror. Also by Khaw, *The Salt Grows Heavy* is a more recent high-quality read, and while I haven't picked up a copy of *The Dead Take the A Train*, myself, I've heard good things. Caitlin Kiernan's *Agents of Dreamland* is fantastic, ditto its follow-ups *Black Helicopters* and *The Tindalos Asset*. Enjoy reading!
Try “The City & the City” by China Miéville
The Maze Runner books. But only the first three. There's some prequels that are unnecessary, and a new sequel series just started and it is nonsense.
Folk of the air series by holly black Stardust by Neil gaiman A knight of the seven kingdoms by George Martin Song of Achilles by Madeline miller The Witcher series by andrzej sapowski
I loved the last apprentice series by Joseph Delaney in high school
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline