Skip to main content

15 Greatest Dystopian Novels of all Time

By March 20, 2015October 29th, 2020Discussion and Recommendations

The Dystopian genre is just about my favourite genre, and within this category are some of the most iconic novels ever written. My own personal choice for this poll is so synonymous with the genre that you can barely mention one without the other. My choice of course, is Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell and as the results show, I was not alone in my selection of this masterpiece.

In this poll ignorance was not strength, as once again you proved your depth of knowledge, with almost 500 of you voting and naming well over 100 dystopian novels.
Well Big Brother has looked over your votes and here are the top 15 best dystopian novels of all time.

Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell (108 votes)

19841

Nineteen Eighty Four (US)
Nineteen Eighty Four (UK)

Taking a whopping 20% of all the votes, is the all time classic Nineteen Eighty Four. Written shortly before his death, Orwell’s novel has remained with us inspiring countless sound bites.

Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (37 votes)

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 (US)
Fahrenheit 451 (UK)

Taking the second place is a true dystopian novel for all us bibliophiles.

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (32 votes)

the-handmaids-tale-cover

The Handmaid’s Tale (US)
The Handmaid’s Tale (UK)

The Handmaid’s Tale Review

I only read this novel a few years ago when my daughter brought it home from her English literature class, and I absolutely loved it. I should mention that Oryx and Crake by Atwood also received three votes.

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (27 votes)

Brave-New-World

Brave New World (US)
Brave New World (UK)

With 27 votes Brave New World comes in at number 4. Set in 632 AF (after Ford) this dark tale confronts many issues and taboos that ultimately got it banned in many countries and states.

Hunger Games Trilogy – Suzanne Collins (20 votes)

hungergames

Hunger Games Trilogy (US)
Hunger Games Trilogy (UK)

Few will be surprised by the inclusion of this popular Y A series. Often criticised, it nevertheless comes highly recommended as a great series for young adults and big kids like me.

There’s the top 5, and you mentioned over 100 books in all. Here’s the next 10, making up the top 15.




The Road – Cormac McCarthy (18 votes)
Divergent Series – Vernonica Roth (15 votes)
The Stand – Stephen King (11 votes)
The Giver Series – Lois Lowry (10 votes)
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand (7 votes)
Children of Men – P.D James (6 votes)
Maze Runner Series – James Dashner (5 votes)
Wool/The Silo Series – Hugh Howey (4 votes)
WE – Yevgeny Zamyatin (4 votes)
The Uglies Series – Scott Westerfield (4 votes)

That’s a pretty good list and I’ve already added a few to my ‘must read’ list, feel free to do the same or add your thoughts in the comments.

Leave your vote

17 Points
Upvote Downvote

52 Comments

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.