Best dystopian books

Reading lists

The best dystopian books of all time

Shift

SEASON 3 OF SILO COMING SOON ON APPLE TV+ 
 
The novel that inspired Season 3 of SILO! Journey back to the origins of the Silo in this gripping novel set before the events of Wool. 
 
In a future less than fifty years away, the world is still as we know it. Time continues to tick by. The truth is that it is ticking away. 
 
A powerful few know what lies ahead. They are preparing for it. They are trying to protect us. 
 
They are setting us on a path from which we can never return. 
 
A path that will lead to destruction; a path that will take us below ground. 
 
The history of the silo is about to be written. 
 
Our future is about to begin. 
 
________________ 
 
 
'An epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' Justin Cronin 
 
'Brilliantly written... Howey creates a starkly believable and terrifying apocalypse. More and more layers of the dystopian world are unveiled, enticingly paving the way for the sequel.' Sunday Express

SEASON 3 OF SILO COMING SOON ON APPLE TV+ 
 
The novel that inspired Season 3 of SILO! Journey back to the origins of the Silo in this gripping novel set before the events of Wool. 
 
In a future less than fifty years away, the world is still as we know it. Time continues to tick by. The truth is that it is ticking away. 
 
A powerful few know what lies ahead. They are preparing for it. They are trying to protect us. 
 
They are setting us on a path from which we can never return. 
 
A path that will lead to destruction; a path that will take us below ground. 
 
The history of the silo is about to be written. 
 
Our future is about to begin. 
________________ 
 
 
'An epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' Justin Cronin 
 
'Brilliantly written... Howey creates a starkly believable and terrifying apocalypse. More and more layers of the dystopian world are unveiled, enticingly paving the way for the sequel.' Sunday Express

Wool

NOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF AppleTV+, SILO. 
 
An epic story of survival at all odds and one of the most anticipated books of the year, soon to also be a major Apple TV series. 
 
'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' DAILY EXPRESS 
_____________ 
 
In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. 
 
Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. 
 
To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. 
 
Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. 
 
Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last. 
_____________ 
 
'The next Hunger Games' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.' WIRED 
 
'Howey's Wool is an epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' JUSTIN CRONIN 
 
'Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.' KATHY REICHS 
 
 
 
 
Silo, No.1 drama in the history of Apple TV as of May 2023.

Exhilarating, intense, addictive. A novel you will never forget.

Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable . . . one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.

Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.

Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.

A thrilling sci-fi novel, equally adept at world-building, pulling the rug out from under its readers, and commenting in classic sci-fi fashion on our own present day.

Brilliantly written . . . Howey creates a starkly believable and terrifying apocalypse.

Wool is incredible . . . the best science fiction series I've read in years.

Claustrophobic and, at times, genuinely terrifying.

Hugh Howey spent eight years living on boats and working as a yacht captain for the rich and famous. It wasn't until the love of his life carried him away from these vagabond ways that he began to pursue literary adventures, rather than literal ones. 
 
Hugh wrote and self-published the Wool trilogy, which won rave reviews and praise from readers, and whose three books have gone on to become international bestsellers.

NOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF AppleTV+, SILO. 
 
In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. 
 
Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. 
 
To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. 
 
Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. 
 
Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last. 
_________________ 
 
'The next Hunger Games' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.' WIRED 
 
'Howey's Wool is an epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' JUSTIN CRONIN 
 
'Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.' KATHY REICHS 
 
'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Silo, No.1 drama in the history of Apple TV as of May 2023.

Dust

The much-anticipated final instalment of the Wool trilogy. 
 
'The next Hunger Games.' The Sunday Times 
'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' Daily Express 
________________ 
 
In the aftermath of the uprising, the people of Silo 18 are coming to terms with a new order. 
 
Some embrace the change, others fear the unknown; none have control of their fate. 
 
The Silo is still in danger. 
 
There are those set on its destruction. 
 
Jules knows they must be stopped. 
 
The battle has been won. 
 
The war is just beginning.

Hugh Howey spent eight years living on boats and working as a yacht captain for the rich and famous. It wasn't until the love of his life carried him away from these vagabond ways that he began to pursue literary adventures, rather than literal ones. 
 
 Hugh wrote and self-published the Wool trilogy, which won rave reviews and praise from readers, and whose three books have gone on to become international bestsellers.

The much-anticipated final instalment of the Wool trilogy. 
 
In the aftermath of the uprising, the people of Silo 18 are coming to terms with a new order. 
 
Some embrace the change, others fear the unknown; none have control of their fate. 
 
The Silo is still in danger. 
 
There are those set on its destruction. 
 
Jules knows they must be stopped. 
 
The battle has been won. 
 
The war is just beginning. 
______________ 
 
'The next Hunger Games' The Sunday Times 
'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' Daily Express

Sand

Omnibus Edition

A powerful post-apocalyptic thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Silo trilogy.

Sand immerses you in its grubby post-apocalyptic world … Howey conjures a credible, brutal future.

In short, Sand will earn Mr Howey another well-deserved million or more.

This terrifically fresh and well-realised setting provides the background for a richly emotional story about families and communities.

Sand shows the success of Howey’s Wool Trilogy was no fluke. This is a superior SF thriller, both slick and gritty.

It’s all too easy to get so wrapped up in spaceships that you forget what original sci-fi ideas are like … But it’s the horror quality of the sand-diving that stays with you – described so hauntingly that you can almost taste the grit.

A powerful post-apocalyptic thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Silo trilogy. 
 
The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. 
 
Palmer has never been the same since his father walked out twelve years ago. His elder sister, Vic, is trying to run away from the past; his younger brothers, Connor and Rob, are risking their lives to embrace it. His mother, left with nothing but anger, is just trying to forget. 
 
Palmer wants to prove his worth, not only to his family, but to himself. And in the barren, dune-covered landscape of his home, there is only one way to earn respect: sand-diving. Plunging deep below the desert floor in search of relics and scraps of the old world. He is about to embark on the most dangerous dive of his young life, aiming to become the first to discover the rumoured city below. 
 
Deep within the sand lies the key to bringing his family together - and tearing their world apart.

Sand Part 1: The Belt of the Buried Gods

The wind blows from east to west. It brings with it the sand, deposited in dunes, to bury and torment the unfortunate souls who live here. Life on the sand is miserable. Life below it is even worse. From the New York Times bestselling author of Wool

Hugh Howey spent eight years living on boats and working as a yacht captain for the rich and famous. It wasn't until the love of his life carried him away from these vagabond ways that he began to pursue literary adventures, rather than literal ones. 
 
Hugh wrote and self-published the Wool trilogy, which won rave reviews and praise from readers, and whose three books have gone on to become international bestsellers. 
 
He lives in Jupiter, Florida, with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.

Sand Part 2: Out of No Man’s Land

The new novel from the international bestselling author of the Wool trilogy. 
 
Part two of Sand by Hugh Howey. 
 
The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost.

Sand Part 3: Return to Danver

An eldest daughter is a father's curse. Vic knows this. She knows she was never supposed to be the one. But her father taught her to breathe beneath the sand, taught her how to dive deep and find the treasures of the buried past. He taught her brother as well. When she hears of Danvar's discovery, it feels as though fate has slipped her by. If the rumors are to believed, that is. And while she has her doubts, her missing brother sends her on a hunt of her own. Cities are not the only things that get buried and forgotten. There are families, too.

Sand Part 4: Thunder Due East

A family long scattered reunites as danger approaches Springston. Brother and sister rush to sound a warning, but that warning will come too late. Bombs will thunder like the pulse of a terrible god. The great dune will flow as the sea. And when a people find themselves buried beneath the sands, who in the heavens will hear their muffled pleas?

Sand Part 5: A Rap Upon Heaven’s Gate

From the bestselling author of the WOOL Trilogy. 
 
Every generation thinks that it is special, that the great fall will occur before their time is up. Every generation is wrong. Until now.

Wool, Shift, Dust

The Wool Trilogy

The bestselling Wool trilogy now available in one download. Includes Wool, Shift and Dust.

The international bestselling Wool trilogy, now available in one download. Includes Wool, Shift and Dust. 
 
'A new Science Fiction classic.' ERNEST CLINE 
 
NOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF AppleTV+, SILO. 
 
Wool 
In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Jules is part of this community, but she is different. She dares to hope. And as her walls start closing in, she must decide whether to fight, or to die. 
 
Shift 
Donald Keene was recruited by the government to design an underground shelter. Over fifty years later Donald's design has been realised and the last remnants of mankind live in his silo. But no one can remember what life was like before. In fact, they're forced to forget. One simple pill erases a memory. And with it, any chance of hope. 
 
Dust 
In the aftermath of the uprising, the people of Silo 18 are coming to terms with a dangerous new order. And some want it destroyed. The battle has been won. The war is just beginning. 
 
 
'The next Hunger Games' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.' WIRED 
 
'Howey's Wool is an epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' JUSTIN CRONIN 
 
'Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.' KATHY REICHS 
 
'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' DAILY EXPRESS

Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.

Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.

Howey's Wool is an epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.

Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.

Spoken about in the same breath as The Hunger Games and The Passage.

Howey can really write ... frightening, intriguing, and mysterious ... it's easy to see why Wool captured readers so quickly.

The massive underground hit ... Just don’t read it in the dark.

SJ Watson, author of Before I Go to Sleep

Hugh Howey spent eight years living on boats and working as a yacht captain for the rich and famous. It wasn't until the love of his life carried him away from these vagabond ways that he began to pursue literary adventures, rather than literal ones. 
 
Hugh wrote and self-published the Wool trilogy, which won rave reviews and praise from readers, and whose three books have gone on to become international bestsellers. 
 
He lives in Jupiter, Florida, with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.

Third Shift: Pact

The incredible third part of Shift, the follow up to bestseller Wool. 
 
Donald has woken again. Because this time the impossible has happened. Someone has fled one of the silos. And she is still alive. 
 
Jimmy is a sixteen-year-old boy, and his home is being destroyed. A betrayal has led to one of the worst uprisings in history. Jimmy’s descent into ‘Solo’ is about to begin. 
 
With Jules about to meet Solo, Donald’s world is about to change for one final time. Will he obey the Order? Or will he risk everything to discover the truth?

Second Shift: Order

The incredible second part of Shift, the follow up to bestseller Wool.

Hugh Howey spent eight years living on boats and working as a yacht captain for the rich and famous. It wasn't until the love of his life carried him away from these vagabond ways that he began to pursue literary adventures, rather than literal ones. 
 
Hugh wrote and self-published his first young adult novel, Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue. The Molly Fyde series won rave reviews and praise from readers but it was the release of Wool that made his career take off. Within 6 months, Wool had sold over 150,000 copies, garnering over 1,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.com, and film rights had been optioned by Ridley Scott. This is the first hardback edition of the book. 
 
Hugh lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.

The incredible second part of Shift, the follow up to bestseller Wool. 
 
Donald wasn’t supposed to remember. In fact, he was punished for doing just that. But the information he should have forgotten may end up saving his future. 
 
Mission Jones is a young man who wants to change the world around him. The rules, the secrets, the lies. Putting his own life on the line, he fights to build a resistance and save those who have hope. But is he trying to save the wrong people? 
 
Donald knows the truth, but is he willing to use it to protect something that he regrets building in the first place?

First Shift: Legacy

The incredible first part of the follow up to bestseller Wool.

The incredible first part of the follow up to bestseller Wool. 
 
Donald Keene has been recruited by the government to design a shelter. He has been told that it is just protocol. That it won’t really be used. That it is ‘just-in-case’. 
 
It is underground. 
 
Over fifty years later Donald’s design has been realised and the last remnants of mankind live in his silo. But no one can remember what life was like before. In fact, they’re forced to forget. One simple pill erases a memory. And with it, any chance of hope.

Hugh Howey

Now a major TV series!

NOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF AppleTV+ 
 
In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. 
 
Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. 
 
To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. 
 
Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. 
 
Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last. 
_________________ 
 
'The next Hunger Games' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.' WIRED 
 
'Howey's Wool is an epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' JUSTIN CRONIN 
 
'Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.' KATHY REICHS 
 
'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable...one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
 
Silo, No.1 drama in the history of Apple TV as of May 2023. Originally published as Wool.

Silo

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In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't.

Hugh Howey

Praise for Silo

Exhilarating, intense, addictive. A novel you will never forget.

Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable . . . one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.

Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.

Exhilarating, intense, addictive. A novel you will never forget.

Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable . . . one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.

Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.

Exhilarating, intense, addictive. A novel you will never forget.

Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable . . . one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.

Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.

Books by Hugh Howey

Series by Hugh Howey

Wool Trilogy

Articles featuring Hugh Howey

The best dystopian books of all time

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