Dystopian Science Fiction

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. “Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly A world at stake. A quest for the...

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.

This is the sixth and final novel in the action-packed series following Special Forces captain Lee Harden and a group of survivors struggling to survive while rebuilding an America devastated by a bacterium that has turned 90 percent of the population into a ravenous horde.

When a catastrophic electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strikes Earth, modern life ends in an instant. Power grids fail. Communication collapses. Transportation halts. Within hours, the world descends into chaos—and the fragile threads of civilization begin to snap. What follows is a rapid descent into apocalyptic turmoil as society unravels and survival becomes a daily battle. When the world falls apart, it's not the heroes who rise—it's the unexpected.

The battle for Orenda Academy has begun. The Elders have spoken, and the tribe is divided. The only way to reverse what’s happened is to take a stand. We’ve started a smuggling operation to help students escape the castle, but it could cost us our lives. The prophecy is about to come true, and we’re desperate to change the course of this war. The Air piece of the prophecy is our last hope. If we don’t find it, we won’t know what’s coming— or how to prevent the end.

Everyone dreams of reliving their life; we imagine what it might be be like to start over. But when Gwen Song awakes in her 15-year-old body, she finds herself in a world of urban sorcery. Though the problems of her troubled childhood remain, the familiar society she once lived in has all but disappeared and has been replaced by a parallel reality....

It's New Year's Eve, and the world is about to change. Forever. Out of nowhere, a catastrophic EMP event cripples the nation's power supply. Cars spiral off the streets. Planes hurtle from the skies. And in the powerless confusion, it doesn't take long for terrified survivors to resort to violence. Max is working as a security guard in the city center when the power goes out. Surrounded by chaos, he knows he only has one choice: to get out of the city and get to the countryside. But will he make it out of a city that is rapidly collapsing?

Dive into the incisive mind of George Orwell through his most powerful novels, ground-breaking reportage, and unforgettable essays. This collection brings together Orwell’s sharp political insight, moral clarity, and unmatched storytelling, offering listeners a panoramic view of a writer whose work continues to resonate across generations.

From out of the clear blue sky, an unknown chunk of rock from the frozen void strikes the Earth with unimaginable force, gouging a wound into the very crust of the planet. Millions die in an instant, and millions more await the end as the looming catastrophe unfolds...Thousands of miles away from the disaster, a call comes in the middle of the night. Families act, and react, and while panic spreads, the world keeps on spinning. Maybe a little slower, and perhaps with a teeny bit more of a tilt, but such things are a mere trifle to the existence of a planet.

It's the end of oil. We knew it was coming one day. But it happened so fast! Devlin Quinn turns 16 the same week that a battle in a distant war shuts off the flow of imported petroleum to the US. Gas runs low, then runs out, and soon the highways are empty. And then it gets very serious. The grocery store shelves are empty, and people become desperate for food. Dev is trained to fight-his father made sure of that-but is he trained enough? Smart enough? Tough enough? He is about to find out when people desperate for food flee the burning cities and attack....

Eight years ago, the world as we know it ended. Now, the last US government stronghold has sent a military recon team from Camp David to the bombed-out city of Seattle, but the mission turns deadly when a horde of horrifying mutant creatures are released onto the streets. Oliver Marcus and Trisha Pike, the only survivors of their nine-man team, are rescued by a group of scavengers led by their superhuman leader, River Kingston. Driven by the need to find her lost husband, River is drawn in by Mycroft, the invisible puppet master behind New Texas.

Having a superpower is ordinary. Your power determines your entire life. But 17-year-old Ugene is powerless. He can’t read minds or enhance his strength. He can’t manipulate natural matter or heal injuries. Determined to find out why he is different, Ugene submits himself as a test subject at Paragon. But nothing is as it seems. All exits from the testing floor are sealed. Subjects endure brutal and sometimes deadly injuries. No amount of power can save them.

A migrant fleet, a million strong, sets sail from Calcutta. Its destination: Europe. As the fleet advances, the continent is submerged under a torrent of words. Will the old nations of Europe resist the migrants or welcome them? Honor their past or embrace the radiant future? Open fire or open their hearts? Enthusiasm, delusion, cowardice. And, finally, panic. The migrants make landfall...

Richard Royal has a hard life. He lives in a corrupt, church-controlled dystopia, his family is soon broken, and the only joy to be had comes from the escapism of his full-immersion gaming. Introduced to a new and very illegal game, he finds himself in the body of a dragon, on a quest to find a dark and evil power to serve. But the game is more than it seems, and the dragon is more than a beast. Soon Rich's life is far, far more complicated than he ever expected. And the threats against him grow, both in-game and in realspace.

In a world where a virus has spread turning most of the population into flesh-eating monsters, there are two friends partying it up in New Orleans when the infection hits. Far away from home, they are trapped and trying to make sense of all that has happened with the help of new friends and enemies along the way. Zombies aren't the only thing to fear.

Vitus Adamson is falling apart. As a pre-deceased private investigator, he takes the prescription Atroxipine hourly to keep his undead body upright and functioning. Whenever he is injured, he seeks Niko, a bombshell mortician with bedroom eyes and a way with corpses, to piece him back together. Decomposition, however, is the least of his worries when two clients posing his most dangerous job yet appear at his door looking for their lost son.

A cyborg with a mysterious and dangerous past. A naive girl fleeing the dying farmlands to forge her own future. Chance has fought his entire life, first for survival in the streets of Cyn City and later for money and prestige in the underground Cyborg Fight League. His fists and cybernetic arm have solved almost every problem he's ever faced, except for love. After losing the love of his life, he never thought he'd find someone again. Verity left behind everything she knows to start a new future in Cyn City.

This exciting collection presents two previously unpublished stories by SF legend Octavia E. Butler. A Necessary Being precedes the events of Survivor, Butler's third (famously disowned) installment in her Patternist series, and includes characters from it, focusing exclusively on the Kohn, aliens who build their social hierarchies on the blueness of their fur. In Childfinder, a black woman with the gift of identifying children with latent psychic ability refuses to share her skill with an organization of white telepaths.

In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platforms that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened.

Ben, Joel, Allie, and their dog, Gunner, have faced down foes of all descriptions in their odyssey across the EMP-ravaged country in search of their families. Now, as they approach the final leg of their journey, the stakes are raised. With no way of knowing what danger lurks ahead, they encounter a new and never-ending gauntlet of challenges and threats. Their ability to work as a team is tested anew, and they realize survival in this new world will require them all to make sacrifices.