Here are 100 books that Unbound fans have personally recommended if you like
Unbound.
Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.
I have always loved fictional works that explore deep truths of humanity and existence. As a teen struggling to understand my purpose and beliefs, I grew fond of dystopian books with subtle, hope-filled messages pointing to God as our salvation amid chaos. I loved the genre so much that I began writing a Christian dystopian novel of my own and self-published it at 19, weaving pieces of my testimony throughout the main character's inner journey. For me, a book is only as good as its characters, no matter how gripping the plot is. So, the books on this list contain some of the genre's most authentic, intricately written souls.
Deep Shadows had me on the edge of my seat, riveted by unsettling scenarios I had never thought possible. It is a survival story, showcasing how our society can be affected when suddenly stripped of basic human needs and comforts often taken for granted.
I kept imagining throughout the book what I would do if faced with such circumstances because, though the book is fictional, its contents have the potential to occur in reality. From start to finish, this book had my stomach in knots, and it reminded me how crucial it is to rely solely on God to survive the uncontrollable chaos of our world.
All It Takes Is One Night to Plunge the World into Darkness
Life in Abney, Texas, is predictable and safe-until the night a massive solar flare wipes out all modern technology.
Shelby Sparks, novelist and single mom, had one goal: to provide for her diabetic son. In the wake of this global disaster, her mission hasn't changed. Only now, medication is a priceless commodity and the future resembles an apocalyptic nightmare.
Max Berkman and Shelby were once sweethearts, but he lost his chance at claiming her love years ago. When the abrupt loss of power ushers him into a leadership…
I have always loved fictional works that explore deep truths of humanity and existence. As a teen struggling to understand my purpose and beliefs, I grew fond of dystopian books with subtle, hope-filled messages pointing to God as our salvation amid chaos. I loved the genre so much that I began writing a Christian dystopian novel of my own and self-published it at 19, weaving pieces of my testimony throughout the main character's inner journey. For me, a book is only as good as its characters, no matter how gripping the plot is. So, the books on this list contain some of the genre's most authentic, intricately written souls.
A Time to Die is a gritty dystopian book with many unexpected twists and a unique, intricate world that transported me right into it from the first chapter. I loved how genuine and transparent the main character is in her approach to every new circumstance and her newfound relationship with God.
Each chapter is fast-paced, intense, and almost always ends on a cliffhanger. It is one of the most thrilling, raw survival stories I have read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a book that will keep them engaged and begging for more when it is over.
Parvin Blackwater believes she has wasted her life. At only seventeen, she has one year left according to the Clock by her bedside. In a last-ditch effort to make a difference, she tries to rescue Radicals from the government's crooked justice system.
But when the authorities find out about her illegal activity, they cast her through the Wall -- her people's death sentence. What she finds on the other side about the world, about eternity, and about herself changes Parvin forever and might just save her people. But her…
I have always loved fictional works that explore deep truths of humanity and existence. As a teen struggling to understand my purpose and beliefs, I grew fond of dystopian books with subtle, hope-filled messages pointing to God as our salvation amid chaos. I loved the genre so much that I began writing a Christian dystopian novel of my own and self-published it at 19, weaving pieces of my testimony throughout the main character's inner journey. For me, a book is only as good as its characters, no matter how gripping the plot is. So, the books on this list contain some of the genre's most authentic, intricately written souls.
The Choosing is close to my heart because it highlights how the lowest in society, the outcasts, the unchosen, are chosen by God. The main character’s ongoing battle to see her worth struck a chord with me when I first read it as a teen struggling with my identity.
The overarching theme of this book is that when the world says you are worthless, God says you are priceless. The intriguing plot reeled me in from the first chapter, and the characters were so well fleshed out that I wished I could befriend them in person.
The Choosing is a beautifully crafted YA Christian dystopia, and finishing the book made me feel like I was saying goodbye to family.
2016 Christy Award Winner! (Young Adult category) 2016 Christy Award Finalist (First novel category) Like all citizens since the Ruining, Carrington Hale knows the importance of this day. But she never expected the moment she’d spent a lifetime preparing for―her Choosing ceremony―to end in disaster. Ripped from her family, she’ll spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. She knows it’s her duty to follow the true way of the Authority.
But as Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. Though the whispers contradict everything she’s been told, they resonate deep within.
I have always loved fictional works that explore deep truths of humanity and existence. As a teen struggling to understand my purpose and beliefs, I grew fond of dystopian books with subtle, hope-filled messages pointing to God as our salvation amid chaos. I loved the genre so much that I began writing a Christian dystopian novel of my own and self-published it at 19, weaving pieces of my testimony throughout the main character's inner journey. For me, a book is only as good as its characters, no matter how gripping the plot is. So, the books on this list contain some of the genre's most authentic, intricately written souls.
Reading Anomaly made me grateful for my freedom to express my thoughts and emotions. McGee creates a fascinating yet chilling world where humans are genetically modified to be born incapable of feeling emotion. I grew compassionate for the main character, who has hidden the fact that she has felt emotions her entire life.
A suspenseful YA dystopian novel with well-written characters and intriguing questions about God and his true purpose for creation, Anomaly left me craving the next book in the series.
Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.
Decades before Thalli's birth, the world was decimated by a nuclear war. But life continued deep underground, thanks to a handful of scientists known as The Ten. There they created genetically engineered human beings who are free of emotions in the hope that war won't threaten the world again.
Thalli is an anomaly, born with the ability to feel emotions and a sense of curiosity she can barely contain. She has survived so far…
When I’m writing, my brain’s ability to jump instantly to the worst-case scenario is a huge plus. But in life, that’s just called “anxiety,” something I’ve always struggled with. Works of fiction that do what my brain does naturally — assume the worst — and still find some hope, humor, or redemption there have always been weirdly reassuring to me. And what’s more “worst-case scenario” than post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction? Here are five books where, in the wake of disaster or the grip of tyranny, people still manage to have dreams, dignity, or even just a laugh.
In Zone One, the frantic oh-*expletive* bloodbath phase of a zombie apocalypse has clicked over into something like a new normal. In lower Manhattan, our hero “Mark Spitz” mops up straggler zombies seemingly stuck in mindless loops from their past lives and reflects on the transformed yet familiar landscape. Zone One made me realize how specific streets are encoded in my own memories, and made me want to be more present in my own life, to move through the world less like a zombie.
In this brilliantly original take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel, American novelist Colson Whitehead shakes up the zombie genre with genius results.
A pandemic has devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. Now the plague is receding, and Americans are busy rebuilding civilisation under orders from the provisional government based in Buffalo. Their top mission: the resettlement of Manhattan. Armed forces have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Street - aka 'Zone One' - eliminating the most dangerous plague victims, but pockets of infected squatters remain. Teams…
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten. Granted, it started out with poetry, but words are still words. When it comes to omegaverse, I made sure to devour some of the great writers before I even stuck my toe in. The great thing about omegaverse is that you can put it in almost any setting, and it fits. I just happen to like dystopian, and now historical regency England, as my backdrop. I’ve been writing professionally since 2020, and I have never looked back once. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is what I’m meant to do.
When I first started reading romance, I read nothing but historical. But then, I got bored with it because it all felt the same. That changed when I read this book. It was kinky and filthy, and still had that amazing historical romance mannerisms that I love and crave. I didn’t know books could be like this. I was smitten. Because of her, I fell back in love with historical romances.
Pride and Prejudice meets Fifty Shades of Grey in this steamy tale of a stern lord and his new wife…
Lady Cordelia knows the Marquess of Dunbury did not marry her for love. Still, as he awakens her passion and pleasure, she begins to hope their marriage can become something more.
The Marquess of Dunbury rules his household with a stern demeanor and a hard hand. His new wife has begun to soften his harsh edges, engaging his more tender emotions. Their passion burns bright, but no relationship is without its tests.
Will a wicked stepdaughter and Cordelia’s own insecurities…
I spent my adolescence reading young adult novels that featured characters who were nothing like me, and yearned to read about characters who shared my struggle in mediating my community’s cultural expectations as a first-generation Australia. This is the inspiration for writing own voices stories as these are the books I wished I’d been able to read. I draw on my Bosnian-Muslim cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like me, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. Own voices books are an opportunity to learn and celebrate culture and diversity, and to show young people that they are not alone in the world.
This is a great dystopian young adult novel with red herrings and revelations that kept me reading to the end.
Kwaymullina draws on her Aboriginal heritage to create a world in which people have lost touch with nature and digital technology is forbidden because it led to disconnection of society.
Citizens with special abilities are called Illegals and are assessed and locked up because government officials view them as a threat, with the treatment of Illegals symbolising the mistreatment of Indigenous people by the Australian government.
It reads like a prophecy about our possible future with themes of environmental destruction due to climate change even as it stands as a testament to the scars left by Colonisation. This is a perfect dystopian novel with all the tropes that readers love: the young female inspirational leader, a heartfelt romance, and found family.
In a post-apocalyptic world, Ashala Wolf must lead her Tribe in their fight for freedom and justice. But first she must survive an interrogation at the hands of the authorities who are determined to destroy her and everything she stands for.
The world has ended, and the society which emerged from the ruins of environmental catastrophe is obsessed with maintaining "the Balance": preserving harmony between humans and nature. But there is one problem. Anyone born with an ability is deemed an Illegal, a threat to the Balance. They are feared, controlled and detained. Ashala Wolf has run away to escape…
I’ve always been a bit of a daydreamer and drawn to books that look through a window into the "other world." These novels, often dubbed dystopian, are reflections or exaggerations of our own world, and this always appealed to me. Like the question, "What if?”. The premise of “What if we lived in a world where you had to pay for words?” inspired my first novel, The Qwerty Man. Although I love fiction, I’m more of a nonfiction reader these days and interested in Buddhism (as an education, not religion), geography, and history. I’ve also written travel guidebooks for Lonely Planet and a children’s travel poetry book called Rhyme Travels.
This is actually a children’s novel that I first read at school, and it had a big impact on me. It’s not so well known, and there are other books called "The Guardians", so don’t get confused. This novel was written in 1970 and is set in the not-so-distant 2050.
The world that John Christopher created for this novel really captured my imagination, the difference between the overpopulated "Conurbs" (from conurbation) and the privileged "County" (a land of rolling hills and manor houses).
It’s not too far-fetched, and I think that’s why it spoke to me, as I could easily envisage the world of 13-year-old Rob Randall, who dreamed of escaping the state boarding school in the Conurbs to go to the County. Rob doesn’t fit in and digs a hole under the Barrier that separates the two worlds.
The moral of this story, set in the 21st century, is that freedom has to be won and kept by the young. It won the "Guardian" Prize for Children's Literature.
As both a high school teacher and an activist, I am preoccupied by the world we are leaving to the next generation. And as a long-time Toronto resident, I also just love seeing my city get destroyed in fiction, which is far more cathartic than watching it get bungled up in real life. I am drawn to the type of story that exposes the wounds that run deep in our political, economic, and social structures. The best dystopian fiction shines a mirror on our history and our present, and brings the experiences of marginalized voices—for whom the apocalypse is not merely theoretical—to a broader audience.
Hopkinson’s stunning debut plunges the reader into a wildly inventive future Toronto. She seamlessly weaves together the politics of race, class, and gender, inflected with the rich culture and history of the Caribbean diaspora.
Despite the grim post-apocalyptic setting, the characters are part of a community, surviving through solidarity and mutual aid. There are no easy answers or neat resolutions to be found here—the fraught, tenuous connections between families and lovers are messy and grounded.
Sadly, many of the elements of this 1998 novel have proven prophetic, and this book is still a clarion call 25 years later.
The rich and the privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways -- farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends.
When I was twelve years old, my picture appeared in my hometown newspaper. I was holding a huge stack of books from the library, a week’s reading. All science fiction. I’ve read voraciously for the past seventy years—though much more widely as an adult. I’ve also had a life founding several small companies and writing twenty books. But I’ve continued to read science fiction, and, increasingly, dystopian novels. Why? Because, as a history buff, I think about the big trends that shape our lives. I see clearly that climate change, breakthroughs in technology, and unstable politics threaten our children’s future. I want to understand how these trends might play out—for better or for worse.
The news is full of stories about chilling developments in artificial intelligence.
And you don’t have to venture into the fantasy world of killer robots to be terrified. Already, “chatbots” are blurring the lines between human and machine intelligence.
It’s gotten to the point that you can’t trust what you see or read online—because it may have been created by some AI designed to cheat or scare you into doing something you really don’t want to do.
Ira Levin’s novel, published in 1970, shows us a world ruled by artificial intelligence. It’s dystopia in the truest sense—and it’s likely to frighten you, as it did me.
'Marvellously entertaining. A cross between Brave New World and Doctor Who' Look Magazine
Considered one of the great dystopian thrillers - alongside A Clockwork Orange and Brave New World- Ira Levin's terrifying glimpse into the future continues to fascinate readers even forty years after publication.
Set in a seemingly perfect global society, where uniformity is the defining feature, one man leads the resistance against UniComp - a central computer that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. All ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into a single race called 'The Family',…
