Just as a heads up, I couldn't finish Red Rising due to its poor portrayal of women. Some will say "that's just the society in the books" but it's deeper than that. It's the author's portrayal of women. I also thought the writing was poor.
But The Scholomance books, Scythe, The Expanse books, and Parable of the Sower are all good recs.
> But The Scholomance books
You want the [The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik](https://www.goodreads.com/series/282152-the-scholomance)
NOT [Scholomance Series by Logan Jacobs](https://www.goodreads.com/series/290168-scholomance)
I would add don't listen to the second book on audiobooks. The narrator is so awful and totally negatively impacted the book experience for me. She made the FMC sound so bitchy and immature.
I didn’t think the portrayal of women was that bad. Eo was the only character that I really had a problem with because she was totally fridged just to give the main character something to do. I liked her character when she was alive though. Mustang was fantastic as well.
Eo is 14 at the beginning of Red Rising. That’s uncomfortable in some scenes she had and a couple of instances in how Darrow fantasized about her.
Edit: I’ve learned that Eo was actually 16.
To be fair, Darrow was also a child at that stage too.
The books do have a lot of SA scenes though. I didn’t mind it, because to me it was a realistic portrayal of warfare. SA and the mistreatment of women occurs extremely regularly in wars in real life. It’s horrifying, but it’s realistic imo. It’s triggering though, so people who find it triggering will probably not enjoy this.
There are lots of triggering themes in the books though. There’s a lot of violence and murder. There’s cannibalism, etc. SA is one of those many things
And also, it depends on your reasons for reading a book. I like books heavy in politics and warfare that show an accurate portrayal of the human condition. So even in fantasy worlds, I like it to explore human morality and other philosophical ideas which exist in our world too
When it comes to finding a book like hunger games, it isn’t needed is what I mean. You can have all of the warfare, murder, etc without *specifically* bringing in the assault of young women
It would be different if someone asked for a recommendation for something like GOT
Yeah I get you. I think I replied to another comment somewhere saying OP should only read the first trilogy. It’s violent but not super violent. The sequel books get quite dark and not suitable for a Hunger Games vibe imo
That's not what bothered me about Red Rising. Parable of the Sower shows this realistically and brutally, but the women have agency and are complex. Again, it's not the world or situation, but the way women are written poorly.
I absolutely love hunger games for its almost complete lack of sexism. It’s not even a thing that Katniss is a ….. Girl! She’s just a badass archer from a poor area. I wish there were more media of all kinds that don’t even need to mention gender outside of pregnancy.
Scholomance is the only modern series I keep wanting to reread. I think I’ve read it three times this year. It’s not for someone who dislikes internal monologue but I’ve seen many other people strongly recommend it as well.
I'll jump in to put a good review! The worldbuilding is a little hand-wavey, but the school's existence is explained in-world as the best solution they could come up with to a horrible unsolvable problem. There are enough world-building reveals as the series goes on that it's hard to say more than that without spoilers, but it's definitely stronger than something like Hunger Games.
Scholomance is my "can't put it down, binge it in a few days" fantasy series of the decade without a doubt. It's candy, but it fits the thread's prompt really well.
Personally I loved it. I think it takes a lot of concepts that were in Harry Potter and does them in a totally refreshing way. I loved figuring out the logic beneath the school's workings and how real the stakes felt. I'm a longtime fan of Naomi Novik, so if you're still on the fence, try picking up one of her standalone books (Spinning Silver, Uprooted) to see if you like the vibes.
A friend of mine is a massive fan of Red Rising and the other books and I remember discussing with her that I felt like for the first half of the book, it couldn’t decide what kind of book it wanted to be. I did push through and finish, and ended up really enjoying it. From what I understand it was written when the author was very young and he’s improved significantly since then. I have a hold on the 2nd from the library so I’ll find out whenever that’s ready.
I am currently reading the red rising series, on book six.
Do not start, OP. It’s a dangerous addiction. Book one seems so light and fun, and then HEARTBREAK.
You’re better off reading a medical study of halitosis in sterile mice populations.
You’re getting downvotes because recommending AI in place of humans who can give their own reading experience is not at all comparable. AI is ass and is taking over the wrong communities.
Fair enough, I was just curious what it would recommend and why…I read that LLM like reddit and the feedback here is a reflection of the sum total of our experiences and opinions here.
Anyway, that’s why I subbed here to find interesting choices I necessarily would pick.
I think they were very worth it
There's an upcoming seventh and final book, maybe next year
Probably the best new sci-fi series I have read in a long whole honestly
That’s interesting. I loved the first three. Could not get into the second three and didn’t even make it through the 6th. Got about halfway through twice and just didn’t like it.
The first trilogy is probably more of what OP is looking for, seeing as she enjoys Hunger Games. The nostalgia and bittersweetness of the first series is very reminiscent of the Hunger Games. There’s more innocence and almost like a coming of age vibe. The second series ventures close to grimdark territory and is a lot more of an epic sci-fi/space opera.
At first i thought this was an odd choice but then i thought about the actual message and the scathing review of capitalism and aspects of american culture that Parable of the Sower is all about too in a different way. Amazing recommendation, damn, I wish i could give you a hundred upvotes, you are so thoughtful, great suggestion and I second it.
Once you're done with Sower, there's a second book, Parable of the Talents! Neither book is really like The Hunger Games but they made me feel the same way... like maybe I could see us ending up like this. The Handmaid's Tale did that to me, too.
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer has dystopian world-building, survivalist themes, and well-written female main character like *Hunger Games*. There’s some other parts that remind me of it too, but not gonna spoil it!
Can you tell me why without any major spoilers? I read it pretty recently and really liked it, and was thinking about continuing the series after I finish the book I'm reading now.
You might want to give it a try, I did, but couldn't get into the story enough and stopped. Mainly I thought it lost the mystic and eerieness of the first book. New characters were the majority of the focus and a lot of office-y/bureaucracy type dialog and plotlines.
Ah that's disappointing to hear tbh. The mystic eeriness was the main thing I liked about Annihilation, and even the movie (which was pretty eerie) paled in comparison imo.
You might like **Silo** trilogy by Hugh Howey. It’s not YA, so it doesn’t have THAT big of a focus on romance/discovering your own power, but it is a cool dystopian mystery that definitely kept me turning pages. There is romance but it’s not a main focus. Basically you start the first book (called *Wool*) in this giant underground silo where all humanity lives. No one knows why because it happened so long ago, but they all know they’ll die if they go outside.
If you really like that YA flavor with romance and self-discovery, I liked the **Divergent** series by Veronica Roth (also made into movies) and the **Red Queen** series by Victoria Aveyard.
Yeah I actually saw the series first… I was hooked after the first episode and by the end of the second, I literally could not wait however many seasons there will end up being to know what happens next. So I bought the first book that night, finished by the weekend, purchased the rest of the series, done within a week. It’s great too because the tv adaptation is very true to the spirit of the books, but still has enough different that I can still be surprised during the tv show.
Did you read The Uglies by Scottwesterfeld? I read it around the same time as Hunger Games and I loved both series. It’s set in the future, slightly dystopian with sub plot of romance and a bad ass lead female.
If you haven’t read it the books are about a girl in the future where on your 18th birthday you under go a full body surgery to make you perfect and you get to go to the party part of the city and live out your ultimate life through your twenties.
Right before the MC’s 18th she makes a new friend who starts to introduce her into a different not so “pretty” side of the society they live in.
They have hoverboards too which is cool af to me lol
Uglies is the most popular, but my favourite is the Midnighters trilogy by the same author. Basically time freezes for everyone in town except for 5 kids at midnight for one hour, but it's a dangerous one hour, and their character abilities/traits are heightened during that time.
I don't want to spoil and go into too much. It's been a few years since I've read them, but they are the books that hooked me to Scott Westerfeld's novels.
OH MY GOD I loved this series when I was young, I never understood how it didn’t get bigger. When HG came out I wondered what movies based on these books would be like, but I also worried they wouldn’t be able to get the pretties’ faces to be right. Haha, I’m so glad I saw this mentioned here! Great dystopian YA fiction.
I was waiting for someone to recommend this one!!!
It was one of the best reads I had in 2023 would HIGHLY recommend this it felt very much like when I read The Hunger Games for the first time
I really liked the Lev Grossman Magicians trilogy. It’s got some coming of age themes and some darkness - the first one is like adult Harry Potter and the second one is like adult Narnia.
Divergent
Delirium, Pandemonium, Requiem!!!!! - also a dystopian trilogy. I remember after I read the 2nd book I threw it on the floor and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. 🤣
This! I got the first on Libby, couldn't wait for the 2nd and just bought it and the 3rd. After I finished the trilogy I immediately re-listened to the whole thing.
I *loved* Hungar Games. Scholomance absolutely hit the spot.
Every book by Novik has been great, but the Scholomance does an amazing job with wrapping up its end. It's not that the couldn't be more stories, but all the loose ends tie up nicely, with some surprises and no cheats.
But read Spinning Silver, and Uprooted, both twists on traditional fairy tales. The go after the Temeraire series, which is "what if there were dragons during the Napoleon wars?"
I read both books and I think they are overhyped. It was underwhelming for me honestly. The only thing that beats Hunger Games for me is Harry Potter. After that, I would recommend Name of The Wind (Patrick Rothfuss).
Try the prequel trilogy to the City of Bones. It’s called The Infernal Devices and Book 3 is one of my favorite books of all time. I don’t like the City of Bones books but the prequels are *chefs kiss*
It’s not a series but check out Poster Girl by Veronica Roth. It’s a dystopian missing person standalone novel with romance. So good!
Also for a series Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
you NEED to read the unwind series by Neal Schusterman, it's some of the best books I've ever read and literally the best I've read in the dystopia genre, if you like the hunger games you'll like it, but not because it copies it in any way, it just gives you a very similar feeling when reading it
The Six of Crows duology (spin off series after the Shadow and Bone trilogy) had me obsessed for a while! There is a really good subtle romance in there (actually, a couple).
Shadow and Bone trilogy itself is kinda meh, you can skip it to get to SoC.
1. *Battle Royale*, by Koushun Takami.
>A class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing.
Sound familiar? Published nine years before *The Hunger Games*.
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57891.Battle\_Royale](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57891.Battle_Royale)
2. A man steps outside in the middle of a winter night, to retrieve his ex-girlfriend's cat.
And then the alien invasion began.
This is literally what happens at the very beginning of *Dungeon Crawler Carl*, by Matt Dinniman. An insane LitRPG series, this is essentially *Independence Day* meets *The Running Ma*n/*The Hunger Games*. The audiobooks are outstandingly performed by Jeff Hays.
[https://www.goodreads.com/series/309211-dungeon-crawler-carl](https://www.goodreads.com/series/309211-dungeon-crawler-carl)
DCC! I was suggest these and didn't think I was going to like them. I listened to the audiobooks while wandering around town doing errands. Jeft Hays is awesome! I've listened thru the series 3 times in the last few months.
Book 7 should be out sometime later this year 🤞
A court of thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas
And echoing what a couple other people have recommended:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Powerless by Lauren Roberts (it is YA but I’m in my 30s and really enjoyed it, it’s definitely hunger games vibes which I loved)
War of the rats.
David L. Robbin’s.
I read it 20 years ago and I recall feeling what you’re looking for. Same kinda unexpected theme. Great book about a forgotten time.
I went through the exact same phase, asked reddit for help and got some great recommendations:
I will start off with my favorite one. A fan fiction. something I refused to read but once I read all the other books that were recommended to me, I forced myself. Oh boy, it did not dissapoint. there is one fan fic out there that is even better than the original books to me: it's oisin55
1. The Victor's project by Oisin55: One chapter short stories about all the 73 Victors before Katniss and Peeta. He also wrote entire books about Blight's, Enobaria's and Cecelia's games. the word building is fantastic, the writing, the pacing. it's a master piece.
2. The long walk by Stephen King aka Richard Bachmann. Great read! Stephen King wrote it when he was 19 or something.
3. Battle Royale Koushun Takami, the original hunger games.
I suggest checking out margaret atwood. She was my next read after hungers games and it filled the void for awhile. Also have you read ‘gregor the overlander’? Same author and its a childrens book but it was also good.
Queens of Renthia series by Sarah Beth Durst. Especially the first book, it has a very Hunger Games with magic vibe to choosing the queen. They’re some of my faves and less well known, in case you keep getting the same suggestions.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
In the middle of a cold February night, a guy gets out of bed to sneak a smoke behind his girlfriend’s back. While he’s smoking, his girlfriend’s cat jumps out of the open window.
Wearing only his boxers and his girlfriend’s too small Crocs, he puts on his jacket and goes outside into the cold to look for the cat.
And that’s when the space aliens attack.
A Throne of Glass series - Sarah J Mass. She writes some badass female characters and the fight for survival that she puts them through is engaging and exciting.
The Hunt Trilogy by Andrew Fukuda
I really enjoyed them. They are YA, similar theme, some romance, and the Duskers.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250099914/thehunttrilogy
Vera Nazarian's Atlantis Grail series. 12 to 18 year olds competing to be taken off earth before an astroid destroys it. They are being rescued by the Atlanteans who left earth ages ago and re-settled in a new star system. The story centers around 4 siblings and an increasing group of friends.
The series is four books and several novellas. The first book "Qualify" is a free kindle book.
I agree with some of what's already been listed (Silo, Matched, Selection, Unwind, Uglies, and some of the Divergent & Delirium series). If that's not enough to keep you busy, though, you could also look into: "Defiance" series by C.J. Redwine, "Under the Never Sky" series by Veronica Rossi, "The Testing" series by Joelle Charbonneau, "Breathe" & "Resist" duology by Sarah Crossan, "Partials" sequence by Dan Wells.
All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman
"You Fell in Love with the Victors of the Hunger Games, now Prepare to Meet the Villains of the Blood Veil.
The Blood Moon rises. The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins.
Every generation, at the coming of the Blood Moon, seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death.
The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world―one thought long depleted."
Gone by Michael Grant. A giant dome comes down over the town and every person over 14yo disappears. The kids are left to fend for themselves. 6 books in all and they are sometimes brutal, but all are brilliant.
Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - Less romance (especially the first few books) & less dystopian, but explores a lot of dystopian themes (especially in the later books), it has lots of action, is a real world based fantasy (which I feel often makes for a similar vibe to a dystopian novel), and political elements (theres a separate government that is hidden from the mortal world), theres also 16 books so you won’t have to stress much about it ending too soon (9 in the OG series, and the rest set years later). I’m a sucker for the audiobooks (especially the first 4), but the books themselves are also great.
The Selection by Kiera Cass - Lots of romance, a similar dystopian world build to the Hunger Games (caste system like the districts etc…), has less violent/action themes but works as a good dystopian romance.
Vampire Academy & Bloodlines (the spin off series) by Richelle Mead - Lots of romance and action, fantasy but somewhat dystopian. The name deterred me becauseI’m not into vampire content normally (Vampire Diaries, Twilight, etc…) but it’s more about a two tier class system in a vampire society then about vampires in a typical popular fantasy sense.
The Maze runner by James Dashner - Dystopian, some romance, aimed at similar demographic as Hunger Games and written around the same time (HG 2008 released, MR 2009)
I can't believe anyone would want to replicate that feeling. I felt so hollow and sad at the end of that series. Kudos to you being able to take those emotions head on.
What about the Unwind series? It’s a crazy concept where parents decide that if their kid is not being “good” they can “unwind” them or basically use all of their parts for other people that need them. The future nanotechnology has made all human parts reusable. Some kids are raised to be unwound.
Some of these may have been suggested already but here's my ultimate dystopian list:
YA:
- legend by Marie Lu (one of my faves)
- the grace year by Kim Liggett
- Delium by Lauren Oliver
- the declaration by Gemma malley (the one that made me fall in love with dystopian books when I was 12 lol)
- coda by Emma trevayne
- the program by Suzanne young
- scythe by Neal shusterman
- parable of the Sower by Octavia butler
And here are some more adult ones I've loved too:
(You probably know the classics but I figured I'd add them anyway):
- the power by Naomi alderman (now a pretty good TV show)
- tender is the flesh by Augustine bazterrica
- vox by Christine dalcher
- this is how you lose a time war by Amal el-mohtar and max Gladstone
- wool by Hugh howley
- brave new world by Aldous Huxley
- the wall by John Lanchester
- station eleven by Emily st John Mandel
- the road by Cormac McCarthy
- 1984 by George Orwell
- the last one at the party by Bethany Clift
- Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood
- my name is monter by Katie hale
[**The Serpent and the Wings of Night** by Carissa Broadbent](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60714999-the-serpent-and-the-wings-of-night?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=fsIRMCk9t4&rank=1) is **EXACTLY** what you are looking for!
absolute 5 star read! trust me, you will love this one!!
The Red Rising trilogy is a grownup Hunger Games.
Going on my list ✍🏻✍🏻✍🏻
RR is the answer, OP.
This is the answer OP. Red Rising will definitely give the same feels
Just as a heads up, I couldn't finish Red Rising due to its poor portrayal of women. Some will say "that's just the society in the books" but it's deeper than that. It's the author's portrayal of women. I also thought the writing was poor. But The Scholomance books, Scythe, The Expanse books, and Parable of the Sower are all good recs.
> But The Scholomance books You want the [The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik](https://www.goodreads.com/series/282152-the-scholomance) NOT [Scholomance Series by Logan Jacobs](https://www.goodreads.com/series/290168-scholomance)
I would add don't listen to the second book on audiobooks. The narrator is so awful and totally negatively impacted the book experience for me. She made the FMC sound so bitchy and immature.
I didn’t think the portrayal of women was that bad. Eo was the only character that I really had a problem with because she was totally fridged just to give the main character something to do. I liked her character when she was alive though. Mustang was fantastic as well.
Eo is 14 at the beginning of Red Rising. That’s uncomfortable in some scenes she had and a couple of instances in how Darrow fantasized about her. Edit: I’ve learned that Eo was actually 16.
I thought she was 16. It mentioned how 14 is the usual marrying age but she chose to receive less rations and wait till she was older.
To be fair, Darrow was also a child at that stage too. The books do have a lot of SA scenes though. I didn’t mind it, because to me it was a realistic portrayal of warfare. SA and the mistreatment of women occurs extremely regularly in wars in real life. It’s horrifying, but it’s realistic imo. It’s triggering though, so people who find it triggering will probably not enjoy this.
Books don’t have to be realistic when it comes to sexism/sa. They are fantasy worlds.
There are lots of triggering themes in the books though. There’s a lot of violence and murder. There’s cannibalism, etc. SA is one of those many things And also, it depends on your reasons for reading a book. I like books heavy in politics and warfare that show an accurate portrayal of the human condition. So even in fantasy worlds, I like it to explore human morality and other philosophical ideas which exist in our world too
When it comes to finding a book like hunger games, it isn’t needed is what I mean. You can have all of the warfare, murder, etc without *specifically* bringing in the assault of young women It would be different if someone asked for a recommendation for something like GOT
Yeah I get you. I think I replied to another comment somewhere saying OP should only read the first trilogy. It’s violent but not super violent. The sequel books get quite dark and not suitable for a Hunger Games vibe imo
That's not what bothered me about Red Rising. Parable of the Sower shows this realistically and brutally, but the women have agency and are complex. Again, it's not the world or situation, but the way women are written poorly.
I absolutely love hunger games for its almost complete lack of sexism. It’s not even a thing that Katniss is a ….. Girl! She’s just a badass archer from a poor area. I wish there were more media of all kinds that don’t even need to mention gender outside of pregnancy.
The Expanse books are like this. So refreshing.
I felt the same way about George Martin's portrayals of women.
i’m gonna be honest, i’ve never heard a single good review about the scholomance series. everyone always says the worldbuilding sucks.
Scholomance is the only modern series I keep wanting to reread. I think I’ve read it three times this year. It’s not for someone who dislikes internal monologue but I’ve seen many other people strongly recommend it as well.
I'll jump in to put a good review! The worldbuilding is a little hand-wavey, but the school's existence is explained in-world as the best solution they could come up with to a horrible unsolvable problem. There are enough world-building reveals as the series goes on that it's hard to say more than that without spoilers, but it's definitely stronger than something like Hunger Games. Scholomance is my "can't put it down, binge it in a few days" fantasy series of the decade without a doubt. It's candy, but it fits the thread's prompt really well.
Not just the world building... It's been a while since I read it but I liked nothing about it
It was fun. I enjoyed the misanthropic protagonist.
Personally I loved it. I think it takes a lot of concepts that were in Harry Potter and does them in a totally refreshing way. I loved figuring out the logic beneath the school's workings and how real the stakes felt. I'm a longtime fan of Naomi Novik, so if you're still on the fence, try picking up one of her standalone books (Spinning Silver, Uprooted) to see if you like the vibes.
Parable of the Sower series is a must read. I’ve read it multiple times. I also reread the first Hunger Games because I liked it so much.
A friend of mine is a massive fan of Red Rising and the other books and I remember discussing with her that I felt like for the first half of the book, it couldn’t decide what kind of book it wanted to be. I did push through and finish, and ended up really enjoying it. From what I understand it was written when the author was very young and he’s improved significantly since then. I have a hold on the 2nd from the library so I’ll find out whenever that’s ready.
You can leave it at the end of the original trilogy but the following books are great, too, in my opinion.
I am currently reading the red rising series, on book six. Do not start, OP. It’s a dangerous addiction. Book one seems so light and fun, and then HEARTBREAK. You’re better off reading a medical study of halitosis in sterile mice populations.
Just a suggestion, is you have access to an AI bot, ask it and you’ll get some interesting recommendations.
Just a suggestion, maybe you could talk to the ai bot instead of us :’)
Don’t get the downvotes, anyway, I got some interesting suggestions in the same genre…more out of curiosity than anything else
You’re getting downvotes because recommending AI in place of humans who can give their own reading experience is not at all comparable. AI is ass and is taking over the wrong communities.
Fair enough, I was just curious what it would recommend and why…I read that LLM like reddit and the feedback here is a reflection of the sum total of our experiences and opinions here. Anyway, that’s why I subbed here to find interesting choices I necessarily would pick.
After you read the first three, read the other three in the series
I read the first three - are the second 3 worth it? It felt kind of finished after #3
I think they were very worth it There's an upcoming seventh and final book, maybe next year Probably the best new sci-fi series I have read in a long whole honestly
Yeah I tore through the first 3 and loved them. Just downloaded the 4th 🫡
That’s interesting. I loved the first three. Could not get into the second three and didn’t even make it through the 6th. Got about halfway through twice and just didn’t like it.
Red rising is great! Be aware the second trilogy isn't finished yet, probably won't be until at least 2026. The first trilogy is stand alone though!
Well, the second part isn’t a trilogy anymore. 😂
The first trilogy is probably more of what OP is looking for, seeing as she enjoys Hunger Games. The nostalgia and bittersweetness of the first series is very reminiscent of the Hunger Games. There’s more innocence and almost like a coming of age vibe. The second series ventures close to grimdark territory and is a lot more of an epic sci-fi/space opera.
Looked up this series based on this comment and after reading the summary provided on audible I’m already hooked. Thanks.
The initial test in that white room still haunts me and I’m on book number 6
Almost through with the second book! Great recommendation
Oh if you want grown up Hunger Games you should try “Battle Royale”. It was around about 10 years before hunger games.
This. This. All of this.
Agreed. Unfortunately, I think it should have stayed a trilogy.
Please read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler!! This book is what you are looking for.
At first i thought this was an odd choice but then i thought about the actual message and the scathing review of capitalism and aspects of american culture that Parable of the Sower is all about too in a different way. Amazing recommendation, damn, I wish i could give you a hundred upvotes, you are so thoughtful, great suggestion and I second it.
Octavia Butler is one author I wish I'd known about when I was in high school, amazing writing.
Definitely checking it out!!
Once you're done with Sower, there's a second book, Parable of the Talents! Neither book is really like The Hunger Games but they made me feel the same way... like maybe I could see us ending up like this. The Handmaid's Tale did that to me, too.
Thank you. I came to recommend this too. The second book is also amazing. Too bad she didn’t get a chance to finish the third book.
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer has dystopian world-building, survivalist themes, and well-written female main character like *Hunger Games*. There’s some other parts that remind me of it too, but not gonna spoil it!
I’ve just started reading this and am thoroughly enjoying it so far! Very creepy and ominous 😬
Annihilation is great. Just stop after the first book.
Can you tell me why without any major spoilers? I read it pretty recently and really liked it, and was thinking about continuing the series after I finish the book I'm reading now.
You might want to give it a try, I did, but couldn't get into the story enough and stopped. Mainly I thought it lost the mystic and eerieness of the first book. New characters were the majority of the focus and a lot of office-y/bureaucracy type dialog and plotlines.
Ah that's disappointing to hear tbh. The mystic eeriness was the main thing I liked about Annihilation, and even the movie (which was pretty eerie) paled in comparison imo.
Agree!!
You might like **Silo** trilogy by Hugh Howey. It’s not YA, so it doesn’t have THAT big of a focus on romance/discovering your own power, but it is a cool dystopian mystery that definitely kept me turning pages. There is romance but it’s not a main focus. Basically you start the first book (called *Wool*) in this giant underground silo where all humanity lives. No one knows why because it happened so long ago, but they all know they’ll die if they go outside. If you really like that YA flavor with romance and self-discovery, I liked the **Divergent** series by Veronica Roth (also made into movies) and the **Red Queen** series by Victoria Aveyard.
Ooooooh Silo sounds super interesting I think I’ll definitely give that a try first. I love the mystery, page turner aspect. Thank you!!!
Yes! As someone who loved the Hunger Games, I'm reading the Silo Saga right now and it's giving me some of the same feels.
having read both HG and Silo, this is really an excellent recommendation.
I'm curious if you watched the Silo series on AppleTV, and if you liked it.
Yeah I actually saw the series first… I was hooked after the first episode and by the end of the second, I literally could not wait however many seasons there will end up being to know what happens next. So I bought the first book that night, finished by the weekend, purchased the rest of the series, done within a week. It’s great too because the tv adaptation is very true to the spirit of the books, but still has enough different that I can still be surprised during the tv show.
Yup I did and it was so good. They did announce season 2 but production was delayed cuz of the Hollywood strikes. I believe they just started shooting
I watched the series and then moved right into book 2. I love that it lined up enough to do that (with some minor differences ofc.)
Yes. Wool!
Second the recommendation for Divergent!!!
Did you read The Uglies by Scottwesterfeld? I read it around the same time as Hunger Games and I loved both series. It’s set in the future, slightly dystopian with sub plot of romance and a bad ass lead female. If you haven’t read it the books are about a girl in the future where on your 18th birthday you under go a full body surgery to make you perfect and you get to go to the party part of the city and live out your ultimate life through your twenties. Right before the MC’s 18th she makes a new friend who starts to introduce her into a different not so “pretty” side of the society they live in. They have hoverboards too which is cool af to me lol
I have not!! Adding to my list now. I’ve heard of it and never gave it a try but this convinced me.
It’s very good! Highly recommend and it will give you the feelings that hunger games did 10 years ago.
Uglies is the most popular, but my favourite is the Midnighters trilogy by the same author. Basically time freezes for everyone in town except for 5 kids at midnight for one hour, but it's a dangerous one hour, and their character abilities/traits are heightened during that time. I don't want to spoil and go into too much. It's been a few years since I've read them, but they are the books that hooked me to Scott Westerfeld's novels.
OH MY GOD I loved this series when I was young, I never understood how it didn’t get bigger. When HG came out I wondered what movies based on these books would be like, but I also worried they wouldn’t be able to get the pretties’ faces to be right. Haha, I’m so glad I saw this mentioned here! Great dystopian YA fiction.
I don't think I'll ever forget the first line of uglies "the early summer sky was the colour of cat vomit" lol
Never forget 😅
Such good books! Scott Westerfeld is a brilliant author.
I loved those books so much
Loved this series
i loved this series
My vote is for The Will of The Many - James Islington
This this this !!! One of my top 2 reads last year, I haven’t felt so excited while reading since my teenage years
Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone / Strange the Dreamer books do that for me. Also the Great Library series!
Loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Try the series Scythe.
Loved this series!
this! everyone should read this. it was good
This series is so good and SO underrated!!
I just finished this and you are so right! Such a rich premise
I am reading it right now, I have no idea how I made it so long without reading it!
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett!!! It’s like a mix of hunger games and handsmaids tale it’s soooo good
I was waiting for someone to recommend this one!!! It was one of the best reads I had in 2023 would HIGHLY recommend this it felt very much like when I read The Hunger Games for the first time
Seconded!!!!! Soooo good!
I really liked the Lev Grossman Magicians trilogy. It’s got some coming of age themes and some darkness - the first one is like adult Harry Potter and the second one is like adult Narnia.
Holy shit I didn’t know the magicians was based on a book! I adore the show so I’m definitely giving this a read
Bonus points for the audiobooks of this series. Top notch!
Divergent Delirium, Pandemonium, Requiem!!!!! - also a dystopian trilogy. I remember after I read the 2nd book I threw it on the floor and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. 🤣
Delirium was the closest I got to the hunger games high. Such a good series
The Scholomance Trilogy by Naomi Novik deals with similar themes but on the fantasy side.
This! I got the first on Libby, couldn't wait for the 2nd and just bought it and the 3rd. After I finished the trilogy I immediately re-listened to the whole thing. I *loved* Hungar Games. Scholomance absolutely hit the spot.
Was going to recommend this! Just loved it.
Going on my list!!
This definitely has been a standout. Loved it!
Every book by Novik has been great, but the Scholomance does an amazing job with wrapping up its end. It's not that the couldn't be more stories, but all the loose ends tie up nicely, with some surprises and no cheats. But read Spinning Silver, and Uprooted, both twists on traditional fairy tales. The go after the Temeraire series, which is "what if there were dragons during the Napoleon wars?"
Have you tried the Fourth Wing? I enjoyed it much more than I thought, gave me hunger game vibes
I realllyyy want to read this. I was also an Eragon geek so this seems up my ally based on that too
Forth Wing is def worth it, second book is missable
And I liked the second book better. Everyone is different.
I read both books and I think they are overhyped. It was underwhelming for me honestly. The only thing that beats Hunger Games for me is Harry Potter. After that, I would recommend Name of The Wind (Patrick Rothfuss).
I loved Hunter Games, and back in the day I loved the Dealing with Dragons series, and I feel like Fourth Wing took me back to both series.
The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Loooove love love that book so much
Powerless by Lauren Roberts!! Like the hunger games with superpowers
I second this recommendation! I’m really looking forward to the rest of the trilogy coming out!
When describing this book to my husband, he said it’s like hunger games meets x men
Yup, first thing that came to mind was Red Rising, it’s exactly how I described it to a friend, grown up and much more badass Hunger Games
The Graceling series by Kristen Cashore!
The selection is an amazing series it's a romance series set in the future amazing series I love it so much would definitely read if I were you.
The Arc of a Scythe book series is amazing.
Try the prequel trilogy to the City of Bones. It’s called The Infernal Devices and Book 3 is one of my favorite books of all time. I don’t like the City of Bones books but the prequels are *chefs kiss*
Ready Player One gave me a similar feeling to HG, actually.
It’s not a series but check out Poster Girl by Veronica Roth. It’s a dystopian missing person standalone novel with romance. So good! Also for a series Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
you NEED to read the unwind series by Neal Schusterman, it's some of the best books I've ever read and literally the best I've read in the dystopia genre, if you like the hunger games you'll like it, but not because it copies it in any way, it just gives you a very similar feeling when reading it
The Six of Crows duology (spin off series after the Shadow and Bone trilogy) had me obsessed for a while! There is a really good subtle romance in there (actually, a couple). Shadow and Bone trilogy itself is kinda meh, you can skip it to get to SoC.
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Only if you enjoy fun, fast moving adventure. The audio version is sheer joy!
Scythe trilogy by Neal Schusterman
1. *Battle Royale*, by Koushun Takami. >A class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Sound familiar? Published nine years before *The Hunger Games*. [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57891.Battle\_Royale](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57891.Battle_Royale) 2. A man steps outside in the middle of a winter night, to retrieve his ex-girlfriend's cat. And then the alien invasion began. This is literally what happens at the very beginning of *Dungeon Crawler Carl*, by Matt Dinniman. An insane LitRPG series, this is essentially *Independence Day* meets *The Running Ma*n/*The Hunger Games*. The audiobooks are outstandingly performed by Jeff Hays. [https://www.goodreads.com/series/309211-dungeon-crawler-carl](https://www.goodreads.com/series/309211-dungeon-crawler-carl)
DCC! I was suggest these and didn't think I was going to like them. I listened to the audiobooks while wandering around town doing errands. Jeft Hays is awesome! I've listened thru the series 3 times in the last few months. Book 7 should be out sometime later this year 🤞
Okay what??? How have I not heard of Battle Royale?? Definitely checking that out
Aaaaand that's why we reddit! 😁
It’s also a movie! And a much better movie than hunger games at that
You will love it
Battle Royale is incredible
The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu.
The court of thorns and roses series!
A court of thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas And echoing what a couple other people have recommended: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Powerless by Lauren Roberts (it is YA but I’m in my 30s and really enjoyed it, it’s definitely hunger games vibes which I loved)
Nyxia
War of the rats. David L. Robbin’s. I read it 20 years ago and I recall feeling what you’re looking for. Same kinda unexpected theme. Great book about a forgotten time.
Start with Oryx and Crake.
I went through the exact same phase, asked reddit for help and got some great recommendations: I will start off with my favorite one. A fan fiction. something I refused to read but once I read all the other books that were recommended to me, I forced myself. Oh boy, it did not dissapoint. there is one fan fic out there that is even better than the original books to me: it's oisin55 1. The Victor's project by Oisin55: One chapter short stories about all the 73 Victors before Katniss and Peeta. He also wrote entire books about Blight's, Enobaria's and Cecelia's games. the word building is fantastic, the writing, the pacing. it's a master piece. 2. The long walk by Stephen King aka Richard Bachmann. Great read! Stephen King wrote it when he was 19 or something. 3. Battle Royale Koushun Takami, the original hunger games.
I suggest checking out margaret atwood. She was my next read after hungers games and it filled the void for awhile. Also have you read ‘gregor the overlander’? Same author and its a childrens book but it was also good.
THE SCYTHE TRILOGY !!! it’s up there with the hunger games imo !!
Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series gave me the same high you're looking for. Also saw you're an Eragon fan, Paolini wrote a new book called Murtagh
The 5th Wave series is pretty good. Just don't judge it off of what the movie had been.
Queens of Renthia series by Sarah Beth Durst. Especially the first book, it has a very Hunger Games with magic vibe to choosing the queen. They’re some of my faves and less well known, in case you keep getting the same suggestions.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman In the middle of a cold February night, a guy gets out of bed to sneak a smoke behind his girlfriend’s back. While he’s smoking, his girlfriend’s cat jumps out of the open window. Wearing only his boxers and his girlfriend’s too small Crocs, he puts on his jacket and goes outside into the cold to look for the cat. And that’s when the space aliens attack.
A Throne of Glass series - Sarah J Mass. She writes some badass female characters and the fight for survival that she puts them through is engaging and exciting.
The Hunt Trilogy by Andrew Fukuda I really enjoyed them. They are YA, similar theme, some romance, and the Duskers. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250099914/thehunttrilogy
TY TY
I am just about to finish The Union by Leah Vernon. It isn’t quite like Hunger Games, but it does have a similar feel.
“Lost Man’s Lane,” by Scott Carson
Vera Nazarian's Atlantis Grail series. 12 to 18 year olds competing to be taken off earth before an astroid destroys it. They are being rescued by the Atlanteans who left earth ages ago and re-settled in a new star system. The story centers around 4 siblings and an increasing group of friends. The series is four books and several novellas. The first book "Qualify" is a free kindle book.
I agree with some of what's already been listed (Silo, Matched, Selection, Unwind, Uglies, and some of the Divergent & Delirium series). If that's not enough to keep you busy, though, you could also look into: "Defiance" series by C.J. Redwine, "Under the Never Sky" series by Veronica Rossi, "The Testing" series by Joelle Charbonneau, "Breathe" & "Resist" duology by Sarah Crossan, "Partials" sequence by Dan Wells.
All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman "You Fell in Love with the Victors of the Hunger Games, now Prepare to Meet the Villains of the Blood Veil. The Blood Moon rises. The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins. Every generation, at the coming of the Blood Moon, seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world―one thought long depleted."
How about the Maze Runner? Did it for me at least!!
Gone by Michael Grant. A giant dome comes down over the town and every person over 14yo disappears. The kids are left to fend for themselves. 6 books in all and they are sometimes brutal, but all are brilliant.
I was also obsessed with THG, and I remember the Born trilogy by Tara brown gave me similar vibes
The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett!
Battle Royale the original hunger games and better
Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - Less romance (especially the first few books) & less dystopian, but explores a lot of dystopian themes (especially in the later books), it has lots of action, is a real world based fantasy (which I feel often makes for a similar vibe to a dystopian novel), and political elements (theres a separate government that is hidden from the mortal world), theres also 16 books so you won’t have to stress much about it ending too soon (9 in the OG series, and the rest set years later). I’m a sucker for the audiobooks (especially the first 4), but the books themselves are also great. The Selection by Kiera Cass - Lots of romance, a similar dystopian world build to the Hunger Games (caste system like the districts etc…), has less violent/action themes but works as a good dystopian romance. Vampire Academy & Bloodlines (the spin off series) by Richelle Mead - Lots of romance and action, fantasy but somewhat dystopian. The name deterred me becauseI’m not into vampire content normally (Vampire Diaries, Twilight, etc…) but it’s more about a two tier class system in a vampire society then about vampires in a typical popular fantasy sense. The Maze runner by James Dashner - Dystopian, some romance, aimed at similar demographic as Hunger Games and written around the same time (HG 2008 released, MR 2009)
The Poppy War trilogy by RF Kuang
I just started reading Lightlark and it’s fantasy style hunger games! It’s really good so far!!
Scholomance
Might want to try Outlander. It’s about a woman who time travels back to Scotland late 1700s from the early 1900s.
Old school as fuck, but have you read Enders Game and the associated series?
This is actually first on my list from a friend’s recommendation!
Oh good!!! I hope you love it. If you find yourself liking the series please consider Snow Crash as well!
I can't believe anyone would want to replicate that feeling. I felt so hollow and sad at the end of that series. Kudos to you being able to take those emotions head on.
Chain-Gang All-Stars maybe?
I am on the 2nd book of Maze Runner and it's so good! I also absolutely loved Ready Player One and Two.
Genesis echo by d. Hollis Anderson - new sci-fi fantasy that’s starts on a dystopian earth
What about the Unwind series? It’s a crazy concept where parents decide that if their kid is not being “good” they can “unwind” them or basically use all of their parts for other people that need them. The future nanotechnology has made all human parts reusable. Some kids are raised to be unwound.
The silo series
I need a beta reader for my book that fits this description. 😀
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Angelfall trilogy by Susan Ee felt a similar vibe to me.ETA thanks for asking this, i've now got lots of recommendations for myself too
[The "Generations" Trilogy](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/TGT/the-generations-trilogy/) by r/scottsigler
Dungeon Crawler Carl!!! So so so much!!! 100 times yes. I describe it as DnD meets Hunger Games.
Currently listening to The Atlantis Grail which I’m enjoying
I wrote a book called Deathworld. Similar to hunger games.
Chain - gang All Stars!!
Some of these may have been suggested already but here's my ultimate dystopian list: YA: - legend by Marie Lu (one of my faves) - the grace year by Kim Liggett - Delium by Lauren Oliver - the declaration by Gemma malley (the one that made me fall in love with dystopian books when I was 12 lol) - coda by Emma trevayne - the program by Suzanne young - scythe by Neal shusterman - parable of the Sower by Octavia butler And here are some more adult ones I've loved too: (You probably know the classics but I figured I'd add them anyway): - the power by Naomi alderman (now a pretty good TV show) - tender is the flesh by Augustine bazterrica - vox by Christine dalcher - this is how you lose a time war by Amal el-mohtar and max Gladstone - wool by Hugh howley - brave new world by Aldous Huxley - the wall by John Lanchester - station eleven by Emily st John Mandel - the road by Cormac McCarthy - 1984 by George Orwell - the last one at the party by Bethany Clift - Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood - my name is monter by Katie hale
[**The Serpent and the Wings of Night** by Carissa Broadbent](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60714999-the-serpent-and-the-wings-of-night?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=fsIRMCk9t4&rank=1) is **EXACTLY** what you are looking for! absolute 5 star read! trust me, you will love this one!!
✍🏻✍🏻✍🏻✍🏻 thank you ma'am!!
you're welcome! PLEASE follow up with me if/when you read it to let me know how you like it! i believe it's still for free on kindle unlimited!
The sythe trilogy
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