In other words… female led dystopia.
Read and loved:
I Who Have Never Known Men
The Wall
Book of the Unnamed Midwife
Immaculate Conception
Parable of the Sower
Severance
Never Let Me Go
Read and liked:
Annihilation
Silo
Read and didn’t really super duper love:
Station Eleven
The Girl With All The Gifts
Broken Earth trilogy
The Power
On my TBR: The Grace Year, Prophet Song
by OkPlace7834
17 Comments
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook
Chain gang all-stars was pretty great
After world by Debbie Urbanski! Super unique sci-fi dystopian. We asked AI to help us save the world and they do so by effectively killing everyone. The story is told through an AI documenting the last human woman on earth before “afterworld” or the AI made cloud goes
live. Super unique and a really interesting read!
I read this, station eleven and I who have never known men all around the same time and I preferred after world the best!
I think Handmaid’s Tale is the most obvious choice that I don’t see on your lists.
The future by Catherine Leroux
Hmm, you might take a look at Sheri S. Tepper. My favorite from her (by a wide margin) is >!*A Plague of Angels*!< ― identifying that as SF and not fantasy is a mild spoiler, but a spoiler nonetheless ― and I also liked *Grass* and *Shadow’s End*. I didn’t read her book *The Gate to Women’s Country* but it’s probably worth a look too for what you’re after. I didn’t care for *The Waters Rising*, which is a prequel to the first book I mentioned, but YMMV.
Jennifer Government by Max Barry
Embassytown by China Mieville, especially if you’re at all a fan of linguistics
Maybe give Seveneves by Neal Stephenson a go.
Not future necessarily, but The Grace Year. I liked it but didn’t love it, but definitely female driven
Borne by Jeff Vandermeer!
Plastic by Scott Guild (not so distant parallel future, plastic people, seriously amazing book)
Angels are the Reapers by Alden Bell (woman lead, zombies)
I realize both are by men but, trust.
Ugh, The Power 🤢
STRONGLY recommend seeking out Joanna Russ and James Tiptree, that’s the true motherload!
If you don’t mind horror/zombies, then Mira Grant’s Newsflesh eries is also top tier female-led dystopia
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei. Space. Sci fi. No cis men on the ship, actually.
I Who Have Never Known Man
Hunger Games series
Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercey
The Pharmacist by Rachelle Atalla
Thirsty Animals by Rachelle Atalla
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (the final section is set in the near future)
Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy