Futuristic Fiction with Crossover Appeal: A Reading List

This installment of the Riot Recommendation is sponsored by Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead. In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.  When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.   _________________________ If the last few years in fiction have taught us anything, it’s that the future is really effing scary, and everyone loves to read about it. What’s up with that? Kids and adults alike have flipped for stories that present a look at what the future might be like. It seems we can’t get enough of the guessing, of the edgy tales, of walking right up to the cliff and peeking over into the unknown. And many of these stories? They’re written for younger readers but become equally beloved by adults. We asked you to tell us about your favorite works of futuristic fiction with mad crossover appeal.  Here’s what you came up with. Ready Player One by Ernie Cline The Giver by Lois Lowry Wool by Hugh Howey Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson Nexus by Ramez Naam Across the Universe Trilogy by Beth Revis The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood Legend by Marie Lu The City and the City by China Mieville The Divergent series by Veronica Roth The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld The Maze Runner by James Dashner When She Woke by Hillary Jordan Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi Feed by M.T. Anderson Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin The Dog Stars by Peter Heller What’d we miss, readers? ___________________________ Sign up for our newsletter to have the best of Book Riot delivered straight to your inbox every two weeks. No spam. We promise. To keep up with Book Riot on a daily basis, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, , and subscribe to the Book Riot podcast in iTunes or via RSS. So much bookish goodness–all day, every day.