Five Feminist Dystopian and Science Fiction Novels to look out for this year.

After what has felt like a somewhat Sci-Fi/dystopian year, why not dive into some new feminist fiction to flex those panic muscles and get yourself thinking about all the other future possibilities that may come at us. We’re prepared now right? We’ve handled a global pandemic (sort of?).

These writers have used dystopian and fantasy worlds to explore exaggerated possibilities inspired by social hierarchies, technology and disease, to reveal and explore human truths, be they somewhat terrifying. Whether it’s a woman who has the power to wipe out a city with a glance, or a computer-like afterlife where a virtual queen plans to wipe out humanity from the beyond, these books are sure to get your imagination burning.

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

Publisher: The Borough Press

Published: 29th April 2021

Christina Sweeney-Baird wrote her debut novel The End of Men in 2018 before the pandemic and has been shocked by the parallels that have occurred between the real world and her fiction novel. She has said that early readers have said this book has made them feel better about the world we live in today, as it’s a novel about hope and resilience in extraordinary circumstances.

The End of Men explores a world in which men no longer exist, due to a deadly virus that women are immune to but has wiped out 90% of the male population. The story follows an A and E consultant who treats Patient Zero whilst trying to protect her sons, a scientist trying to create a vaccine, and an anthropologist who wants to record what is happening. It couldn’t be more on the nose after the year we’ve had, and whilst its reality may be terrifying, it might just leave readers feeling hopeful by the end.



The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Published: 6th April 2021

Writing across genres for young adults Akemi Dawn Bowman has received multiple accolades and award nominations, including for her debut novel Starfish which was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award.

The Infinity Courts tells the story of eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto, who is murdered just as she feels her life is beginning. Waking up in a place called Infinity where consciousness lives on and physical bodies die, Nami must work to defeat Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, who has taken over the afterlife posing as Queen and planning to wipe out humanity.

Described as a cross between Westworld, and Warcross, this book provides the anxiety of technological dystopia, a high-stakes plot, and a kick ass female hero with her band of rebels taking on this world.



Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Publisher: Tordotcom Publishing

Published: 19th January 2021

Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author of African-based science fiction and fantasy (Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism). Having won a Hugo, a Nebula, a World Fantasy Award, and a Locus Award, her writing record is impressive to say the least. Okorafor is currently working on a series for Marvel about Shuri, Black Panther’s sister, and has a number of book-based projects in development for film and TV.

Remote Control is set ‘once upon a time in the near-future Ghana’, and follows Fatima, who becomes Sankofa: death’s adopted daughter, admired and feared by the towns she walks through. Walking the boundary between folktale and modern life, this is a world where modern technologies such as drones and self-driving cars, coexist with religion and legends of Ghanaian nature and culture. Remote Control explores grief, trauma and the difficulties of facing your past, as well as a story about a girl coming to terms with who she is in this unique world.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2nd March 2021

From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature comes the highly anticipated newest novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Author of the highly acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro is no stranger to dystopian fiction, and the worlds he creates are heartbreakingly realistic, and devastatingly close to home.

Set in a dystopian future that contains genetically engineered Artificial Friends, Klara and The Sun is a story narrated by Klara, one such Artificial Friend. A highly observant and intelligent creature, her knowledge of the world is limited to the people she observes from the shelf of the store, where she waits patiently each day to be chosen by a customer. Contemplating the meaning of love, and how we define humanity, Klara and the Sun has been described as a masterpiece of philosophical science-fiction and is already being regarded as highly as Ishiguro’s previous works.



Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez

Publisher: Atria Books

Published: 8th December 2020

Award winning screenwriter and author Catherine Hernandez won the Jim Wong-Chu Award for the unpublished manuscript, for her first novel Scarborough. Amongst writing multiple critically acclaimed plays, Crosshairs is her second novel.

Set in a dystopian future, Crosshairs follows a queer black performer who joins forces with his allies to rise up against an oppressive regime that puts anyone deemed as ‘other’ into labour camps. In the shadows of this disturbingly familiar world, arises this new hero who, after losing the love of his life and his livelihood as a drag queen, joins the resistance to plan an uprising at a major televised event.

Described as raw, disturbing, beautiful and hopeful, this is another novel that will leave readers thinking about the world we live in and the way we treat each other.