100 Books Like The Chaos Grid

This book filled me with pure wonder. The futuristic setting felt like a glimpse into a world we’re on the brink of creating, where technology can be both a refuge and a battlefield. I loved the way it combined a digital universe with a gritty, imperfect reality—it made me think about how much potential the future holds, both thrilling and terrifying.

The sense of exploration and possibility was so vivid that I found myself daydreaming about what could be long after I turned the last page. It’s a story that reminds me how powerful imagination can be. The characters aren’t perfect, which made them feel real, and I was hooked by the idea of ordinary kids taking on extraordinary challenges. This one made me feel like anything was possible in the future.

Warcross hooked me from page one and never let go.

First off, the near future American and Japanese settings were super fun to explore. Secondly, there were hackers, dark web bounty hunters, and virtual reality games—I mean, come on!

This book had all the fun tropes that I love in a series. 

Between the high-stakes worldbuilding, Earth on the brink of war with Luna while battling a global pandemic, and Marissa Meyer’s fresh sci-fi take on magic, the story drew me in and wouldn’t let me go.

I’m not ashamed to say I devoured this in one sitting. I was fascinated by the lunar people’s ability to use their “gifts” to manipulate bioelectricity, casting glamours and bewitching their victim’s minds. It added yet another layer of tension to the story.

The seamless fusion of dystopia, sci-fi, and elements from classic fairytales creates a powerhouse narrative that centers around Cinder, a cyborg mechanic whose fate is inexplicably twined with the prince’s in a race to find a cure and prevent the impending war.

I rarely read a book twice, but this is one of the few that I’ve read multiple times because it is such a unique premise. The concept of people going from “ugly” to “pretty” on their sixteenth birthday (thanks, futuristic technology) is such an interesting one to dive into. 

Also, I love how the main character straddles both the world of the pretties and that of the uglies—not knowing where she belongs. As a third culture kid, and someone who frequently feels like a misfit, I really related to her.

This book is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are living in domes to keep them safe from the deadly radiation of the planet. The story follows: Aria is a young woman living in the safety of one of these domes, and her quest to find her mother, whom she lost contact with recently after her mother was sent out to repair damage to a pod in the outer wastelands. She knows she likely won’t survive, but she ventures out into the unknown anyway, finding help from a young man named Perry. Perry is an outsider, one of the few humans left able to survive the planet’s harsh conditions. His people are referred to as uncivilized savages.

This story has a great plot twist, and Aria finds out that the savages might not be the people who live outside the domes but within them. I love a good plot… show more.

This novel takes place during the post-Civil war period, so it is not “technically” a western though it does take place in Texas. However, it has that gritty reality and deep, dark emotion I search for in my favorite novels.

The hero is tortured. The heroine is vengeful. They come together and terrible, difficult, life-changing, and character-building plot twists happen. They choose each other, above all odds.

If you want proof that love conquers all this is the book. I have never forgotten it.

Press Enter to Continue is incredible on every level. The art is beautiful, with a technicolor palette and skillful drawing that belies the corporate horror in the narratives. We see humiliating job interviews, vampiric computer viruses, and cosmic labor camps that feel a little too close for comfort in our online world. It’s a collection of short stories told with a deadpan minimalism that makes the reader think, sweat, and maybe put their phone away for a while.

The Incal follows John DiFool, an everyday goofball, as he is swept away on the most metaphysical, surrealistic, galactic adventure possible. Written and drawn by two of the wildest, most ingenious imaginations to ever grace the page, Jodorowsky and Moebius guide the reader gracefully to the edge of existence and back – without confusing or pandering to its audience. 

This book works so well because, first, Moebuis’ art is an absolute delight to look at, and second, because using the common-man-character of DiFool as the protagonist, the reader can learn alongside the story in a way that feels smooth and natural – in a world that would otherwise be beyond the understanding of mere mortals.

I normally avoid dystopian, but this story doesn’t dwell in misery like so many apocalyptic stories do.

Last Man Standing is more like Andy Weir’s book, The Martian, because it’s about one man’s survival under extreme conditions. A scientist is stranded on a space station after an attack that has killed everyone else onboard. What happened, and why? He doesn’t know, but he’ll do anything to stay alive and find a way to get back to Earth despite a thousand obstacles in his path and little knowledge of spaceflight.

This story can be intense, but the character stays positive and has a lot of heart.

When I think of the ultimate, inescapable trap, I think of Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.

To me, the terror is not only unbearable, it’s unchangeable. Of all these worlds, this may be the one most devoid of hope. With no possibility of relief and no chance of escape. There is, in fact, no place to escape to.

And like every book on this list, I don’t have to reread I have No Mouth and I Must Scream, because it’s always with me. In the best and most terrifying way.