68 Books Like Winter

I have never read a novel so close to prophecy.

Published in 1995, Parable starts in July 2024 amidst the election of an autocrat who, by the sequel Parable of the Talents, literally pledges to “make America great again.” I started my platform in 2015 in the same context.

This novel pulled me into its harrowing tale of how to survive civilizational collapse: the dismantling of systems, norms, and climate change that we are all currently going through.

The lesson is ultimately about embracing change, caring for and trusting each other in community, and coming up with our own ways of being together. So many of our ancestors have survived periods of collapse by the same principles. These ancestral lessons still guide me, and I believe are critical to surviving AI dystopia.

In a list about zombie apocalypse references, this is definitely a quirky entry. But it is important for all writers to read outside of their genre, or they run the risk of becoming generic. 

Far more important than the story’s backdrop is the story’s focus. People predominantly care and read about people.

Whether that means writing about people resisting zombies, as is the case with most zombie stories, or writing about zombies doing their best to become human—as seen in Elantris and The Girl With All The Gifts—writers need to know how to tell stories about people.

I don’t write books about zombies, I write books about families. And there is probably no more famous family right now than the Bridgertons (though if I had one more recommendation, it would definitely be Swiss Family Robinson).

By reading books about strong families, I’m better able to translate my own… show more.

I love this book’s original take on the “spore” or “fungal” zombie outbreak. It feels like the author took The Last Of Us (which I also adore) and flipped the story on its head. Melanie is this unique character, at once the snarky, hilarious child of the piece and its terrifying monster.

She’s the threat, battlefield, and hope—and I find that combination so compelling. While it’s a grim, often bleak tale set in a decimated UK, this thread of unexpected hope and unusual connections kept me hooked. This story might not give me the future I wanted at the start of the story, but it offers a different vision with its own version of hope for humanity, and because of that, it has a special place on my shelf.

I debated which of Cosmere’s many books to put here but settled on this one because it was my introduction to Sanderson. The main attraction of his books for me is always the unique and scientific hard magic systems and how they relate to every aspect of his stories, from characters to worldbuilding.

My favorite part was how the characters had to study the magic system and uncover its specific functions to “solve” the problem that was plaguing them. This is a pretty common narrative force behind many of Sanderson’s books, but I also enjoyed this one because of its religious and sociopolitical commentary. I found the high priest’s arc especially compelling, as he found his views on faith challenged by another character.

I may be cheating here. Rapunzel is an old-time fairy tale, and Cress is a science fiction re-writing of that story, so I'm going to count it in this list as "historical." This is the third book in Meyers' Lunar Chronicles and it is my favorite of the bunch. Cress (Rapunzel) is incredibly smart and completely naive to the world. Her romantic interest is a completely dopey bad guy, who you shouldn't waste your time disliking. The odd situations they get themselves into mirror, to an extent, the famous fairy tale. Lots of fun.

When I finished this book, I was a little heartbroken because I didn’t want to leave that crew.

I love how Chambers builds a world that doesn’t put heroes on a pedestal—a world full of ordinary, flawed people trying to understand one another while doing extraordinary work in an uncaring universe.

It taught me about quiet courage, the kind that doesn’t need destiny to feel meaningful. It made me believe again that kindness and curiosity can be forms of rebellion.

I come back to the Wayfarer whenever I need reminding that connection, not perfection, is what makes us human.

This sci-fi adventure seems insane when you read the premise – a cowboy, a hitman, and an alien AI armor? Somehow, this manages to actually work, and becomes a thrilling adventure, with a pretty unique romance and fun world-building. It’s just one of those books you need to read to believe.

Although this title seems obscure, most people will recognize the classic movie adaptation under the name The Thing.

For a science fiction story written before the Second World War, this book stands up surprisingly well. It’s the First Contact story we don’t want, where instead of meeting an intelligent extraterrestrial species, we come face to face with a monster. And it is intelligence that saves the day, not brute force or strength.

Although it is out of print, this book can be read online. 

In Claiming T-Mo, Australian-African writer Eugen Bacon re-invents and shatters all the familiar codes of the magical sci-fi genre. A novel about women, magic, fate, and freedom, Claiming T-Mo is also a deep reflection on motherhood, love, masculinity, and identities. As the different female narrators share their views and feelings about T-Mo, the elusive central character, more questions about filiation and heritage unroll, making the reader a part of the quest. I love Eugen Bacon because she is an incredibly versatile talent, who turns everything she writes about into pure gold. 

This is the first book in a series. It was my grade school introduction to the concept of young adult post-apocalyptic themes. The fact that one of the central characters is a visually impaired young man who finds a pair of life-changing eyeglasses was a big deal to me. This might be the book that solidified my interest in post-apocalyptic literature. The fact that this apocalypse is the result of an alien invasion is just icing on the cake.