Binge Worthy

[binj • wur-thee]

Adjective – Describing entertainment which is of a high enough quality to be consumed all the way through in succession. 

Dystopian Novel Series About a World Scarier Than the One We’re Currently Living In

As a proud lifelong bookworm, there is no escape I love more than into the pages of a good book. Great stories let us walk in someone else’s shoes and transport us to another world, allowing readers to feel connected with something much bigger than ourselves. 

Even in the best of times, the act of losing yourself in a good book is a most delicious luxury. And since we’re all looking for a solid distraction from life right now, let’s dive into three truly fantastic novels set in a future that is undoubtedly worse than the reality we’re currently experiencing. 

The Passage Trilogy, by Justin Cronin

The Passage
The Twelve
The City of Mirrors

What begins as a project to develop an immunity-boosting drug based on a virus carried by a South American bat eventually becomes a highly contagious virus that transforms the world. WAIT DON’T GO! We promised post-apocalyptic stories with worse outcomes; this delivers. Because guess what’s worse than COVID-19? A virus that turns humans into superhuman beings who are continually on the hunt for fresh blood. The novels span over one hundred years, as colonies of humans attempt to survive in this terrifying new world. The idea originated when the author’s daughter asked him to write a book about a “girl who saves the world.” (Spoiler alert: it takes a while.)

The Red Rising series, by Pierce Brown
Red Rising
Golden Son
Morning Star
Iron Gold
Dark Age

It has been seven hundred years since mankind colonized the other planets. A color-based social hierarchy keeps humans in their proper place, with the physically-superior Golds ruling with an iron fist. Set on Mars, Red Rising follows lowborn miner Darrow (a Red) as he infiltrates the ranks of the elite Golds, with a goal of destroying the Society from the inside out, starting a revolution that will eventually span the entire solar system. And that’s just the first book of the series. 

The Hunger Games series, by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Ballad of Songbirds and SnakesA post-civil war North America is reimagined as the fraught nation of Panem. Controlled by the highly advanced Capitol, the 12 districts that make up the rest of the nation are forced to send one boy and one girl tribute to compete in the annual Hunger Games: a televised battle royale to the death. For children. Formerly a trilogy, this celebrated series (and fantastic movies!) added a prequel last spring (something good came out of 2020!), with the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, telling the origin story of future Panem president Coriolanus Snow.