10 Books To Read if You Love 'The Handmaid's Tale'
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With The Handmaid's Tale, published in 1985, writer Margaret Atwood created an unsettling dystopia with a bleak version of America, particularly for its women. The book was set after the Second American Civil War in a theocratic part of the country renamed Gilead, in which fertile women were forced to bear children for the ruling class in an effort to combat falling birthrates. The novel was adapted for television by Hulu, with The Handmaid's Tale premiering in 2017. It ran for six seasons, although it had completely covered the events of the novel by the end of the first season. Its legacy is undeniable, as it's often invoked when discussing political issues affecting women, and its infamous red robes and white bonnets can be frequently seen at protests.
But Atwood was far from the first writer to explore a dystopia, nor was she the only writer to use such a setting to address women's issues. There is no shortage of compelling fiction set in alternate versions of America or insular communities where women are stripped of their rights and humanity. And while many of these stories emerged decades ago, plenty have also been told in recent years, drawing on the inspiration of Atwood's work and current events.
10 'The Gate to Women's Country' (1988)
Written by Sheri S. Tepper
In the fantasy novel The Gate to Women’s Country, set 300 years in the future after a nuclear war, women and men live separately in an attempt to prevent further war and destruction. Women control civilization as a matriarchal dictatorship and keep their knowledge secret, while the men are forced to live outside the city walls to protect it. Twice a year, the city hosts a carnival, during which the men are allowed to enter the city.
The Gate to Women’s Country is an interesting exploration of gender stereotypes and the age-old “battle of the sexes.” In some ways, it’s the opposite of The Handmaid’s Tale, with a matriarchal society, one which overcorrected in an attempt to prevent violence. It’s a thought-provoking feminist novel with incredible worldbuilding from writer Sheri S. Tepper, making it easy to become immersed in the world, plus there are some surprising twists along the way.
9 'The Power' (2016)
Written by Naomi Alderman
Teenage girls the world over suddenly develop the ability to create and control electrical currents in The Power, making them capable of causing serious injury or death with just a touch. As a result, a revolution leads to a shift in power, with women seizing political and social control from men. The story is told through the perspectives of four intersecting characters, including a wealthy Nigerian boy and a foster child living with religious parents.
The Power flips the script by imagining a world in which women gain qualities that quickly turn the tables on the status quo. It’s an interesting read about power dynamics and can easily be interpreted as a metaphor—even the title, The Power, has multiple meanings. It’s not just a story about the reclaiming of power, however, as the women prove themselves to be just as capable of cruelty as men. If you're interested in entertaining modern sci-fi novels, this is a great pick.
8 'Elsewhere' (2022)
Written by Alexis Schaitkin
Elsewhere follows Vera, a woman who lives in an isolated small town where women are destined to become wives and mothers, but some just disappear into the clouds—including Vera’s mother when Vera was a child. As she and her friends approach motherhood themselves, they begin to wonder which of them will vanish next, while the town’s citizens believe that the disappearances have something to do with their love for their children.
The Handmaid’s Tale asks lots of questions about motherhood and its meaning, and so, too, does Elsewhere—particularly the ways a person can lose themselves in it and its intense highs and lows. The book’s idyllic setting is juxtaposed with the dark mystery of what’s happening to the town’s mothers and why, and motherhood is presented as something both revered and feared. The book has also been compared to the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.
7 'The Family Experiment' (2024)
Written by John Marrs
The Family Experiment, set in the not-too-distant future in which overpopulation and economic collapse have made having a child a privilege that’s difficult to afford, couples raise a hyperrealistic AI child, called a MetaChildren, as part of a competition on a reality TV show over the course of nine months. At the end, they get a chance to either keep their MetaChild or take a chance to get a real baby.
The Family Experiment is an unsettling view of parenting that would be right at home in a sci-fi series like Black Mirror. It’s a complex book about families in our current society, blending technological advances like AI with pop-culture staples like reality television. John Marrs is particularly skilled at exploring the impact of technology on society. Similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, children are prized in The Family Experiment, and the book challenges our idea of family values.
6 'The Children of Men' (1992)
Written by P. D. James
Set in England in 2021, The Children of Men explores the repercussions of widespread infertility—no babies have been born in 25 years. The book follows two viewpoints, including a journal written by Theodore Faron, or Theo, who becomes involved with a group of rebels. They soon discover a pregnant woman who may be in danger. The book was also adapted into a movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón titled Children of Men, starring Clive Owen as Theo.
As in The Handmaid’s Tale, the world in The Children of Men is faced with falling birthrates caused by infertility, and though the two societies have very different ways of addressing the issue, both books also have ambiguous endings with a note of hope, despite their intense and bleak stories. Children of Men is an intense, riveting story, and although it differs a bit from the movie, both present compelling stories of a dystopian future.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.
- You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
- You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
- You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
- The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.
- You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
- You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
- You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
- In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Blade Runner
You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
- You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
- In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
- You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
- In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
- Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
- You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
- Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
- In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.
- You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
- You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
- You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
- In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
5 'Red Clocks' (2018)
Written by Leni Zumas
After abortion is criminalized in Red Clocks, in vitro fertilization is no longer an option for couples who want to start a family, and embryos are granted rights through the Personhood Amendment. The story is told from the perspectives of four different women living in a fictional small town in Oregon, and each is affected by the laws in very different ways, from a 42-year-old woman desperate for a child to a teenager navigating an unplanned pregnancy.
Red Clocks is powerful and as timely as ever with its exploration of the female experience and the differing experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in particular. It’s easy to imagine the country’s laws in the novel being eagerly embraced by the leadership of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale, and it reads like a cautionary tale, especially given that it takes place in a country at a time that looks very much like our own.
4 'Archetype' (2011)
Written by M. D. Waters
Emma awakens after an accident to find her memory is gone in Archetype by M. D. Waters, set in the United States in the midst of a civil war. Emma’s recovery is complicated by strange memories that don’t make any sense and include a war and a training camp for wives. Soon, the line between her dream and waking life begins to blur, and Emma discovers the truth about what happened to her—and who her husband really is.
To say too much about the plot of Archetype and how everything unfolds would spoil what makes it great. Like The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s set in a dystopian version of America in which women are destined to be wives, and many are infertile, raising questions about their role and value. The interesting story and setting of Archetype make it a quick read, especially as the reality of Emma’s situation unfolds.
3 'Gather the Daughters' (2017)
Written by Jennie Melamed
In Jennie Melamed’s debut novel, Gather the Daughters, the descendants of 10 families—and the occasional newcomer—live on an island, away from the dangerous “wastelands” of the mainland, where girls are trained for a life as wives and mothers and men retain tight control over them. One of them rejects the life that has been chosen for her and begins looking into the island’s mysteries, leading an uprising among its girls.
Gather the Daughters shares The Handmaid’s Tale’s approach to the role of women in society through a unique dystopian setting, as well as its often brutal treatment of them—the book includes some disturbing depictions of violence and sexual assault. It’s a harrowing and fast-paced novel, and it’s received critical praise and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2018, thanks to its rich world and strong writing, especially with four distinct perspectives.
2 'Parable of the Sower' (1993) and 'Parable of the Talents' (1998)
Written by Octavia Butler
Parable of the Sower, which begins in 2024, follows Lauren Olamina, a young Black woman capable of feeling others’ pain, after she flees her home in California in the aftermath of destabilization due to climate change and growing inequality. Along the way, she seeks to create a new religion, which she calls Earthseed. The book’s sequel, Parable of the Talents, follows Lauren’s adult daughter, Larkin, as a Christian nationalist rises to power.
The Handmaid’s Tale is often held up as still being alarmingly relevant, but the same could be said of Parable of the Talents and Parable of the Sower—and not just because of the setting. Reading it can feel like reading Octavia Butler’s predictions of the future, not fiction. The commentary on religion and politics in Parable of the Talents especially feels as though it could have been lifted from actual commentary published today.
1 'The Testaments' (2019)
Written by Margaret Atwood
The Testaments, released in 2019, is a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale set 15 years later. It follows three women: Aunt Lydia, an important character from The Handmaid’s Tale who is now writing her memoirs; Agnes, a young woman who grew up in Gilead and is being groomed to marry a commander; and Daisy, a teenager living in Canada with two people claiming to be her parents but who she suspects might not be telling the truth.
Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale are likely to enjoy just about anything else written by Atwood, but The Testaments is the most obvious choice—few books can come as close to capturing the harrowing setting of The Handmaid’s Tale as its sequel. One of the most notable plots is the backstory of Aunt Lydia, one of the cruelest characters from the first book, but it’s fascinating to see how the three women cross paths.
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