Universe

Books like Left Behind: 9 series to read next

Left Behind is dystopia and science fiction, about faith and religion, set in our world, tense in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Left Behind is 63 books across 4 series, 1995–2008.

“Pilots vanish from their cockpits, drivers from moving cars, children from their beds, clothing left folded where the faithful stood.”
from the catalogue description

The Left Behind page →Narrow this list →

The Hunger Games
The Handmaid's Tale
Shade's Children milieu
Gone
Maze Runner
Unwind Dystology
Divergent
Shadow Children
The 5th Wave

The Hunger GamesUniverse

universe5 books2008

About rebellion and revolution, set in far future.

“Panem, they call it now — a nation raised on the drowned bones of North America, a glittering Capitol ringed by twelve districts it once starved into obedience.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

The Handmaid's TaleSeries

seriesMargaret Atwood3 books1985

About gender and society and rebellion and revolution.

“The Handmaid's Tale is Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel set in Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy that has overthrown the United States and forces fertile women into reproductive servitude as Handmaids; it is narrated by one such woman, Offred.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Handmaid's Tale →

Shade's Children milieuSeries

seriesGarth Nix2 books1997

About rebellion and revolution.

Start with Shade's Children →

GoneSeries

seriesMichael Grant9 books2008

Science fiction, tense and dark in tone, about survival, set in contemporary.

“Michael Grant's Gone series begins when everyone aged fifteen and older vanishes without warning from a swath of the California coast, trapping the town of Perdido Beach inside an impenetrable barrier the survivors call the FAYZ.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Gone →

Maze RunnerSeries

seriesJames Dashner11 books2009

Dystopia and science fiction, tense in tone, about survival, set in near future.

“A 16 year old boy awakens with amnesia in a community of other youths in the center of a maze, and realizes they must cooperate to escape.”
from the catalogue description of The Maze Runner
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with The Maze Runner →

Unwind DystologySeries

seriesNeal Shusterman5 books2007

About rebellion and revolution.

“The first novel follows three teens fleeing that fate, and the sequels widen the same dystopia's cast and consequences across a four-book arc plus companion material.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Unwind →

DivergentSeries

seriesVeronica Roth10 books2011

About identity, set in big city.

Start with The Transfer →

Shadow ChildrenSeries

seriesMargaret Peterson Haddix7 books1998

Dystopia and science fiction, tense and dark in tone, about survival and totalitarianism, set in near future.

“In some cases, a parent may choose to forge a child's identification card so a shadow child can live a normal life.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Among the Hidden →

The 5th WaveSeries

seriesRick Yancey4 books2013

Alien invasion, about aliens.

“Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The 5th Wave →

Why these

No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.

Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.

Questions readers ask

What should I read after Left Behind?: The Hunger Games — the closest match to Left Behind on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Left Behind?: Left Behind is 63 books across 4 series, 1995–2008.

Books like Left Behind: 9 series to read next

Read next in Left Behind

Why these

Questions readers ask

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