30 Books like A Scanner Darkly

The Futurological Congress

by Stanisław Lem • 1971

The water at a futurist conference is drugged. Ijon Tichy discovers the apocalypse feels wonderful.

4.17

15k+

🧪 Chemical Dystopia 🎭 False Utopia 🤥 Unreliable Narrator

The Futurological Congress 91%

The water at a futurist conference is drugged. Ijon Tichy discovers the apocalypse feels wonderful.

by Stanisław Lem 1971

4.17

15k+ ratings

🧪 Chemical Dystopia 🎭 False Utopia 🤥 Unreliable Narrator

The Shimmering State

by Meredith Westgate • 2021

A photographer and dancer meet in Malibu rehab, each unsure whose memories are really theirs.

3.43

1k+

🚀 Near Future Sci-Fi 💊 Memory Drug 🧩 Fragmented Identity

The Shimmering State 91%

A photographer and dancer meet in Malibu rehab, each unsure whose memories are really theirs.

by Meredith Westgate 2021

3.43

1k+ ratings

🚀 Near Future Sci-Fi 💊 Memory Drug 🧩 Fragmented Identity

The Inverted World

by Christopher Priest • 1974

A city rolls north to outrun a twisted world. An apprentice bound by secrecy doubts reality.

3.95

11k+

📖 New Wave Science Fiction 👁️ Unreliable Reality 🔍 Secret Societies

The Inverted World 90%

A city rolls north to outrun a twisted world. An apprentice bound by secrecy doubts reality.

by Christopher Priest 1974

3.95

11k+ ratings

📖 New Wave Science Fiction 👁️ Unreliable Reality 🔍 Secret Societies

The Heart Goes Last

by Margaret Atwood • 2015

Homeless, they joined a town of monthly jail turns. An affair made them each other's inmates.

3.39

75k+

🎭 Dystopian Satire 🏚️ Near-Future Collapse 📹 Surveillance State

The Heart Goes Last 90%

Homeless, they joined a town of monthly jail turns. An affair made them each other's inmates.

by Margaret Atwood 2015

3.39

75k+ ratings

🎭 Dystopian Satire 🏚️ Near-Future Collapse 📹 Surveillance State

Neuromancer

by William Gibson • 1984

A broken hacker is hired to crack an AI, only to learn the AI hired him.

3.89

369k+

💻 Cyberpunk 🦾 Cybernetic Enhancements 🤖 Ai Manipulation

Neuromancer 90%

A broken hacker is hired to crack an AI, only to learn the AI hired him.

by William Gibson 1984

3.89

369k+ ratings

💻 Cyberpunk 🦾 Cybernetic Enhancements 🤖 Ai Manipulation

Naked Lunch

by William S. Burroughs • 1959

A junkie fleeing the law plunges into a surreal city where addiction drives every transaction.

3.46

99k+

🚫 Transgressive Fiction 🥁 Beat Generation ✂️ Experimental Novel

Naked Lunch 90%

A junkie fleeing the law plunges into a surreal city where addiction drives every transaction.

by William S. Burroughs 1959

3.46

99k+ ratings

🚫 Transgressive Fiction 🥁 Beat Generation ✂️ Experimental Novel

Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

by Judd Trichter • 2015

A man scours broken LA for his android lover's scattered parts before her identity vanishes forever.

3.51

562

🏙️ Near Future Dystopia 💔 Human Android Love 🕵️ Noir Detective Story

Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Summary

Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction 90%

A man scours broken LA for his android lover's scattered parts before her identity vanishes forever.

by Judd Trichter 2015

3.51

562 ratings

🏙️ Near Future Dystopia 💔 Human Android Love 🕵️ Noir Detective Story

Change Agent

by Daniel Suarez • 2017

An Interpol analyst wakes as the cartel boss he's chasing. His colleagues now hunt him.

3.98

8k+

🧪 Biopunk Thriller 🪞 Identity Erasure 🏃 Framed And Hunted

Change Agent 90%

An Interpol analyst wakes as the cartel boss he's chasing. His colleagues now hunt him.

by Daniel Suarez 2017

3.98

8k+ ratings

🧪 Biopunk Thriller 🪞 Identity Erasure 🏃 Framed And Hunted

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick • 1968

A bounty hunter chasing six androids discovers his empathy test is failing him.

4.09

519k+

🤖 Android Dystopia 💔 Empathy As Test 🕵️‍♂️ Bounty Hunter Noir

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Summary

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 90%

A bounty hunter chasing six androids discovers his empathy test is failing him.

by Philip K. Dick 1968

4.09

519k+ ratings

🤖 Android Dystopia 💔 Empathy As Test 🕵️‍♂️ Bounty Hunter Noir

All That We See or Seem

by Ken Liu • 2025

A reclusive hacker hunts for a missing dream artist and uncovers an empire of stolen identity.

3.53

3k+

🖤 Tech Noir 💻 Hacker Protagonist 🫂 Found Family

All That We See or Seem 90%

A reclusive hacker hunts for a missing dream artist and uncovers an empire of stolen identity.

by Ken Liu 2025

3.53

3k+ ratings

🖤 Tech Noir 💻 Hacker Protagonist 🫂 Found Family

Nexus

by Ramez Naam • 2012

A neuroscientist's mind-linking drug plunges him into a spy war for the future of humanity.

4.04

21k+

🧬 Biopunk 🔍 Techno-Thriller 🧠 Shared Consciousness

Nexus 90%

A neuroscientist's mind-linking drug plunges him into a spy war for the future of humanity.

by Ramez Naam 2012

4.04

21k+ ratings

🧬 Biopunk 🔍 Techno-Thriller 🧠 Shared Consciousness

The Marriage Act

by John Marrs • 2023

The government rewards marriage with privilege. An AI decides who deserves to keep it.

3.79

50k+

👁️ Surveillance State 🇬🇧 Near Future Britain 🎭 Manufactured Reality

The Marriage Act 90%

The government rewards marriage with privilege. An AI decides who deserves to keep it.

by John Marrs 2023

3.79

50k+ ratings

👁️ Surveillance State 🇬🇧 Near Future Britain 🎭 Manufactured Reality

The Last Policeman

by Ben H. Winters • 2012

Earth has six months left. A detective investigates a suicide that looks like murder.

3.77

36k+

🕵️ Pre-Apocalypse Mystery 🔍 Obsessive Detective 🖤 Melancholy Noir

The Last Policeman 90%

Earth has six months left. A detective investigates a suicide that looks like murder.

by Ben H. Winters 2012

3.77

36k+ ratings

🕵️ Pre-Apocalypse Mystery 🔍 Obsessive Detective 🖤 Melancholy Noir

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4

by Philip K. Dick • 1987

The founder of a system jailing people for future crimes is predicted to murder a stranger.

4.11

15k+

🔮 Predictive Policing 🧠 Philosophical Sci-Fi 🏃 Framed Protagonist

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4 Summary

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4 90%

The founder of a system jailing people for future crimes is predicted to murder a stranger.

by Philip K. Dick 1987

4.11

15k+ ratings

🔮 Predictive Policing 🧠 Philosophical Sci-Fi 🏃 Framed Protagonist

Cyberpunk 2077

by Rafał Kosik • 2023

In a city of corporate lies, a crew of outcasts steals a secret worth killing for.

3.51

5k+

🖤 Cyberpunk Noir 💻 High-Tech Heist 🫂 Found Family Crew

Cyberpunk 2077 90%

In a city of corporate lies, a crew of outcasts steals a secret worth killing for.

by Rafał Kosik 2023

3.51

5k+ ratings

🖤 Cyberpunk Noir 💻 High-Tech Heist 🫂 Found Family Crew

The Escher Man

by T.R. Napper • 2024

A Macau hitman's syndicate is erasing his memory. The family he lost may be a lie.

3.83

434

🖤 Near-Future Noir 🧠 Unreliable Narrator 🔫 Hitman Protagonist

The Escher Man 89%

A Macau hitman's syndicate is erasing his memory. The family he lost may be a lie.

by T.R. Napper 2024

3.83

434 ratings

🖤 Near-Future Noir 🧠 Unreliable Narrator 🔫 Hitman Protagonist

Hazards of Time Travel

by Joyce Carol Oates • 2018

A teenager's forbidden questions land her in 1959 Wisconsin, where one wrong memory means erasure.

2.98

8k+

📚 Literary Dystopia 🧠 Memory Erasure 👁️ Surveillance State

Hazards of Time Travel 89%

A teenager's forbidden questions land her in 1959 Wisconsin, where one wrong memory means erasure.

by Joyce Carol Oates 2018

2.98

8k+ ratings

📚 Literary Dystopia 🧠 Memory Erasure 👁️ Surveillance State

Bitter Angels

by C.L. Anderson • 2009

Her mentor's murder drags a retired Guardian back to a system where immortals harvest human minds.

3.30

279

🌑 Space Opera Noir 🤖 AI Companions 🌀 Unreliable Reality

Bitter Angels 89%

Her mentor's murder drags a retired Guardian back to a system where immortals harvest human minds.

by C.L. Anderson 2009

3.30

279 ratings

🌑 Space Opera Noir 🤖 AI Companions 🌀 Unreliable Reality

Golden State

by Ben H. Winters • 2019

A Speculator's death case unearths a banned book and a conspiracy to dismantle his society.

3.47

8k+

🌆 Dystopian Noir 📚 Forbidden Books 🔮 Psychic Detective

Golden State 89%

A Speculator's death case unearths a banned book and a conspiracy to dismantle his society.

by Ben H. Winters 2019

3.47

8k+ ratings

🌆 Dystopian Noir 📚 Forbidden Books 🔮 Psychic Detective

Dhalgren

by Samuel R. Delany • 1975

No memory, no name, no exit: a wanderer in a city where reality rewrites itself daily.

3.77

12k+

📖 Experimental Narrative 📝 Metafiction 🧠 Amnesiac Protagonist

Dhalgren 89%

No memory, no name, no exit: a wanderer in a city where reality rewrites itself daily.

by Samuel R. Delany 1975

3.77

12k+ ratings

📖 Experimental Narrative 📝 Metafiction 🧠 Amnesiac Protagonist

Snow Crash

by Neal Stephenson • 1992

In a franchise-run America, a hacker discovers a brain-melting virus born from an ancient language.

4.01

300k+

🖥️ Cyberpunk 🦠 Language As Virus 🌐 Virtual Reality

Snow Crash 89%

In a franchise-run America, a hacker discovers a brain-melting virus born from an ancient language.

by Neal Stephenson 1992

4.01

300k+ ratings

🖥️ Cyberpunk 🦠 Language As Virus 🌐 Virtual Reality

Chien 51

by Laurent Gaudé • 2022

A refugee cop in a corporate megacity hunts a killer through zones of privilege and ruin.

3.64

2k+

🖤 Dystopian Noir 💼 Corporate Dystopia 👥 Reluctant Partners

Chien 51 89%

A refugee cop in a corporate megacity hunts a killer through zones of privilege and ruin.

by Laurent Gaudé 2022

3.64

2k+ ratings

🖤 Dystopian Noir 💼 Corporate Dystopia 👥 Reluctant Partners

The Minders

by John Marrs • 2020

Britain stores its darkest secrets inside five broken minds, but the data begins to speak back.

3.74

18k+

🏛️ Government Conspiracy 💔 Broken Protagonists 🌀 Unreliable Narrator

The Minders 89%

Britain stores its darkest secrets inside five broken minds, but the data begins to speak back.

by John Marrs 2020

3.74

18k+ ratings

🏛️ Government Conspiracy 💔 Broken Protagonists 🌀 Unreliable Narrator

Doctor Who

by Lance Parkin • 2002

A time machine auction could start a war, but the Doctor knows it's a con.

3.62

202

🃏 Con Artist 📡 Surveillance State 👽 Alien Invasion

Doctor Who 89%

A time machine auction could start a war, but the Doctor knows it's a con.

by Lance Parkin 2002

3.62

202 ratings

🃏 Con Artist 📡 Surveillance State 👽 Alien Invasion

2054

by Elliot Ackerman • 2024

An impossible wound in a dead president's heart pushes a fractured America toward civil war.

3.43

3k+

⏳ Near-Future Thriller 🧠 Uploaded Consciousness 🏛️ Political Intrigue

2054 89%

An impossible wound in a dead president's heart pushes a fractured America toward civil war.

by Elliot Ackerman 2024

3.43

3k+ ratings

⏳ Near-Future Thriller 🧠 Uploaded Consciousness 🏛️ Political Intrigue

Infinity Lost

by S. Harrison • 2015

A girl discovers her memories are fake: she's the deadliest weapon her father ever built.

3.64

4k+

🏢 Corporate Dystopia 🧠 Memory Manipulation 🎭 Split Personality

Infinity Lost 89%

A girl discovers her memories are fake: she's the deadliest weapon her father ever built.

by S. Harrison 2015

3.64

4k+ ratings

🏢 Corporate Dystopia 🧠 Memory Manipulation 🎭 Split Personality

Brilliance

by Marcus Sakey • 2013

An agent who reads patterns to hunt gifted terrorists learns his own agency faked the attacks.

3.98

33k+

🔮 Near-Future Thriller 🏛️ Government Conspiracy 🔍 Hunting His Own Kind

Brilliance 89%

An agent who reads patterns to hunt gifted terrorists learns his own agency faked the attacks.

by Marcus Sakey 2013

3.98

33k+ ratings

🔮 Near-Future Thriller 🏛️ Government Conspiracy 🔍 Hunting His Own Kind

The Warehouse

by Rob Hart • 2019

A failed entrepreneur and a spy enter a company town where wristbands track every heartbeat.

3.84

15k+

🏢 Corporate Dystopia ⏳ Near-Future Thriller 🕵️ Corporate Espionage

The Warehouse 89%

A failed entrepreneur and a spy enter a company town where wristbands track every heartbeat.

by Rob Hart 2019

3.84

15k+ ratings

🏢 Corporate Dystopia ⏳ Near-Future Thriller 🕵️ Corporate Espionage

The New One

by Evie Green • 2023

After their daughter's accident, parents accept a clone replacement and a life of hidden cameras.

3.60

1k+

🧬 Near-Future Biotech 🪞 Clone Identity 📹 Corporate Surveillance

The New One 89%

After their daughter's accident, parents accept a clone replacement and a life of hidden cameras.

by Evie Green 2023

3.60

1k+ ratings

🧬 Near-Future Biotech 🪞 Clone Identity 📹 Corporate Surveillance

VALIS

by Philip K. Dick • 1981

God or madness: after a cryptic vision, a grieving man searches the world for a child savior.

3.91

33k+

🕯️ Gnostic Theology 📝 Autofiction ✨ Religious Experience

VALIS 89%

God or madness: after a cryptic vision, a grieving man searches the world for a child savior.

by Philip K. Dick 1981

3.91

33k+ ratings

🕯️ Gnostic Theology 📝 Autofiction ✨ Religious Experience

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