9 Top Climate Fiction Books for 2024
Climate Fiction, also known as Cli-Fi, is a genre of fiction in which the climate crisis serves as a central plot device. These stories have the power to motivate us to take action.
Whether you are already familiar with this genre or just beginning to explore it, here is a list of our favorite Cli-Fi books:
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
A riveting climate fiction novel that utilizes fictional eyewitness accounts to portray the devastating impacts of climate change and explore potential solutions. Written by one of the best-known climate-fiction writers, this book begins with a harrowing opening chapter and continues to captivate readers throughout. It follows an international organization with the same name, dedicated to advocating for the future generations of the world. Through the use of powerful storytelling, Robinson sheds light on the urgent need to address climate change and offers hope for a better future.
Buy The Ministry for the Future →
Borrow The Ministry for the Future from the library →
The Drowned World, written by J.G. Ballard
Written in 1960s, this one is a pioneering work of climate fiction set in a future where global warming has caused the ice caps to melt, leading to a flooded and uninhabitable world. The novel follows biologist Dr. Robert Kerans and his team as they navigate a surreal cityscape overrun by prehistoric jungles and populated by giant iguanas, albino alligators, and swarms of insects. As they struggle to survive in this transformed environment, they also grapple with the psychological and physical effects of the environmental collapse. Ballard's mesmerizing and prescient novel serves as both a thrilling adventure and a haunting examination of the human mind in the face of environmental catastrophe.
Borrow The Drowned World from the library→
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Water Knife is a dark thriller set in the near future where a militarized fight over water rights erupts in the Southwest as the Colorado River runs dry. The novel explores themes of corporate greed, social inequality, deregulation, and privatization. The story follows Angel Velasquez, a detective, assassin, and spy who works for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ensuring their water supply for Las Vegas. When rumors of a game-changing water source emerge in Phoenix, Angel is sent south to investigate. As he navigates the oppressive landscape and encounters journalist Lucy Monroe and migrant Maria Villarosa, they become entangled in a dangerous game that reveals the corruption and desperation surrounding water scarcity. In a world where water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift and the characters must make difficult choices to survive.
Borrow The Water Knife from the library→
American War by Omar El Akkad
This novel sets a harrowing future history during the tail-end of the 21st century. It depicts a second U.S. civil war that arises when northern states ban fossil fuels, leading to a devastating conflict. The story follows Sarat Chestnut, who experiences the war as a young girl born in Louisiana. In a world where oil is outlawed and Louisiana is partially submerged, Sarat's family is forced into a displaced persons camp. As Sarat grows up in this harsh reality, she becomes entangled in the complex dynamics of the camp, ultimately being influenced by a mysterious figure and transforming into a weapon of war. American War explores the consequences of Sarat's choices on her family, her country, and the generations to come, all taking place in a climate-changed world.
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Tentacle by Rita Indiana
This is a sinister novel set in the Caribbean during a time of environmental collapse caused by three ecological disasters. Reflecting on the region's colonial history, the book portrays an era of capitalism run amok. The protagonist, Acilde Figueroa, embarks on a journey back in time with the help of a magical anemone, escaping the dystopian future. Originally published in Spanish as "La mucama de Omicunlé" in 2015, Tentacle explores themes of environmental devastation and the consequences of unchecked capitalism in a thought-provoking narrative.
Borrow Tentacle from the library→
The Overstory by Richard Powers
A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this one intricately weaves together the lives of five trees and nine people across generations, illustrating the devastating consequences of deforestation and the failure to appreciate the complexity of nature. This sweeping and impassioned work of activism and resistance serves as both a powerful call to action and a profound celebration of the natural world. Through interlocking fables that span different time periods and locations, the novel reveals a hidden world that is interconnected, resourceful, and almost invisible to human perception. As a handful of individuals learn to see and understand this world, they are inexorably drawn into its unfolding catastrophe.
Borrow The Overstory from the library→
War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
A captivating novel set in a war-torn Nigeria in the year 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have ravaged the Earth, leaving much of it uninhabitable. In this future society, battles are fought with flying mechs and soldiers equipped with bionic limbs to survive the harsh climate. Two sisters, Onyii and Ify, find themselves torn apart by war but are determined to fight their way back to each other. As the civil war wages on, their dreams of peace and a future together drive them to fight against all odds. Acclaimed author Tochi Onyebuchi delivers an immersive and action-packed story, blending personal struggles with a futuristic setting reminiscent of Black Panther. This novel is a must-read for fans of Nnedi Okorafor, Marie Lu, and Paolo Bacigalupi.
Borrow War Girls from the library→
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye
Set in a future California that has been devastated by perpetual drought, Ray, a war veteran, and Luz, a former poster child for the Bureau of Conservation, choose to stay in the parched landscape, surviving on cans of soda and squatting in abandoned mansions. When they hear rumors of a dowser who can find water, they embark on a dangerous journey through the desert, facing armed maniacs and government authorities. This love story explores the couple's fragile hope for a better future as they navigate a surreal and treacherous world shaped by drought and desperation.
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How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
is a sweeping, inspiring novel that tells the story of a fearless young woman from a small African village who starts a revolution against an American oil company. Set in the fictional village of Kosawa, the book portrays the people living in fear amidst environmental degradation caused by the oil company. With farmlands rendered infertile and toxic water causing the death of children, the promises of cleanup and reparations are made but ignored. Left with no options, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back, resulting in a decades-long struggle with a high cost. The novel is narrated from the perspective of a generation of children and the family of Thula, a girl who grows up to become a revolutionary. How Beautiful We Were explores the clash between the reckless pursuit of profit and the determination of a community to protect their ancestral land and fight for freedom.
Borrow How Beautiful We Were from the library→
If you’re looking for Cli-Fi books for your kids, check out 10 Climate Change Books for Kids of All Ages, from Toddler to Young Adult.
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