Six Best Political Fiction Books

Panhuman Books — December 31, 2022

Here is your guide to the very best political fiction and satire .

When we think about political writing, we often think of non-fiction writing such as newspapers, magazines, news platforms and blogs, but in fact, fiction can be an equally great source of political information as well as often being a more entertaining and fun way of consuming it. This article will go through the six best political fiction books that examine aspects of our society to get you started.


1984

by George Orwell

Orwell’s 1984 is a dystopia that is responsible for the concept of Big Brother and the hyper surveillance that we see more and more of in today’s world.  Published in 1949, there has perhaps never been a better time to read this book than during a time where much of what Orwell was warning society about has come to be true.

Animal Farm

by George Orwell

Animal Farm is an allegorical novel that tells the story of the Russian revolution using a fable about farm animals, where the animals decide to stage a revolution against the corrupt farmers, only to fall victim to their own internal politics. This book is often recommended as the first dystopia for reading by teens and young adults.

Wizard of the Crow

by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

This story is set in the fictional Free Republic of Aburiria, which is autocratically governed by a single leader known as the Ruler.  In a satirical manner, it explores the aftermath of white rule on foreign nations through postmodern and absurdist means.

Cat Country

by Lao She (Author), William A Lyell (Translator)

This text is a dystopian novel that was originally written in Chinese and has since been translated. It follows the story of a person who crash-lands on Mars only to find that the inhabitants are human-like creatures but with the face of a cat.  The text is satirical, and is a criticism of tyrannical and autocratic rule.

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

This book explores a dystopian future London where children are born in a lab and everyone lives for pleasure, taking excessive amounts of drugs to maintain the lifestyle.  It explores the notion of free-thinking and what we consider to be ‘civilized’, both of which are highly prevalent in today’s world.

The Master and Margarita

by Mikhail Bulgakov, Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

This Russian text was written during Stalin’s regime and was originally censored at the time. It has had various parts cut out and added back since its publication.  The novel covers the story of a visit from the devil, combining the supernatural with dark comedy to comment on Christianity and human nature.