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Quick answer: If you loved Blade Runner, read Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik and The Man in the High Castle, then William Gibson's Neuromancer, then Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. All are moody science fiction about humans and machines.
Blade Runner is based on Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? These picks share its noir mood and questions about what makes us human.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | Adult | readers who like ideas |
| Ubik | Philip K. Dick | Adult | reality-bending |
| The Man in the High Castle | Philip K. Dick | Adult | occupied America |
| A Scanner Darkly | Philip K. Dick | Adult | readers who like sci-fi with edge |
| Neuromancer | William Gibson | Adult | readers who like cyberspace |
| Snow Crash | Neal Stephenson | Adult | witty cyberpunk |
| Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | Adult | readers who like ideas |
| Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | Adult | readers who want slow-burn dread |
| I, Robot | Isaac Asimov | Adult | readers who like logic |
| The Caves of Steel | Isaac Asimov | Adult | readers who like futuristic cases |
| The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | Adult | readers who like dystopian classics |
| Ready Player One | Ernest Cline | Adult | readers who like games and nostalgia |
| Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel | Adult | readers who like quiet apocalypses |
| Foundation | Isaac Asimov | Adult | readers who want a grand scale |
| Cloud Atlas | David Mitchell | Adult | readers who like structure |
1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Rick Deckard hunts androids in a ruined future. Short, strange and thoughtful.
Best for: readers who like ideas.
2. Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Reality decays around a team of psychic agents. Strange, funny and paranoid.
Best for: reality-bending.
3. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
In an America ruled by Germany and Japan, a banned novel imagines another outcome. Strange and sharp.
Best for: occupied America.
4. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
An undercover narcotics agent becomes addicted to the drug he is investigating. Sad, funny and paranoid.
Best for: readers who like sci-fi with edge.
5. Neuromancer by William Gibson
Case, a washed-up hacker, takes a final job in cyberspace. The book that created cyberpunk.
Best for: readers who like cyberspace.
6. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
A pizza-delivering hacker named Hiro Protagonist fights a virus that spreads in both the virtual and the real world. Fast, funny and packed with ideas about language and power.
Best for: witty cyberpunk.
7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A society engineered for comfort hides its costs. Cool, clever and chilling.
Best for: readers who like ideas.
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Kathy H. recalls her years at Hailsham, a school with a terrible secret about its students' purpose. Quiet and haunting.
Best for: readers who want slow-burn dread.
9. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Linked stories about robots and the Three Laws. Clever and classic.
Best for: readers who like logic.
10. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
Detective Elijah Baley and robot R. Daneel Olivaw investigate a murder in a future New York. A classic science-fiction mystery.
Best for: readers who like futuristic cases.
11. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Offred lives as a handmaid in the theocracy of Gilead, forced to bear children for a commander. A classic of control and resistance.
Best for: readers who like dystopian classics.
12. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Wade Watts hunts for an Easter egg in a virtual world full of 1980s pop culture. Fast and nostalgic.
Best for: readers who like games and nostalgia.
13. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
A traveling Shakespeare troupe wanders a world changed by a flu pandemic. Quiet, hopeful and beautifully written.
Best for: readers who like quiet apocalypses.
14. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Hari Seldon predicts the fall of a galactic empire and sets up a plan to shorten the dark age. A landmark of big-idea sci-fi.
Best for: readers who want a grand scale.
15. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Six nested stories across time, each read by the next. Inventive and moving.
Best for: readers who like structure.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Blade Runner: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Blade Runner. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For Dick, read Ubik or The Man in the High Castle. For cyberpunk, try Neuromancer. For dystopia, pick Brave New World.
Related: 15 Books Like The Maze Runner You’ll Love: Survival, Mysteries and Escapes · 15 Books Like The Kite Runner You’ll Love: Powerful Stories of Family and Redemption
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Blade Runner based on?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
When was the film released?
1982.
Is there a sequel?
Yes, Blade Runner 2049 in 2017.
Which book here is best for readers who like structure?
Try Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, which suits readers looking for readers who like structure.
Which book here is best for readers who want a grand scale?
Try Foundation by Isaac Asimov, which suits readers looking for readers who want a grand scale.