6 Horror Books That Feel Like Black Mirror Episodes
With the new Black Mirror season finally out, I thought it would be fun to take a look at all the fiction books I've read recently about the dark side of technological advances. Just like the series, these books combine elements of science fiction and horror, but upon closer inspection, it's inevitable to notice the uncanny parallels between the show and real life.
Again, I'll keep this post spoiler-free. You can proceed safely. ✅
Here are 6 feel-bad books that will definitely deliver the digital existential dread you crave so much.
1.) "The Test" by Sylvain Neuvel
The book on Goodreads: Link🔗
This is the story of Idir, who is taking the British citizenship test in the near future, during which he needs to make some morally rough decisions. The test itself starts out as a regular paper-and-pen type of thing, but let me tell you, it gets messy very quickly.
It's a dark, disturbing, and thought-provoking read, mixing science fiction with suspense. You can rip through it in one sitting.
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2.) "And Then I Woke Up" by Malcolm Devlin
Book length: 167 pages
The book on Goodreads: Link🔗
It's hard to talk about this one without any spoilers, so for now, let's just say it's about a very different kind of zombie apocalypse. It reminded me of Black Mirror's episode about the "zombie" apocalypse called "Men Against Fire."
The story follows Spence, the protagonist, who is one of the "cured."
It's short, original, bleak, and again, thought-provoking. I loved it. Also, just look at this cover artwork. Isn't it gorgeous? That pink room also appears in the novella. I'd love to see a movie adaptation of this book.
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3.) "We Had to Remove This Post" by Hanna Bervoets
Book length: 136 pages
The book on Goodreads: Link🔗
Kayleigh accepts a job as a social media content curator. She has to review images and videos of... things and decide whether to remove or allow them on this unnamed platform. I'm sure you can already tell where this is going.
According to the Goodreads ratings, this book seems to be controversial. Some loved it, some didn't. I'm somewhere in the middle. I felt like the premise had held way more potential than what was delivered. Regardless, it's a very short read, so I'd say it's worth a go.
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4.) "Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam
Book length: 241 pages
The book on Goodreads: Link🔗
This story follows a family on a holiday trip to a remote place (as per the title of the book). The trip starts out fine, but eventually, the phone service dies, the TV stops working, and even the internet goes down. What's happening in the world?
What would you do when technology suddenly begins to crumble? That's the question this book investigates.
Also, this one has a fairly recent film adaptation, starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke as the parents. I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it's a bit different from the book. Anyways, here's the trailer:
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5.) "The Employees" by Olga Ravn
"A workplace novel of the 22nd century," says the book's subtitle.
Originally published in Dutch, this one is a weird science fiction novel. The fragmented story takes place aboard the Six-Thousand Ship, a spacecraft crewed by both humans and humanoid robots. The story unfolds through a series of fragmented statements, reports, and testimonies collected by a mysterious committee investigating disturbances on the ship after the crew brings strange alien objects on board.
To be completely transparent, I wasn't the biggest one of this one, but I can definitely see its appeal. The fragmented interview format was interesting and made the reading feel very fast-paced. It's absolutely worth a shot.
*
6.) "Foe" by Iain Reid
Book length: 261 pages
The book on Goodreads: Link🔗
I've already written about this book (here) and many other books by Iain Reid, but "Foe" needs to be part of this list as well.
The story follows Junior, who lives with his wife, Hen, on their farm. One day, a stranger from the city appears and brings interesting news. Apparently, Junior has been selected for a job which needs him to travel far away... very far away, but while he is away, Hen will have special company.
This book is a great meditation on what makes us human.
I loved how cryptic and confusing the story was. And then came the plot twist, the big reveal. Boom.
Actually, it's very similar to a specific Black Mirror episode. Don't worry, I won't tell you which one.
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+1) "SYSTEM MELTDOWN: An AI Horror Short Story" by Chris Burton
E-book length: 46 pages, but only due to e-book-specific formatting. In reality, it's way shorter.
The book on Goodreads: Link🔗"Dear Participant, we are sincerely sorry to inform you that an unhandled error has occurred. Your answers have been recorded, and the details of the malfunction have been forwarded to our technical team."
Turns out, I also have a Kindle-specific short story on Amazon that fits the theme: AI, evil corporations, existence.
You can read it on this link in one sitting. If you do, please let me know what you think. It's also available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
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Have you read any of these? Did you like them? Do you have any Black-Mirror-like book recommendations? Please let me know in the comments or wherever you prefer.
If you liked this post, make sure to check out my other lists of great horror books:
And again, thank you so much for reading.
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