Climate fiction books to discover

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Climate change books that capture tension and atmosphere

If you’re like me, Wild Dark Shore was the book that pulled you into climate fiction without you even realizing it. When I picked it up, I didn’t expect nature to play such a central role in the story but the atmosphere completely pulled me in and made me curious to find more similar books. This led me to climate fiction.

Climate fiction (often shortened to “cli-fi”) has actually been around for a while but it’s grown in recent years as concerns about the environment escalate. At its core, they are stories where climate and the environment shape the plot, sometimes in obvious ways, sometimes in a more subtle way in the background of the story. You don’t need any prior knowledge to read it… it rarely delves into the science of these changes so don’t be scared off!

What draws me to these stories is the atmosphere, they often have a very distinct mood: sometimes unsettling, sometimes eerie, sometimes innovative and almost always immersive. The setting often starts to feel just as important as the characters. And better yet, climate fiction spans different genres: literary fiction, thrillers, speculative stories, and even mysteries. Some are slow and reflective, others fast-paced and high-stakes, but they all carry that same sense that something bigger is shifting.

If you are interested in this type of the tension and environment, you might be turning into a climate fiction fan too!

Recent climate fiction books to add to your TBR

Below, I’ve curated a list of recent climate fiction and climate change books that capture that same immersive and atmospheric feeling. I hope this helps you delve deeper into this subgenre.

Looking for more book suggestions?