The Hunger Games, The Fifth Season, and The Poppy War are three places to start, covering dystopia and epic fantasy. Each one is the first book of a trilogy.
At ReadNext, we group these fourteen trilogy openers into four genres: fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and literary and thriller. Each title carries an audience label and a content note where the material is heavy, so you can filter before you start.
This page is for readers who want a story told across three books rather than a single novel.
Fourteen Book Trilogies to Start, Grouped by Genre
Fantasy
1. The Magicians
Lev Grossman
The first book of a trilogy about a Narnia-style magic school written for grown-up readers. Skip it if you want a gentle read. Content: explicit sex, drug use, graphic violence, and profanity.
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2. The Cruel Prince
Holly Black
The first book of a trilogy about a mortal girl who rises through the cunning of a faerie court. Skip it if violence and murder are too much for your reader. It is a young adult novel. Content: violence, murder, sexual content, and mature themes.
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3. The Fifth Season
N.K. Jemisin
Starts a trilogy set in a world facing catastrophic upheaval. The feel is epic. Pick it if you want a big-world story and can handle dark material. Skip it if you want a light fantasy read. Content: graphic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and slavery.
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4. The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang
The first book of a trilogy following a war-school student’s rise through an empire inspired by China. Skip it if graphic war scenes are not for you. Content: graphic war violence, torture, sexual assault, and drug use.
Find it on AmazonScience fiction
5. Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie
Opens a trilogy in which a starship’s artificial intelligence pursues revenge across a galactic empire. Content: violence, some sexual content, and war themes.
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6. Dawn
Octavia E. Butler
The first book of a trilogy about survivors who must bargain with alien captors after humanity nearly dies out. Content: sexual content, violence, coercion, and body-horror themes.
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7. Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson
A trilogy opener about colonizing Mars across generations, told with a great deal of detail. The feel is political. Pick it if you like detailed worldbuilding. Content: sexual content, violence, and profanity.
Find it on AmazonDystopian
8. The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
Opens a trilogy about a televised death-match in a totalitarian nation. Pick it if you want a dystopia. Skip it if violence and child deaths are too heavy for your reader. It is a young adult novel. Content: violence and child deaths in televised combat.
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9. Divergent
Veronica Roth
Opens a trilogy about a teen who cannot fit into her society’s faction system. Skip it if violence or emotional abuse is a concern for your reader. Content: violence, death, and emotional abuse.
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10. The Maze Runner
James Dashner
The first book of a trilogy about teens who escape a walled maze and must face a collapsing world. Skip it if gore bothers you. It is a young adult novel. Content: violence, death, gore, and profanity.
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11. Delirium
Lauren Oliver
Opens a trilogy in which love is treated as a forbidden disease in a regulated future. Skip it if sexual content or mature themes are not right for your reader. Content: sexual content, violence, and mature themes.
Find it on AmazonLiterary and thriller
12. City of Glass
Paul Auster
The first book of a trilogy that begins when a crime novelist is drawn into a strange detective case.
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13. Men at Arms
Evelyn Waugh
Opens a trilogy with a wry, satirical look at a World War II officer and the war around him. Skip it if you want a straight war story. Content: wartime violence and some profanity.
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14. The Passage
Justin Cronin
The first book of a trilogy in which a government experiment unleashes a viral apocalypse across America. Pick it if you want apocalyptic fiction. Skip it if horror is not for you. Content: graphic violence, horror, and the deaths of children.
Find it on AmazonChoosing by Audience and Content
Every title here carries an audience label of adult or young adult. Five books here are young adult novels: The Cruel Prince, The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, and Delirium. The other nine are adult novels, so read the label first and then the content note in each blurb.
Sexual content appears in both adult and young adult titles here, so the audience label alone does not settle the question for a sensitive reader.
Matching a Trilogy to Your Genre
Four groups organize the list. Pick the group that matches the kind of story you want, then compare the three to four titles inside it.
- Fantasy: The Magicians, The Cruel Prince, The Fifth Season, and The Poppy War.
- Science fiction: Ancillary Justice, Dawn, and Red Mars.
- Dystopian: The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, and Delirium.
- Literary and thriller: City of Glass, Men at Arms, and The Passage.
Length and Commitment
Every title here is the first book of a trilogy, so the commitment is three books rather than one. Plan for the full run before you start a title you may not finish.
The Hunger Games and Divergent both carry violence notes, so check the content note before you begin.
When a Pick Does Not Land
Putting a book down after a few chapters is a reasonable choice. It does not commit you to the other two books in that trilogy.
Switch groups instead of forcing the same genre. If you are unsure which genre suits you, the What should I read quiz on this site can help narrow the options. For more fantasy beyond the four fantasy openers here, see fantasy books for adults and dark fantasy books.
Content Notes for Parents and Teachers
Dawn lists sexual content, violence, coercion, and body-horror themes. The Fifth Season lists graphic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and slavery. The Poppy War lists graphic war violence, torture, sexual assault, and drug use. The Passage lists graphic violence, horror, and the deaths of children. The Magicians lists explicit sex, drug use, graphic violence, and profanity.
For a sensitive reader, preview these books before handing them over. The Hunger Games lists child deaths in televised combat, and The Maze Runner lists gore, so read those two alongside a parent or teacher if violence is a concern. If your reader wants a read-alike for adults, see books like The Hunger Games.
