Hello readers! This weekend I decided to watch the most recent season of Black Mirror, and it had me thinking about some books I’ve read that have Black Mirror vibes. So, let’s talk about them!
Did anyone who watched this season play the Thronglets game from the Plaything episode? I think the game was honestly too short! I played it in less than a day.
Let me know if you guys have read any I didn’t mention here! I’ll add them to my TBR.
I would say anything by John Marrs. The first book I read by him was The One. It’s sort of similar to the episode of Black Mirror called Hang the DJ.
The One follows couples in a world where people can be DNA matched.
What would you do if you DNA matched with a serial killer, someone who doesn’t match your sexuality, is terminally ill, lives in a different country, is significantly older or younger than you, or is even dead or comatose?
It’s a book that pokes holes in it’s own story, and I think that is very Black Mirror-esque.
The Test follows a man who is taking a citizen ship test in the UK to gain citizenship for his entire family. All he has to do is make it through 25 questions, and then things go sideways.
I don’t want to give away too much as it is a short story. I highly recommend giving this a try because you really won’t guess what will happen next.
Exhalation is a book of short stories, which is something I usually do not like. However, I did give it a try and did not regret it.
One of the stories follows a man travels back in time to save his wife from dying, another is about a woman who takes care of these robots to beta test them to sell, and another centers alternate realities. Each one is very different, and I love that.
To Be Taught If Fortunate is a little different in tone from Black Mirror, but I still think it has similarities.
It follows four people who have set off into space to find an alternate inhabitable planet for humans. They lose contact with earth and have no way of knowing what happened. As a result, they have to make some decisions about what to do next.
It’s one of those books I thought about for a long time after I finished the book and I think Black Mirror episodes can be like that, too.
Recursion is a book that involves time travel. A bunch of people keep having false memories of their life and the MC decides to look into what is going on.
It really explores the consequences of time travel and alternate realities in a way that really reminds me of the format of Black Mirror.
I also think this is an author who has books similar to Black Mirror in general. I have also read Black Matter, which centers on alternate universes, and Upgrade, which is about eugenics.
Annie Bot follows a robot in a world where people can have many different robots for personal use. She is a cuddle bunny bot, which is essentially for companionship, but there are also maid versions, and other types.
She starts to gain some form of genuine consciousness and wants freedom that she can’t have as she isn’t a person. It really makes you think about what makes someone human and also centers abuse in a lot of ways.
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