Environmental Fiction Books: SEJ Members' Favorites and More

Here's a list of environmental fiction books SEJ members and others have enjoyed as a change of pace from "just the facts." Books marked with asterisks were recommended multiple times. Especially popular are mysteries involving the environment, such as Barr's Anna Pigeon series and as people said over and over again, anything by Carl Hiaasen. Don't miss the section for kids at the bottom of the page.

SEJ members: Do you have suggestions for new books or feedback on this page? Please send to cmac@sej.org.

Abbey, Edward

• "Down the River"
• "The Fool's Progress"
• "Hayduke Lives"
• "The Monkey Wrench Gang" *

Alexie, Sherman

• "Indian Killer"

Atwood, Margaret

• "Oryx and Crake"

Barr, Nevada

• "Blind Descent *
• "Endangered Species" *
• "Ill Wind" *
• "A Superior Death" *
• "Track of the Cat" *

Baxter, Charles

• "Shadow Play"

Bissell, Sallie

• "In the Forest of Harm"

Box, C.J.

• "Savage Run"

Boyle, T.C.

• "A Friend of the Earth"

Brown, Valerie

• "The Prodigal's War"

Brunner, John

• "The Sheep Look Up"

Butler, Octavia

• "Parable of the Sower"
• "Parable of the Talents"

Callenbach, Ernest

• "Ecotopia"

Chambers, Becky

• Wayfarers series: "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet," "A Closed and Common Orbit," "Record of a Spaceborn Few," "The Galaxy, and the Ground Within" and "To Be Taught, If Fortunate"

Cody, Robin

• "Ricochet River"

Davidson, Ash

• "Damnation Spring"

deBuys, William

• "River of Traps: A Village Life"

Dickinson, Peter

• "The Poison Oracle"

Doerr, Anthony

• "Cloud Cuckoo Land"

Doig, Ivan

• "Mountain Time"
• "The Sea Runners"
• "Winter Brothers"

Duncan, David James

• "River Teeth"
• "The River Why" *
• "Sun House"

El Akkad, Omar

• "American War"

Elton, Ben

• "This Other Eden" *

Farris Smith, Michael

• "Salvage This World"

Gloss, Molly

• "Wild Life"

Gould, Steven and Mixon, Laura

• "Greenwar"

Grant, Richard

• "Rumors of Spring"

Green, Gila

• "No Entry"

Grisham, John

• "The Pelican Brief"

Groff, Lauren

• "The Vaster Wilds"

Guterson, David

• "Snow Falling on Cedars" *

Harrison, Jim

• "A Good Day to Die"

Harvey, Samantha

• "Orbital"

Hiaasen, Carl

• "Native Tongue" *
• "Tourist Season" *

Hockenberry, John

• "A River Out of Eden"

Kemp, Melody

• "Tree Crime"

Kesey, Ken

• "Sometimes a Great Notion"

Kingsolver, Barbara

• "The Poisonwood Bible" *
• "Prodigal Summer" *

Le Guin, Ursula

• "The Lathe of Heaven"
• "The Word for World Is Forest"

Lesley, Craig

• "River Song"
• "The Sky Fisherman" *
• "Storm Riders"
• "Winterkill"

MacDonald, John D.

• "A Flash of Green"

Maclean, Norman

• "A River Runs Through It and Other Stories"

Marmon Silko, Leslie

• "Ceremony"

Matthiessen, Peter

• "At Play in the Fields of the Lord"
• "Far Tortuga"
• "Killing Mister Watson" *

Millet, Lydia

• "practically everything"

Munroe, Jim

• "Everyone in Silico

Neely, Barbara

• "Blanche Cleans Up"

Nichols, John

• "The Magic Journey"
• "The Milagro Beanfield War"
• "The Nirvana Blues"

North, Peter

• "Corncrakes and Windmills"
• "A Climate of Fear"
• "Pay Dirt"

Offill, Jenny

• "Weather"

Perry, Thomas

• "Death Benefits"

Powers, Richard

• "Gain"
• "The Overstory"
• "Playground"

Pulley, Natasha

• "The Mars House"

Quinn, Daniel

• "Ishmael"

Rathbone, Julian

• "Greenfinger"

Robbins, Tom

• "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates"

Robinson, Kim Stanley

• "Green Mars"
• "The Ministry for the Future" *
• "New York 2140"

Russell, Craig

• "Fragment"

Russell, Mary Doria

• "The Sparrow"

Shafak, Elif

• "There Are Rivers in the Sky"

Speart, Jessica

• "Bird Brained"
• "Black Delta Night"
• "Border Prey"
• "Coastal Disturbance"
• "Gator Aide"
• "A Killing Season"

Stegner, Wallace

• "Angle of Repose"

Stephenson, Neal

• "Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller"

Sterling, Bruce

• "Heavy Weather"
• "Schismatrix"

Turville-Heitz, Meg

• "Black River"
• The Enchanter’s Web series: "Specters from a Dream," "Dread Warrior" and "The Rising of Kedtair"

Van Pelt, Shelby

• "Remarkably Bright Creatures"

VanderMeer, Jeff

• "Hummingbird Salamander"
• Southern Reach series: "Annihilation," "Authority" and "Acceptance" and "Absolution"

Vonnegut, Kurt

• "Galapagos"

Watkins, Paul

• "Archangel"

 

See also: "Comics for Earth: Eight New Graphic Novels About Saving the Planet and Celebrating Wildlife," The Revelator, February 28, 2025, by John R. Platt (plus more in the archives).

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Kids Fiction (MG & YA Titles)

Giono, Jean

• "The Man Who Planted Trees" (there's also an animated film by Frédéric Back and CBC/SRC)

Hiaasen, Carl

• "Hoot"

Knight, Mary

• "Saving Wonder"

Schweres, Michael

• "The Environment Angel and the Children From the Smoking Mountain" (recommended age group: 10 +)

Dr. Seuss

• "The Lorax"

Shusterman, Neal

• "Dry"

Udry, Janice May

• "A Tree is Nice"

Viorst, Judith

• "The Tenth Good Thing About Barney"