3 Must-Read Dystopian Prequels That Expand Your Favorite Franchises Dive deeper into your favorite dystopian worlds with these must-read prequel novels. From the origins of the Scythedom to the early days of WICKED and an alternate path for Tris Prior, these books offer fresh perspectives and richer backstories for iconic franchises like 'The Hunger Games', 'The Maze Runner', 'Divergent', and 'Arc of a Scythe'. Dystopian fiction is having a moment again. Well, one could argue that it never really doesn't have a moment. As sci-fi subgenres tend to go, dystopian setting and stories are frequently very popular ones to explore both on the page and on the screen but right now is a particularly great time for them thanks to , bringing Suzanne Collins' latest Hunger Games franchise prequel to life on the big screen. As dystopian stories go, the Hunger Games in general has fantastic prequels -- was an example of a great book and a great movie -- but they're not the only dystopian franchise to offer its fans stories that go back to the beginning or offer us different perspectives well after we've gotten acquainted with the dark, twisted world. In fact, the prequel story is a pretty popular one in general for these sorts of books.Best Dystopian Prequel Books to ReadWhether it is the Divergent series offering us a look at what happened if Beatrice "Tris" Prior didn't choose Dauntless or the Maze Runner books offering us a chance to better understand the world that Thomas found himself in, prequels can be fascinating. Here are three books that are must-read additions to existing dystopian fiction franchises that are every bit as good as the ones that came before them.Technically, there are four books on this list but one franchise has two unique prequels that really should be read together to get the full scope of the story before dropping into the action and one of the books on this list might be one of our most anticipated new releases this year. Get ready to go even deeper into some fascinating and twisted worlds -- and plan your reading accordingly. is set 13 years before Thomas' story in the Glade begins and centers around the aftermath of the solar flares that hit Earth and devastate the whole planet as well as the deadly and terrifying Flare virus.Maze Runner Prequels Bridge Story GapsThe story follows a small group of young people who try to navigate this new world, leading readers up to the introduction of World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department (WICKED) and the introduction of a little boy named Stephen -- who is renamed Thomas, aka the main character of . This one functions as sort of a sequel to The Kill Order and bridges the space between that book and .The book follows Thomas' childhood in the care of WICKED, exploring how WICKED comes about, how it takes over, and how the organization is set up to be what it is by the time we get to . -- is genuinely great.Scythe Prequel Explores Age of MortalityIt tells the story of a world that has conquered disease, war, hunger, and death itself with a benevolent AI (the Thunderhead) governing society and to keep the population under control in terms of numbers, a group of humans (Scythes) are tasked with randomly "gleaning" people. Of course, we're dealing with humans and there is corruption within the Scythedom. It is a fascinating story. But how do we get to this world?Enter, the first book in a new, prequel trilogy. The book is set to publish on December 1st. It's set in 2042 and offers an exploration of the end of the so-called Age of Mortality as well as the origins of the Thunderhead, the beginnings of the Scythedom, and more.ComicBook had the opportunity to read this one early and not only was this on my personal most anticipated for 2026, but it's also a prequel that absolutely lives up to expectations. The near-future setting makes it feel chillingly timely and even if by some chance you haven't read the Arc of a Scythe series yet (and really, get on that) this is a prequel that stands on its own very, very well.What dystopian prequels do you feel are must-reads? Let us know in the comments -- we are always looking for new books for the TBR!