Inception, released in 2010, is a movie that took the world by storm. Aside from accolades and monetary success, it has found a permanent home in pop culture. Even now, more than a decade later, you’ll find memes, discussions, and content being made about it.
To refresh your memory for this article, Inception is about Cobb, a specialist in corporate espionage who extracts information from his target’s subconscious. In exchange for clearing Cobb’s criminal status, he is tasked to plant an idea into someone else’s mind—a task believed to be impossible.
Books Similar to Inception
If you’re a fan of the movie and are looking for similar stories in the written medium, here are a few novels that exhibit complex plots, the subconscious, the limits of human perception, and the nature of reality.
1. Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Glen Runciter runs a business that protects its clients’ privacy from the likes of telepaths and precognitives. While running a mission, he and his top team are ambushed by a rival.
Gravely injured, he is put in “half-life”, a dreamlike state that allows him limited consciousness and communication. Soon, his surviving team is plagued by sudden shifts in reality, from moving into the past, seeing random manifestations of Runciter, and the appearance of a mysterious product called Ubik.
2. The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny
Charles Render is a neuroparticipant therapist, someone who constructs dreams to cure his patients’ various neuroses. Eileen Shallot desperately wants to be neuroparticipant therapist, but being blind has robbed her of the ability to create convincingly visual dreams.
Together, they explore the depths of the human mind, giving Eileen a chance of fulfilling her own dreams. But as her hunger for visual stimulation grows, Charles begins to find himself being consumed by it.
3. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
In a world wracked by violence and environmental destruction, George Orr discovers that his dreams can alter reality. He is put on therapy under Dr. William Haber, who quickly takes advantage of his power.
With each alteration of reality, Haber’s power grows until he’s effectively the ruler of the planet. Still wanting more, he begins to take the power for himself. George must resist as reality itself is threatened under their struggle.
4. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
A young family moves into their new house, only to find it bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Exploring deeper, they discover a seemingly endless labyrinth that defies the laws of science.
5. Neuromancer by William Gibson
Henry Dorsett Case was once a talented hacker who was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment, his central nervous system was damaged, leaving him unable to access the Matrix, a virtual reality dataspace.
Given the chance to be whole again, he accepts the task to pull off a seemingly impossible hack. But the job is bigger than he thought, pitting him against super-AI, a powerful family, and his own haunted past.
6. Recursion by Blake Crouch
An epidemic sweeps society, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they have never lived. The media dubs it the False Memory Syndrome and detective Barry Sutton is compelled to its trail.
His search leads him to neuroscientist Helena Smith, whose newest invention may just be the cure the world is waiting for. Together, they must stand against an opponent whose goal isn’t just their minds but reality itself.
7. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Eric Sanderson wakes up to a world he doesn’t know and a life he doesn’t remember. All he has to uncover these mysteries are a set of cryptic clues he has left for himself.
As he delves deeper into his mind, he discovers that he’s being pursued by a Ludovician—a creature who feeds on memories and the concept of the self. To save himself, he must search for the one person who holds the truth about his condition.
8. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Toru Okada is tasked by his wife, Kumiko, to search for their missing cat. Soon after, Kumiko disappears as well.
His search leads him to a netherworld lurking beneath Tokyo. There, he encounters characters as bizarre as the mystery he’s struggling to resolve.
9. City at the End of Time by Greg Bear
Ginny, Jack, and Daniel dream of Kalpa, a city in the future doomed to fall. Ginny and Jack’s consciousness are suddenly carried forward, possessing the minds of two of Kalpa’s inhabitants. Meanwhile, Daniel only dreams of darkness.
Dreams aren’t their only link, but also the ability to inhabit alternate versions of themselves. Hunted down by others with similar powers, they must find a way to rescue the future while guarding artifacts unchanged through all versions of time.
10. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Fraa Erasmas has lived all his life in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, devoting it to studying science, philosophy, and mathematics. For centuries, the Concent’s walls have stood tall, paying no attention to the rise and fall of societies outside.
However, a catastrophic event threatens his world, forcing him to join intellectuals from other communities in an attempt to solve the crisis. Suddenly burdened by immense responsibility, Erasmas must journey to unravel a dangerous mystery and save their world.
Why Do People Enjoy Stories Like Inception?
Stories like Inception take some time to understand, which is both their strength and weakness. People might be put off by their complexity or be hooked by the uniqueness of their plots.
Thought-provoking concepts such as reality, the subconscious, human perception, imagination, and dreams lend well to these kinds of plots. It gives their stories mystery and a sense of something hiding just beyond the senses.
People are challenged to explore these ideas, peeling them layer by layer to reach whatever’s within. These stories are then not just something to watch passively, but experience actively as the audience tries to make sense of them.
What are your favorite books like Inception? Share them in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 15 Best Science Fiction Book Series to Binge On
- Planetary Romance: Your Guide to This Past Era of Science Fiction
- The Best Science Fiction Books: Our Editor’s Top Picks
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
