If you need to take a break from the dystopian horrors of the news, why not watch the dystopian horrors of Black Mirror on Netflix? Season Four of the science fiction anthology series dropped today, and the six new episodes feature more dark twists on contemporary life. It's science fiction, sure, but set just a short clock tick in the future. In Black Mirror you can visit a museum of high-tech crime, use a dating app that controls exactly how long your date will last, or drop out of the world into your personal virtual reality game. If you're looking for more science fiction tales in the vein of Black Mirror, here are eight great books to read that pair nicely with some of the best episodes the series has ever produced.

“USS Callister”

While Black Mirror is often described as a satire, the show is rarely funny. That is until this season’s stand-out, "USS Callister," which wraps a creepy dystopian conceit inside of a hilarious Star Trek spoof. Jesse Plemons is a picked-on loser known in the real world, but in his virtual reality video game he's a Kirk-esque captain of a "Space Fleet" ship. Everyone onboard loves and adores him. Or, rather, they pretend to, as they are actually the enslaved digital mind clones of the co-workers he hates. It is a tyrannical yet sanitized world where the women wear skimpy space outfits, yet all genitals have been erased to keep things wholesome. The feature-length episode is a timely attack on toxic nerd masculinity and a pretty good send up of Star Trek.

How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

Charles Yu

Charles Yu's debut novel is a hilarious homage of science fiction tropes with a moving story at its core. Charles Yu (the character) is a time machine repairman who travels through spacetime to save people who messed up things trying to jump back in time and change the past. Yu himself lives in Mirror Universe 31, which is "not big enough for space opera and anyway not zoned for it.” When he’s not fixing time machines, he’s jumping through the multiverse trying to find his lost father.

“White Bear”

A woman wakes up in a strange house, confused and scared. People in animal masks record her with their cellphones yet refuse to offer any help. Many Black Mirror episodes are dark and creepy, but "White Bear" is the show's purest descent into horror. The science fiction twist at the end might feel a little cheap, although it is done better than the similar "Shut Up and Dance," but there’s no doubt that "White Bear" is the stuff of nightmares.

Fledgling

Octavia Butler

A young girl wakes up in a cave, confused and injured. Although she's not actually a girl. Shori is a 53 year-old Ina—Butler's spin on vampires—in the body of a young girl, and she needs to feed. Shori has to scramble to survive and discover her past while fleeing flame-wielding assailants. Like the best Black Mirror episodes, Butler uses science fiction metaphors for social commentary while never forgetting to tell a great tale.

"White Christmas"

The first (and so far only) Black Mirror Christmas special is just the thing to dampen your yuletide celebrations. This very dark episode is brightened by Jon Hamm, who charms you before sliding in the knife as he relates three different stories that all weave together into one truly shocking ending. The stories revolve around two pieces of fictional technology: the "Z-Eye" device that augments one's vision and allows you to block out the existence of other people and the "cookie" that can clone one's mind.

Sleep Donation

Karen Russell