What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe 5th Wave
J Blakeson · Film · 2016
If you loved The 5th Wave, start with Invasion (Thomas Schlamme, 2005) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The 5th Wave across media.
What hooked you in The 5th Wave was the desperate struggle for humanity when teenage protagonists face extinction-level alien threats.
Books on the same thread
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card · Book · 2013
Shares a thread with The 5th Wave: Alien Invasion.
Like the young soldiers in The 5th Wave, Ender must navigate a world where children are forced to shoulder the crushing weight of saving mankind from alien invaders.
The Maze Runner (Book 1)
James Dashner · Book · 2014
Shares 2 threads with The 5th Wave: Survival, Young Adult Dystopian Fiction.
You will find the same high-stakes survival and loss of innocence found in The 5th Wave as these teenagers navigate a lethal, controlled environment to escape their captors.
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin · Book · 2016
Shares 2 threads with The 5th Wave: End of the world, Survival.
If you enjoyed the apocalyptic stakes of The 5th Wave, this story captures the same feeling of a world fundamentally shattered and the grim struggle to endure afterward.
The Martian
Andy Weir · Book · 2015
Explores: Resourcefulness, Human Ingenuity, Isolation.
While The 5th Wave focuses on invasion, this story mirrors the intense, singular focus on survival against impossible odds that makes Cassie Sullivan such a compelling, resourceful protagonist.
Series on the same thread
The 100
Jason Rothenberg · Series · 2014
Shares a thread with The 5th Wave: Survival.
This series reflects the premise of The 5th Wave by placing young, expendable survivors in a hostile landscape where moral ambiguity and survival become the only reality.
Attack on Titan
Series · 2013
Shares 2 threads with The 5th Wave: Survival, Loss of Innocence.
The existential horror of being hunted by an overwhelming force in The 5th Wave is mirrored here, as survivors fight for their lives against encroaching, monstrous threats.
Stranger Things
Ross Duffer · Series · 2016
Explores: Government Experiments, Telekinesis, Monsters.
This series captures the underlying conspiracy and sense of encroaching supernatural dread that drove the mystery behind the alien waves depicted in The 5th Wave.
Invasion
Thomas Schlamme · Series · 2005
Shares a thread with The 5th Wave: Alien Invasion.
If the paranoia regarding who to trust in The 5th Wave resonated with you, this story offers a similar tension regarding hidden alien threats within a community.
Podcasts on the same thread
Against The Odds
Podcast
Explores: human resilience, overcoming adversity, triumph over tragedy.
These true stories of human resilience echo the core spirit of Cassie Sullivan in The 5th Wave, proving that the drive to survive is the ultimate human instinct.
The Orphans
The Light and Tragic Company · Podcast · 2025
This audio drama mirrors the harsh, unforgiving universe of The 5th Wave, focusing on the intimate experience of castaways trying to survive in a hostile, alien environment.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The 5th Wave about an alien invasion?
Yes, The 5th Wave depicts a world devastated by waves of an alien invasion. The attacks have decimated the human population and forced the survivors to exist in conditions comparable to the Stone Age.
Who is the main character in The 5th Wave?
The 5th Wave follows 16-year-old Cassie Sullivan. She is the central figure attempting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world following the destruction caused by the alien waves.
What is the premise of The 5th Wave?
The 5th Wave centers on the struggle of humanity after multiple waves of alien attacks. These events have effectively knocked mankind back to the Stone Age, leaving Cassie Sullivan to navigate a ruined landscape.
How does the alien invasion impact society in The 5th Wave?
The alien invasion in The 5th Wave has caused widespread devastation. The population has been decimated by the waves, resulting in the collapse of modern civilization and a regression to the Stone Age.