Nevada’s wide-open spaces, unique history, and glittering cities have inspired some really memorable stories. From the frantic energy of Las Vegas to the quiet intensity of the desert frontier, writers have found rich material here.
If you’re looking for a book that captures some part of the Silver State, here are eight novels that use Nevada as their backdrop.
This is the wild ride of journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo. They head to Las Vegas supposedly for a story, but they bring a huge stash of drugs. Their assignment quickly goes off the rails.
The trip becomes a blur of hallucinations and strange encounters, like navigating a narcotics officers’ convention while high. It’s a sharp, funny, and sometimes unsettling look at the edge of the American Dream in the early 70s.
The movie adaptation with Johnny Depp is also quite something.
Maria Griffiths is a trans woman whose life in New York just imploded after a breakup. In a moment of desperation, she takes her ex’s car and drives west, aimlessly toward Nevada. Her journey leads her to James, a young person working at a small-town Nevada Walmart.
James is quietly questioning gender identity. Their unexpected connection and conversations explore what it means to figure yourself out and find your place.
Set back in the 1880s Nevada frontier, this story feels incredibly tense. Word comes to town that a local rancher has been murdered and his cattle stolen. A group of townsmen quickly forms a posse, eager for justice, or maybe just vengeance.
They ride out and capture three men suspected of the crime. The book powerfully examines how quickly a mob can form and how easily justice can be ignored when assumptions and anger take over.
Las Vegas is the setting here, but it’s not all about the casinos. The story starts when a twelve-year-old boy, Newell, disappears during a night out. His parents search frantically for him.
Their desperate quest connects with the lives of other characters on the city’s margins – runaways, pornographers, street performers. It shows a different side of Vegas, one full of people chasing dreams or just trying to survive.
In the Reno of the 1950s, Evelyn arrives seeking a divorce, which was easier to get in Nevada back then. She’s a literature professor, quite buttoned-up. She meets Ann, who works in a casino, lives freely, and is openly gay. An unlikely relationship develops between them.
Against the backdrop of the Nevada desert landscape, they must navigate their own feelings and the social pressures of the era. It’s a thoughtful story about connection.
This novel takes us to a real place: the town of St. Thomas, Nevada, which was submerged when the Hoover Dam created Lake Mead in the 1930s. Young Henry recounts the town’s final days as the government prepares to flood the valley.
His family, along with other residents, must leave their homes behind. Henry’s grandfather, however, stubbornly refuses to abandon his land. It’s a moving story about loss, change, and holding onto home.
Stephen King plants this horror story in the aptly named Nevada mining town of Desperation. Several travelers along a lonely highway are pulled over and arrested by Collie Entragian, the town’s terrifyingly erratic lawman. He locks them up in the deserted town.
They soon realize something ancient and evil lurks beneath Desperation, connected to the mines. It becomes a desperate fight for survival against a supernatural force that controls the town.
Chase comes back to his hometown of Las Vegas after college. He’s an aspiring artist, but he gets pulled back into the orbit of his high school friends and their lifestyle. This world involves easy money, drugs, and complicated relationships among the city’s privileged youth.
Chase finds himself torn between his past loyalties and a desire for something more. The book gives a raw look at the darker side of Vegas life, far from the tourist spots.