LitQueuelitqueue

After

Chasm City

Alastair Reynolds2001

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Spin Control

    Chris Moriarty2007

    A security commander and a clone travel to a terraformed Mars to investigate a physicist's murder. It involves interstellar diplomacy.

    cold → tense, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The golden age

    John C. Wright2002

    In a far-future utopia, an immortal man discovers he has had his memories erased. He searches for his identity while defying a collective mind.

    cold → meditative, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • VAS

    Steve Tomasula2002

    A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.

    cold → clinical, still cyberpunk

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Fractal Prince

    Hannu Rajaniemi2012

    A post-human thief is sent to Earth to steal a memory from a city made of digital ghosts. The prose uses dense, unexplained jargon.

    cold → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Mane Event

    Shelly Laurenston2007

    A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

    cold → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Redshirts

    John Scalzi2012

    Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

    cold → playful, still space opera

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Ready Player One

    Ernest Cline2008

    A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

    cold → propulsive, still cyberpunk

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Stars My Destination

    Alfred Bester1956

    Gully Foyle is left for dead in space and spends years seeking revenge. He travels a future where humans can teleport using their minds.

    cold → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Android's Dream

    John Scalzi2006

    A diplomat must find a specific, genetically engineered sheep to prevent an interstellar war. The story is a fast-paced, irreverent space comedy.

    cold → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Chilling Effect

    Valerie Valdes2019

    A spaceship captain completes dangerous missions to pay off a ransom for her kidnapped sister. The crew includes a pilot who is a sentient plant.

    cold → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Beelzebub's tales to his grandson

    Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff1950

    An extraterrestrial being explains the history and strange behaviors of humanity to his grandson during a long space voyage.

    cold → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Dandelion Wine

    Ray Bradbury1946

    A twelve-year-old boy experiences a series of vignettes over one summer in 1928 Illinois. The chapters focus on small-town life and aging.

    cold → elegiac

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-2

  • For Us, the Living

    Robert A. Heinlein2003

    A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.

    cold → earnest

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Market Forces

    Richard K. Morgan2004

    In a future where executives duel in armored cars for promotions, Chris Faulkner joins a firm that profits from civil wars. It is a corporate satire.

    cold → sardonic, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Random Acts of Senseless Violence

    Jack Womack1994

    A twelve-year-old girl records her life in a diary as New York City collapses into riots and hyperinflation. Her family falls into poverty.

    cold → bleak, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Hellspark

    Janet Kagan1988

    A linguist travels to a new planet to investigate a murder. She must determine if the local species is sentient while navigating a conspiracy.

    cold → tense, still cyberpunk

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1