Compulsory

Ubik

Philip K. Dick1969

A corporate security team survives an assassination attempt, but reality begins to regress into the past. They must find a way to stop time's decay.

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Soldier of Sidon

Gene Wolfe2006

A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.

sardonic → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

In the Night Garden

Catherynne M. Valente2006

A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.

sardonic → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

At Swim-Two-Birds

Flann O'Brien1939

A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.

sardonic → playful

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Translation State

Ann Leckie2023

Three people from different cultures search for a missing diplomat in a galaxy of rigid social hierarchies. It focuses on biological identity.

sardonic → tender, still science fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Crazy For You

Jennifer Crusie1999

An art teacher tries to break her boring routine by adopting a dog, triggering a series of chaotic events. She begins a secret affair with her ex.

sardonic → wry

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Vampires Are Forever

Lynsay Sands2008

A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.

sardonic → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Matt Dinniman2020

Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.

Same sardonic register

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Quantum Radio

A.G. Riddle2023

A scientist at CERN discovers a signal from a parallel universe. He must flee a conspiracy while exploring the implications of the data.

sardonic → propulsive, still science fiction

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Mind's Eye

Douglas E. Richards2014

A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.

sardonic → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Boneland

Alan Garner2012

An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.

sardonic → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

The Habitation of the Blessed

Catherynne M. Valente2010

A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.

sardonic → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Unfinished Tales

J.R.R. Tolkien1980

A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

sardonic → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

The Fifth Season

N. K. Jemisin2015

A mother searches for her daughter across a continent undergoing a tectonic apocalypse. Some chapters address the reader in the second person.

sardonic → bleak

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

Pet Sematary

Stephen King1983

A family moves to Maine and discovers a burial ground that can return the dead to life. They use it, and the consequences are absolute.

sardonic → tense

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

The Poppy War

R.F. Kuang2018

A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.

sardonic → bleak

pace0·prose0·bleak+2