LitQueuelitqueue

After

Deathstalker

Simon R. Green1997

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Distraction

    Bruce Sterling1998

    A political fixer manages a campaign in a collapsed, high-tech future America. He battles rival factions and his own genetic secrets.

    Same tense register, still science fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Nova Express

    William S. Burroughs1964

    An experimental narrative uses the cut-up technique to depict a war between intergalactic criminals and the police. It is a collage of imagery.

    tense → sardonic, still science fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Dhalgren

    Samuel R. Delany1975

    An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Valis

    Philip K. Dick1981

    A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

tense → playful, still science fiction

3 more ↓

  • The Last Question

    Isaac Asimov2007

    A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.

    tense → meditative, still science fiction

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Ayesha at Last

    Uzma Jalaluddin2019

    A modern Muslim retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Toronto. A poet and a conservative man clash over their differing values.

    tense → playful, still romance

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Neon Gods

    Katee Robert2021

    In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.

    Same tense register, still romance

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    tense → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • All Systems Red

    Martha Wells2017

    A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.

    tense → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Invisible Cities

    Italo Calvino1972

    Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

    An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Jaunt

    Stephen King2009

    A father explains the history of teleportation to his family while they wait to travel. He describes the danger of being awake during the trip.

    Same tense register, still science fiction

    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.

    Same tense register, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Running Man

    Richard Bachman

    A man enters a deadly reality show to fund medical care for his daughter. He must survive thirty days while the entire world hunts him for money.

    tense → propulsive, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1