Exhalation

Anathem

Neal Stephenson2008

Monks dedicated to mathematics and philosophy live in seclusion on a world facing a global crisis. One monk leaves his sanctuary to investigate.

Same meditative register, still philosophical scifi

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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.

Same meditative register, still philosophical scifi

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

The Martians

Kim Stanley Robinson1999

A collection of short stories, essays, and poems that explore alternate timelines and scientific details of the Mars trilogy.

Same meditative register, still alternate history

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Xenocide

Orson Scott Card1991

On a planet with three sentient species, scientists race to stop a virus while a fleet arrives to destroy the world. It is heavy on dialogue.

Same meditative register, still philosophical scifi

pace0·prose-1·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.

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Perhaps the Stars

Ada Palmer2021

A global war between ideological factions reaches its conclusion. The story is told through a dense, 18th-century style narrative voice.

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

On a Pale Horse

Piers Anthony1983

After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

The Martian

Andy Weir2011

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

meditative → wry

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

meditative → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

meditative → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

Same meditative register

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood1985

In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.

meditative → cold

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

Doomsday Book

Connie Willis1992

A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.

meditative → bleak

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