LitQueuelitqueue

After

Leech

Hiron Ennes2022

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Revelation Space

    Alastair Reynolds2000

    A scientist and a cyborg crew investigate the extinction of an ancient alien race. The tone is cold and the technology is grounded in physics.

    Same cold register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • In Green's Jungles

    Gene Wolfe2000

    A narrator travels to different worlds while his physical form and memories shift. He recounts past voyages to prove his identity to his companions.

    cold → elegiac, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    cold → sardonic, still science fiction

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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, still science fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    cold → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Mile High

    Liz Tomforde2023

    A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

    cold → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    cold → wry

    pace+2·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

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    cold → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    cold → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Looking Backward, 2000-1887

    Edward Bellamy1888

    A man falls into a hypnotic sleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000 to find the United States transformed into a socialist utopia.

    cold → earnest, still science fiction

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • 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-1·prose0·bleak-2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Deep

    Nick Cutter2015

    A veterinarian travels to a research station at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to help his brother find a cure for a global plague.

    cold → bleak, still body horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    cold → tense, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Cipher

    Kathe Koja1991

    A couple discovers a black hole in their apartment floor that physically and mentally alters anything that enters it.

    cold → bleak, still body horror

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1