After
Mind's Eye
Douglas E. Richards2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same propulsive register, still techno-thriller
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The Atlantis Gene
A.G. Riddle2013
A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Nexus
Ramez Naam2012
A scientist develops a nanotech drug that links minds and is hunted by government agencies. It is a high-speed global conspiracy thriller.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
When the Wind Blows
James Patterson1847
A veterinarian and an FBI agent discover winged children created in a secret laboratory. They go on the run to protect the girl from her creators.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Upgrade
Blake Crouch2022
A government agent is infected with a virus that begins rewriting his DNA to increase his intelligence and physical capabilities.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Runner
Patrick Lee2014
A retired special forces operative protects a young girl with no memory from armed government agents. The plot is a high-speed chase.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Digital Fortress
Dan Brown1998
The NSA's code-breaking supercomputer encounters an unbreakable algorithm. A cryptographer and a professor race to find the kill code.
Same propulsive register, still techno-thriller
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Desire
Amanda Quick
A lady in need of a protector is forced to marry a knight instead of the poet she requested. They manage her island estate together.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Ringworld
Larry Niven1970
Four explorers travel to a massive artificial ring around a distant star. The story focuses on the mechanics and scale of the structure.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Prelude to Foundation
Isaac Asimov1988
Mathematician Hari Seldon flees across the planet Trantor while developing the science of psychohistory.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
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.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
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.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Moonwise
Greer Gilman1991
Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
propulsive → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
propulsive → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson2015
An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.
propulsive → cold
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Song of Kali
Dan Simmons1985
An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.
propulsive → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
