LitQueuelitqueue

After

Neuromancer

William Gibson1984

5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Graft

    Matt Hill2016

    In a near-future Manchester, a car thief finds a woman with a mechanical arm. They are hunted through a landscape of body modification and crime.

    cold → bleak, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Starter Villain

    John Scalzi2023

    A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

    cold → wry

    pace0·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Artemis

    Andy Weir2017

    A porter and smuggler on a lunar colony takes a high-stakes sabotage job to pay off a debt. She uses technical knowledge to solve problems.

    cold → propulsive, still heist

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Sea of Greed

    Clive Cussler2018

    Kurt Austin investigates the destruction of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The trail leads to a billionaire with a plan to end the oil age.

    cold → propulsive

    pace0·prose-3·bleak-2

Faster

cold → propulsive, still cyberpunk

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    cold → wry

    pace+1·prose-3·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+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Skin Game

    Jim Butcher2014

    Wizard Harry Dresden joins a team of villains to rob a vault in the Underworld. It is a fast-paced heist set in a modern fantasy Chicago.

    cold → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace-2·prose0·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.

    cold → playful

    pace-2·prose0·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.

    cold → playful

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • A Scanner Darkly

    Philip K. Dick1977

    An undercover narcotics agent in a near-future California becomes addicted to the drug he is investigating and begins to spy on himself.

    cold → bleak, still noir

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Watchmen

    Dave Gibbons1986

    Retired costumed vigilantes investigate a conspiracy after one of their own is murdered. The story uses a comic-within-a-comic and backmatter.

    Same cold register, still noir

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Market Forces

    Richard K. Morgan2004

    In a future where executives duel in armored cars for promotions, Chris Faulkner joins a firm that profits from civil wars. It is a corporate satire.

    cold → sardonic, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose-2·bleak+1