After
Red Spider White Web
Misha1990
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone
Ian McDonald1994
A student discovers images that can reprogram the human brain. He flees across Japan to escape those who want to use the images as weapons.
Same dreamlike register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Winterlong
Elizabeth Hand1990
In a decaying, post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., a girl with empathic powers is drawn into the plots of a decadent ruling class.
Same dreamlike register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Jagged Orbit
John Brunner1969
In a segregated future US, a media personality and a psychic navigate a society controlled by arms dealers. The story uses fragmented perspectives.
dreamlike → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Radiance
Catherynne M. Valente2015
A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.
Same dreamlike register
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Tonguing the Zeitgeist
Lance Olsen1994
In a corporate future, a musician is surgically and mentally altered to fit a commercial image. It is a satire of media and body modification.
dreamlike → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
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.
dreamlike → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Sophie Kinsella2001
A financial journalist hides her mounting debt while continuing to shop compulsively. She eventually writes a career-defining expose.
dreamlike → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
Steal Like an Artist
Austin Kleon2012
A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.
dreamlike → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert2015
The author shares her philosophy on the creative process through personal anecdotes. It focuses on overcoming fear and pursuing curiosity.
dreamlike → warm
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells2023
A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.
dreamlike → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
Faster
dreamlike → propulsive, still cyberpunk
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
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.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Akira, Vol. 1
Katsuhiro Ōtomo1984
In a rebuilt post-WWIII Tokyo, two teenage bikers get caught in a government conspiracy after one develops psychic powers.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
dreamlike → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
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.
dreamlike → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
Same dreamlike register
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
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.
dreamlike → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
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.
dreamlike → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
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.
dreamlike → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-2bleak-3
For Us, the Living
Robert A. Heinlein2003
A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.
dreamlike → earnest
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-3
