After
Rosewater
Tade Thompson2016
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same sardonic register, still cyberpunk
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Eastern Standard Tribe
Cory Doctorow2004
A man in a mental institution recounts his life as a corporate saboteur. He belongs to a tribe that coordinates its life around the EST time zone.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Hardwired
Walter Jon Williams1986
A hovertank pilot and a bodyguard team up to fight the orbital corporations that control Earth's resources.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Crashcourse
Wilhelmina Baird1993
Three street-smart friends sign a contract to star in a 'cyber-cinema' film, only to realize they are being used in a real-life snuff production.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Repossession Mambo
Eric Garcia2009
An agent repossesses artificial organs from people who fall behind on payments. He becomes a fugitive when his own heart is scheduled for pickup.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Noor
Nnedi Okorafor2021
A heavily augmented woman and a nomadic herdsman flee across a high-tech Nigeria. They are pursued by a corporation that monitors everything.
sardonic → propulsive, still afrofuturism
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
VAS
Steve Tomasula2002
A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.
sardonic → clinical, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
Same sardonic register
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Rakesfall
Vajra Chandrasekera2024
Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → elegiac, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells2023
A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.
Same sardonic register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
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.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
sardonic → propulsive, still cyberpunk
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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+1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
sardonic → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose+1bleak-1
Accelerando
Charles Stross2005
Three generations of a family navigate the rapid evolution of technology toward a singularity. The pace accelerates as humanity is outpaced by AI.
sardonic → wry, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+1bleak-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.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose0bleak-2
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.
sardonic → earnest
pace-2·prose0·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
sardonic → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
Same sardonic register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Random Acts of Senseless Violence
Jack Womack1994
A twelve-year-old girl records her life in a diary as New York City collapses into riots and hyperinflation. Her family falls into poverty.
sardonic → bleak, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Hellspark
Janet Kagan1988
A linguist travels to a new planet to investigate a murder. She must determine if the local species is sentient while navigating a conspiracy.
sardonic → tense, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Golem100
Alfred Bester1980
In a future city, a group of women accidentally summon a psychic monster that commits acts of extreme violence while investigators track it.
Same sardonic register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1