After
Schild's Ladder
Greg Egan2002
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
Same meditative register, still hard scifi
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Arrows of Time
Greg Egan2013
On a ship where time runs backward for some, travelers face a physics-based crisis. It explores the causality of messages sent from the future.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Integral Trees
Larry Niven1984
Humans live in a gas torus around a neutron star, inhabiting free-falling trees that are 100 kilometers long. There is no ground or gravity.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Wheelers
Ian Stewart2000
Scientists discover wheel-shaped lifeforms on Jupiter while a comet threatens to collide with Earth.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The sunborn
Gregory Benford2005
Two veteran astronauts lead a mission to Pluto to investigate intelligent life found in the methane seas. Rival crews must cooperate to survive.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The Mountain in the Sea
Ray Nayler2022
A marine biologist studies a newly discovered species of hyper-intelligent octopuses on a remote, corporate-owned archipelago.
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
The Last Question
Isaac Asimov2007
A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.
Same meditative register, still hard scifi
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
meditative → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
meditative → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace0prose-3bleak-1
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
meditative → warm
pace0·prose-3·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Rogue Protocol
Martha Wells2018
A self-aware security android travels to a space station to find evidence against a corrupt corporation while hiding its autonomy.
meditative → sardonic, still hard scifi
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
meditative → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
His Master's Voice
Stanisław Lem2018
A mathematician works at a secret facility to decode a neutrino signal from space. The book is a philosophical essay disguised as a memoir.
meditative → clinical, still hard scifi
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- 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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-2bleak+2
Titan
Stephen Baxter1997
A crew of astronauts embarks on a one-way mission to Saturn's moon. The narrative details the technical and psychological decay of the mission.
meditative → cold, still hard scifi
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
Maelstrom
Peter Watts2001
A bio-engineered virus spreads through the global network while a woman navigates a flooded, post-apocalyptic landscape.
meditative → bleak, still hard scifi
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
Fiasco
Stanisław Lem1986
Humans on a spaceship attempt to force communication with an alien civilization that refuses to respond. It ends in a total failure of logic.
meditative → clinical, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
Salt
Adam Roberts2000
Two groups of colonists with opposing ideologies settle on a salt-covered planet, leading to a total breakdown of their society.
meditative → bleak, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood1985
In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.
meditative → cold
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
