After
The Jaunt
Stephen King2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Under the Dome
Stephen King2009
An invisible barrier suddenly traps a Maine town. The residents deal with dwindling resources and a local politician's violent grab for power.
Same tense register, still science fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Invisible Man
H. G. Wells
A scientist discovers how to become invisible but cannot reverse the process. He becomes increasingly violent while hiding in a small village.
Same tense register, still science fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Frozen Hell
John W. Campbell2019
Scientists at an Antarctic research station discover an alien organism that can perfectly imitate any living creature it consumes.
Same tense register, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Distraction
Bruce Sterling1998
A political fixer manages a campaign in a collapsed, high-tech future America. He battles rival factions and his own genetic secrets.
Same tense register, still science fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Book of Skulls
Robert Silverberg1971
Four college students travel to Arizona seeking a monastery that promises immortality. Two must die and one must kill for the others to succeed.
Same tense register, still science fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Too Like the Lightning
Ada Palmer2016
In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.
tense → sardonic, still science fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.
tense → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → meditative, still science fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Against the Day
Thomas Pynchon2006
A massive ensemble cast navigates the globe between the 1893 World's Fair and WWI. The plot spans airships, math, and secret societies.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
tense → sardonic, still science fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
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.
tense → meditative, still science fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
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.
tense → playful, still science fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
tense → playful, still science fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
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.
tense → propulsive
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Modern Romance
Aziz Ansari2015
A comedian and a sociologist analyze how technology and culture have changed dating. It uses data and interviews to compare eras.
tense → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
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.
tense → playful, still science fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Lake House
James Patterson
A veterinarian and an FBI agent protect six genetically engineered children who can fly. They are pursued by a global conspiracy.
tense → propulsive, still science fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
tense → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
tense → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → meditative, still science fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-3
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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-3
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
