After
The mirrored heavens
David J. Williams2008
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Equations of Life
Simon Morden2011
A Russian physics student in a post-apocalyptic London gets caught between warring factions. It is a fast-paced cyberpunk thriller.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Crux
Ramez Naam2013
Global powers fight for control over a brain-interfacing drug while a group of post-human rebels attempts to survive a government crackdown.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Kill Decision
Daniel Suarez2012
A scientist and a special ops veteran track a swarm of autonomous drones programmed to kill without human oversight.
Same propulsive register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Daemon
Leinad Zeraus2006
A deceased game designer leaves behind a computer program that begins killing people and restructuring society. It is a high-tech manhunt.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Liege-Killer
Christopher Hinz1987
Genetically engineered assassins wake from stasis to hunt humans in orbital colonies. Two specialists must track them down.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → sardonic
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
William S. Burroughs
A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Shadow & Claw
Gene Wolfe1983
A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+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.
propulsive → clinical, still cyberpunk
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-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.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Neon Gods
Katee Robert2021
In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Starter Villain
John Scalzi2023
A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.
propulsive → wry
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-2
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
propulsive → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
propulsive → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+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.
propulsive → bleak, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+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.
propulsive → tense, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+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.
propulsive → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1