After
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Perhaps the Stars
Ada Palmer2021
A global war between ideological factions reaches its conclusion. The story is told through a dense, 18th-century style narrative voice.
Same meditative register, still philosophical scifi
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Exhalation
Ted Chiang2014
A collection of nine science fiction stories exploring mechanical life, time travel, and linguistics. Each piece functions as a thought experiment.
Same meditative register, still philosophical scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Icehenge
Kim Stanley Robinson1984
Three interconnected stories set centuries apart investigate a mysterious monument on Pluto. It uses unreliable narrators to explore history.
Same meditative register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Margaret and I
Kate Wilhelm1971
The story is narrated by the subconscious of a woman named Margaret. It follows her as she navigates a failing marriage and a mysterious discovery.
Same meditative register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace0prose-3bleak-2
Love Comes Softly
Janette Oke1979
A widow on the 19th-century frontier enters a marriage of convenience with a widower to survive the winter and care for his daughter.
meditative → tender
pace0·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
The perfect Christmas
Debbie Macomber2009
A woman hires a grumpy matchmaker to find a husband. He assigns her three tasks to complete before he will introduce her to his chosen candidate.
meditative → warm
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Danger in the Shadows
Dee Henderson2002
A woman in witness protection hides from a kidnapper while a FBI agent works to keep her safe. The story incorporates elements of Christian faith.
meditative → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace0prose-3bleak-2
The Princess
Lori Wick2006
In the fictional land of Pendaran, a prince enters an arranged marriage with a commoner who must learn the ways of the royal court.
meditative → warm
pace0·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
meditative → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
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-2
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose-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.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-2bleak-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.
meditative → earnest
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Hav
Jan Morris2006
A travel writer describes the culture and history of a fictional Mediterranean city-state before and after a massive political upheaval.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Kolyma tales
Varlam SHALAMOV1980
Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.
meditative → clinical
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
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, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose-2bleak+1
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis1992
A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.
meditative → bleak
pace0·prose-2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
meditative → bleak
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell1996
A Jesuit priest joins a mission to a newly discovered planet. The story is told in flashbacks after he returns as the sole, traumatized survivor.
meditative → elegiac
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Watchmen
Alan Moore1986
Retired masked vigilantes investigate the murder of a former teammate. The story takes place in an alternate 1985 on the brink of nuclear war.
meditative → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
