All Tomorrows

Only Human

Sylvain Neuvel2018

The pilots of a giant alien robot return to Earth after ten years to find the world on the brink of nuclear war. Told through interviews.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

clinical → dreamlike

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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.

clinical → sardonic

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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.

clinical → meditative

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13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success

Amy Morin2015

A psychotherapist lists thirteen habits to avoid to build mental resilience. Each chapter pairs a behavior with strategies for change.

clinical → earnest

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Undefeated

Stuart Reardon

A professional rugby player returns home after a career-ending injury. He attempts to reconnect with a woman from his past while he recovers.

clinical → earnest

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Redshirts

John Scalzi2012

Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

clinical → playful

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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.

clinical → wry

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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.

clinical → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

clinical → playful

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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.

clinical → meditative

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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.

clinical → playful

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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.

clinical → playful

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Beyond the Aquila Rift

Alastair Reynolds2001

A spaceship crew wakes from cold sleep to find they have overshot their destination by light-years. They must face the reality of their location.

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Negative Space

B.R. Yeager2020

Four teenagers in a decaying New Hampshire town use a drug made from local parasites. They navigate hallucinations and a string of suicides.

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

The Jaunt

Stephen King2009

A father explains the history of teleportation to his family while they wait to travel. He describes the danger of being awake during the trip.

clinical → tense, still cosmic horror

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