Black Genesis

Work Done for Hire

Joe Haldeman2014

A former sniper turned writer is hired to write a script, then receives a real rifle and a hit list. He must decide whether to kill for money.

Same sardonic register, still conspiracy

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Infinite Jest

David Foster Wallace1996

A sprawling narrative centered on a tennis academy, a halfway house, and a lethal film. The text includes hundreds of pages of detailed endnotes.

Same sardonic register, still satire

pace-1·prose+3·bleak+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.

Same sardonic register, still satire

pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2

Empty Space

M. John Harrison2012

Three interlocking timelines follow a widow in London, a detective in a neon city, and a pilot in deep space. The prose is dense and surreal.

sardonic → dreamlike, still space opera

pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

Next of Kin

Eric Frank Russell1959

A scout pilot is captured by aliens and uses psychological warfare to convince his captors that humans possess a terrifying invisible power.

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Willful Child

Steven Erikson2014

A reckless captain takes command of a starship in this parody of space exploration tropes. It follows a series of chaotic encounters.

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

First Lensman

Edward E. Smith1950

A man receives a telepathic lens from aliens and must form a galactic police force to defend the universe against a hidden conspiracy.

sardonic → earnest, still space opera

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Red Rising

Pierce Brown2014

A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.

sardonic → propulsive, still space opera

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

The Stars My Destination

Alfred Bester1956

Gully Foyle is left for dead in space and spends years seeking revenge. He travels a future where humans can teleport using their minds.

sardonic → propulsive, still space opera

pace+1·prose+2·bleak0

The Android's Dream

John Scalzi2006

A diplomat must find a specific, genetically engineered sheep to prevent an interstellar war. The story is a fast-paced, irreverent space comedy.

sardonic → playful, still space opera

pace+1·prose0·bleak-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.

sardonic → meditative

pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

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.

sardonic → playful

pace-2·prose+3·bleak-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.

sardonic → playful

pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

The Stepford Wives

Ira Levin1972

A photographer moves to a suburb where the wives are unnervingly submissive. She investigates whether the local men are replacing them with robots.

sardonic → tense, still satire

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

Cat's Cradle

Kurt Vonnegut1963

A writer researches the creator of the atomic bomb and discovers a substance that freezes all water. He joins an island cult.

Same sardonic register, still satire

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

Chain-Gang All-Stars

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah2023

Prisoners in a private American penal system fight to the death in televised matches for a chance at freedom.

sardonic → bleak, still satire

pace0·prose+2·bleak+2