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After

Brilliance

Marcus Sakey2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still techno-thriller

1 more ↓

  • Coils

    Fred Saberhagen1982

    A man with the ability to project his consciousness into computer networks fights a corporation for control of an emerging AI.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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

  • 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

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Starter Villain

    John Scalzi2023

    A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

    tense → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

tense → propulsive, still techno-thriller

3 more ↓

  • I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom

    Jason Pargin2024

    A driver and a passenger transport a mysterious black box across the country. The plot focuses on internet culture, paranoia, and viral fame.

    tense → sardonic, still techno-thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • 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.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    tense → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    tense → earnest, still sci-fi

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

  • 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-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Guernica Night

    Barry N. Malzberg1975

    In a future where suicide is a social norm, a man navigates a society obsessed with death. The prose is dense and repetitive.

    tense → bleak, still sci-fi

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Coelestis

    Paul Park1993

    A human diplomat and a surgically altered native woman navigate a colonized planet. The story focuses on identity and forced biological change.

    tense → dreamlike, still sci-fi

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The White Plague

    Frank Herbert1982

    A molecular biologist creates a gender-targeted plague to kill every woman on Earth after his family dies in a bombing.

    tense → bleak, still techno-thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2