LitQueuelitqueue

After

Erewhon

Samuel Butler2018

5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Nova Express

    William S. Burroughs1964

    An experimental narrative uses the cut-up technique to depict a war between intergalactic criminals and the police. It is a collage of imagery.

    satirical → sardonic, still satire

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

To recover

satirical → playful, still satire

3 more ↓

  • On a Pale Horse

    Piers Anthony1983

    After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.

    satirical → playful

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1

  • Sea of Greed

    Clive Cussler2018

    Kurt Austin investigates the destruction of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The trail leads to a billionaire with a plan to end the oil age.

    satirical → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1

  • Modern Romance

    Aziz Ansari2015

    A comedian and a sociologist analyze how technology and culture have changed dating. It uses data and interviews to compare eras.

    satirical → playful

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    satirical → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

  • 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.

    satirical → wry

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-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.

    satirical → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak0

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.

    satirical → meditative

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • A Modern Utopia

    H. G. Wells1900

    Two travelers are transported to a parallel Earth where a global state manages all human activity. The book outlines the planet's social systems.

    satirical → meditative, still utopian

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The description of a new world

    Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle

    A woman travels through a portal to a world of animal-headed people. She becomes Empress and debates philosophy with her new subjects.

    satirical → meditative, still utopian

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    satirical → sardonic, still satire

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    satirical → bleak, still satire

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • This Is the Way the World Ends

    James Morrow1986

    A man buys a suit to survive a nuclear war and is put on trial by the ghosts of people who will never be born. It is a satire of nuclear policy.

    satirical → sardonic, still satire

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2