Immortality, Inc.

Headcrash

Bruce Bethke1995

A computer programmer loses his job and enters a virtual reality underworld to seek revenge on the corporate elite. It is a satire of 1990s tech.

satirical → sardonic, still cyberpunk

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

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.

satirical → sardonic, still satire

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Against the Day

Thomas Pynchon2006

A massive ensemble cast navigates the globe between the 1893 World's Fair and WWI. The plot spans airships, math, and secret societies.

satirical → playful

pace-1·prose+2·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.

satirical → sardonic, still satire

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Murderbot Diaries

Martha Wells2023

A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Vampires Are Forever

Lynsay Sands2008

A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.

satirical → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

The Mane Event

Shelly Laurenston2007

A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

satirical → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

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, still cyberpunk

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Akira, Vol. 1

Katsuhiro Ōtomo1984

In a rebuilt post-WWIII Tokyo, two teenage bikers get caught in a government conspiracy after one develops psychic powers.

satirical → propulsive, still cyberpunk

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Get Jiro!

Anthony Bourdain2012

In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.

satirical → sardonic, still satire

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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-2·prose+2·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.

satirical → playful

pace-2·prose+2·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.

satirical → playful

pace-2·prose+2·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.

satirical → tense, still satire

pace0·prose0·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.

satirical → sardonic, still satire

pace0·prose0·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

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2