John Dies at the End

Gateway

Frederik Pohl1976

A prospector recounts his sessions with a robot therapist after finding a fortune on an alien space station. He is haunted by a choice he made.

Same sardonic register, still unreliable narrator

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

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.

Same sardonic register, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·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.

sardonic → meditative, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Shadow & Claw

Gene Wolfe1983

A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.

sardonic → meditative, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

And Another Thing…

Eoin Colfer2009

Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect continue their journey through space after the destruction of Earth. The story follows the original series' characters.

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Farm Fresh Murder

Paige Shelton2010

A jam maker in a small town investigates a murder to clear her friend's name.

sardonic → warm

pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

Blindsided

Amy Daws2019

A professional soccer player asks her best friend to help her gain sexual experience. The story follows their transition from friends to lovers.

pace0·prose-1·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.

sardonic → wry

pace+1·prose-1·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.

sardonic → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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.

sardonic → playful

pace+1·prose-1·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+2·bleak0

Night Land

William Hope Hodgson2014

In the distant future, a man leaves the last human stronghold to find a woman across a sunless, monster-filled wasteland.

sardonic → dreamlike, still cosmic horror

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury1946

A twelve-year-old boy experiences a series of vignettes over one summer in 1928 Illinois. The chapters focus on small-town life and aging.

sardonic → elegiac

pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

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+2

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+2

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.

sardonic → tense, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose0·bleak+2