LitQueuelitqueue

After

Kill Decision

Daniel Suarez2012

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Daemon

    Leinad Zeraus2006

    A deceased game designer leaves behind a computer program that begins killing people and restructuring society. It is a high-tech manhunt.

    Same propulsive register, still conspiracy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → sardonic

    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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace-1·prose-1·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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Here Be Sexist Vampires

    Suzanne Wright2013

    A female vampire enters a male-dominated pack and challenges their hierarchy while being pursued by their leader.

    propulsive → sardonic

    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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-3·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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-3·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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Handmaid's Tale

    Margaret Atwood1985

    In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.

    propulsive → cold

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Doomsday Book

    Connie Willis1992

    A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace-2·prose0·bleak+2

  • Perdido Street Station

    China Miéville2000

    A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2