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Mainspring

Jay Lake2007

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Dragonsblood

    Todd McCaffrey2005

    A plague threatens the dragons of Pern. A young woman travels back in time to find a cure before the planet's defenses fail.

    Same earnest register, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    earnest → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • A Girl's Guide to Vampires

    Katie MacAlister2003

    An American woman travels to a Goth festival in the Czech Republic and meets a man she believes is a vampire. A mystery involving a killer unfolds.

    earnest → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Pawn of Prophecy

    David Eddings1982

    A farm boy travels with a storyteller and a sorceress to recover a stolen magical orb. It is a traditional quest through various kingdoms.

    Same earnest register, still chosen one

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Split Infinity

    Piers Anthony1980

    A man travels between a high-tech world of games and a parallel world of magic. He must master both systems to avoid being assassinated.

    earnest → playful, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → 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.

    earnest → 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.

    earnest → playful

    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.

    earnest → 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.

    earnest → 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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Seed to Harvest (Patternist, #1-4)

    Octavia E. Butler

    An immortal man breeds telepaths over centuries to create a master race. The story follows the evolution and eventual conflict of his descendants.

    earnest → cold, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Sugar Rain

    Paul Park1989

    During a revolution against a theocracy, a doctor in exile tries to protect his family while a new, pragmatic faith rises.

    earnest → bleak, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Winterlong

    Elizabeth Hand1990

    In a decaying, post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., a girl with empathic powers is drawn into the plots of a decadent ruling class.

    earnest → dreamlike, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2