Maplecroft

The Suicide Exhibition

Justin Richards2013

During WWII, British intelligence discovers that the Nazis are unearthing ancient alien technology. It is a mix of occult history and sci-fi.

Same tense register, still historical fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Star Maker

Olaf Stapledon1937

A narrator travels through space and time to observe the birth and death of civilizations across the universe.

tense → elegiac, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tense → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tense → sardonic

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Assistant to the Villain

Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023

A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.

tense → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

The Marriage Bargain

Jennifer Probst2012

A bookstore owner enters a one-year contract marriage with a billionaire to save her family's land. They must follow a set of rules to stay platonic.

tense → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

A Quick Bite

Lynsay Sands2005

A vampire who faints at the sight of blood finds a psychologist tied to her bed as a gift. They navigate his kidnapping and her family dynamics.

tense → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

tense → wry

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

tense → propulsive

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.

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

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.

tense → dreamlike, still cosmic horror

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Love & Sleep

John Crowley1994

Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.

tense → meditative, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+2·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+1

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+1

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.

Same tense register, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose0·bleak+1