LitQueuelitqueue

After

Necromancer

Gordon R. Dickson1962

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The madness season

    C. S. Friedman1990

    An immortal shapeshifter hiding on an occupied Earth is captured by aliens. He must navigate a galaxy ruled by a hive-mind species.

    Same meditative register, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → playful, still secret society

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • VAS

    Steve Tomasula2002

    A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.

    meditative → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    meditative → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → earnest, still chosen one

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    meditative → propulsive

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    meditative → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

meditative → propulsive, still science fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    meditative → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    meditative → propulsive, still chosen one

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    meditative → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → bleak, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    meditative → dreamlike, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    meditative → cold

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1