After
Nova Swing
M. John Harrison2006
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Neuromancer
William Gibson1984
A washed-up data thief is hired for one last job in a high-tech underworld. The prose is dense with technical jargon.
Same cold register, still noir
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Light
M. John Harrison2002
Three timelines follow a serial killer in 1999 and two pilots in 2417. They are linked by a region of space where physics breaks down.
Same cold register, still new weird
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Hunter of Worlds
C. J. Cherryh1977
A human is abducted by the Iduve, a cold and powerful alien race, to serve as a translator and pawn in their internal political conflicts.
Same cold register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The good German
Joseph Kanon2001
An American reporter searches for a missing scientist in ruins of 1945 Berlin. He navigates the rising tensions between Allied and Soviet forces.
Same cold register, still noir
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Carlucci's Heart
Richard Paul Russo1997
A police officer in a decaying San Francisco investigates a series of murders linked to a corporate conspiracy and a mysterious heart.
cold → bleak, still noir
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
cold → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
cold → propulsive
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
cold → tense
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Real Murders
Charlaine Harris1990
A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.
cold → wry
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
cold → propulsive, still cyberpunk
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
Akira, Vol. 1
Katsuhiro Ōtomo1984
In a rebuilt post-WWIII Tokyo, two teenage bikers get caught in a government conspiracy after one develops psychic powers.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino1972
Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.
cold → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
cold → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
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.
cold → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-2bleak-2
For Us, the Living
Robert A. Heinlein2003
A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.
cold → earnest
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Noir
K. W. Jeter1998
An investigator navigates a corporate-owned city where people trade in simulated experiences and legal technicalities.
cold → sardonic, still noir
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Thomas Sweterlitsch2014
In a future where Pittsburgh was destroyed, a man investigates a murder using a digital archive of the city. He discovers data is being deleted.
cold → bleak, still noir
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
A Scanner Darkly
Philip K. Dick1977
An undercover narcotics agent in a near-future California becomes addicted to the drug he is investigating and begins to spy on himself.
cold → bleak, still noir
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Watchmen
Dave Gibbons1986
Retired costumed vigilantes investigate a conspiracy after one of their own is murdered. The story uses a comic-within-a-comic and backmatter.
Same cold register, still noir
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-2bleak+1
Market Forces
Richard K. Morgan2004
In a future where executives duel in armored cars for promotions, Chris Faulkner joins a firm that profits from civil wars. It is a corporate satire.
cold → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
