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After

Skin Folk

Nalo Hopkinson2001

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Raw Shark Texts

    Steven Hall2007

    An amnesiac follows letters from his former self to escape a conceptual shark that eats memories. It uses experimental typography and puzzles.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → meditative, still magical realism

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Soft Machine

    William S. Burroughs1961

    A non-linear narrative uses the cut-up technique to describe body modification and mind control. It is a surrealist exploration of biological traps.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • VAS

    Steve Tomasula2002

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

    dreamlike → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

dreamlike → playful

3 more ↓

  • She Went All the Way

    Meg Cabot2002

    A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Mile High

    Liz Tomforde2023

    A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Behind the Net

    Stephanie Archer2024

    A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.

    pace0·prose-2·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.

    dreamlike → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    dreamlike → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·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.

    dreamlike → meditative, still magical realism

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    dreamlike → elegiac, still magical realism

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Dead Inside

    Chandler Morrison2015

    A hospital guard and a doctor bond over their shared compulsion to consume human remains. It is a graphic work of transgressive horror.

    dreamlike → sardonic, still horror

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Rise of the Governor

    Jay Bonansinga2018

    Philip Blake seeks shelter in a zombie-infested Georgia. The story tracks his transformation into a ruthless authoritarian leader.

    dreamlike → bleak, still horror

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • The Postmortal

    Drew Magary2011

    A lawyer records his life after a cure for aging is discovered. Society slowly collapses under the weight of overpopulation and eternal life.

    dreamlike → sardonic, still speculative fiction

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2