After
Slow River
Nicola Griffith1995
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Heritage of Hastur
Marion Zimmer Bradley1975
Two young men on the planet Darkover struggle with their telepathic powers and the arrival of technologically advanced Terrans.
Same earnest register, still coming of age
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Gold Coast
Kim Stanley Robinson1988
In a future Orange County covered in concrete, a young man drifts through parties before joining an anti-war sabotage group.
earnest → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Cuckoo's Egg
C. J. Cherryh1985
An alien raises a human child as his own in a society that fears humans. The boy must learn his true nature and his role in a future war.
Same earnest register, still coming of age
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
China Mountain Zhang
Maureen F. McHugh1992
A series of vignettes follow a gay man of Chinese descent navigating a future dominated by China. It is a slow-paced look at everyday life.
earnest → meditative, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Teranesia
Greg Egan1999
A biologist returns to his childhood island in Indonesia to study sudden, inexplicable genetic mutations in the local wildlife.
earnest → clinical, still coming of age
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
In Green's Jungles
Gene Wolfe2000
A narrator travels to different worlds while his physical form and memories shift. He recounts past voyages to prove his identity to his companions.
earnest → elegiac
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
earnest → clinical, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Rakesfall
Vajra Chandrasekera2024
Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.
earnest → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+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
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells2023
A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.
earnest → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Vampires Are Forever
Lynsay Sands2008
A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Mane Event
Shelly Laurenston2007
A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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.
earnest → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
earnest → propulsive, still cyberpunk
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
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-2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
earnest → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak0
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+2·prose-2·bleak0
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
earnest → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
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.
earnest → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
Same earnest register
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
earnest → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
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.
earnest → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
Random Acts of Senseless Violence
Jack Womack1994
A twelve-year-old girl records her life in a diary as New York City collapses into riots and hyperinflation. Her family falls into poverty.
earnest → bleak, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+2prose0bleak+2
Hellspark
Janet Kagan1988
A linguist travels to a new planet to investigate a murder. She must determine if the local species is sentient while navigating a conspiracy.
earnest → tense, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
Golem100
Alfred Bester1980
In a future city, a group of women accidentally summon a psychic monster that commits acts of extreme violence while investigators track it.
earnest → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2