Solaris

A Deeper Sea

Alexander Jablokov1992

Humans discover that dolphins are sentient and involve them in a mission to Jupiter. The story explores interspecies communication and war.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Radiance

Catherynne M. Valente2015

A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.

meditative → dreamlike

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Nova Express

William S. Burroughs1964

An experimental narrative uses the cut-up technique to depict a war between intergalactic criminals and the police. It is a collage of imagery.

meditative → sardonic

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Rakesfall

Vajra Chandrasekera2024

Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.

meditative → dreamlike

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To Sir Phillip, With Love

Julia Quinn2003

Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

meditative → warm

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

All Rhodes Lead Here

Mariana Zapata2021

A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

meditative → warm

pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Hannah's List

Debbie Macomber2010

A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

meditative → warm

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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+2·prose-2·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.

meditative → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

meditative → playful

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

Same meditative register

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.

Same meditative register

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

The Trial

Franz Kafka1925

A bank officer is arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority for a crime that is never named.

meditative → cold, still philosophical fiction

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Fiasco

Stanisław Lem1986

Humans on a spaceship attempt to force communication with an alien civilization that refuses to respond. It ends in a total failure of logic.

meditative → clinical, still hard scifi

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Salt

Adam Roberts2000

Two groups of colonists with opposing ideologies settle on a salt-covered planet, leading to a total breakdown of their society.

meditative → bleak, still hard scifi

pace0·prose0·bleak+1