After
Stand on Zanzibar
John Brunner1968
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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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.
Same sardonic register, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Jagged Orbit
John Brunner1969
In a segregated future US, a media personality and a psychic navigate a society controlled by arms dealers. The story uses fragmented perspectives.
Same sardonic register, still dystopian
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
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Half Past Human
T. J. Bass1971
Trillions of humans live in a subterranean hive managed by a computer. Outside, a few 'originals' survive in the wild.
sardonic → clinical, still dystopian
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Heathern
Jack Womack1990
A corporation in a dystopian New York finds a man who can perform miracles and markets him as a messiah. Two employees witness the consequences.
Same sardonic register, still dystopian
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
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Killing time
Caleb Carr2000
In 2023, a criminologist investigates a digital disc that suggests major historical events and assassinations were faked using special effects.
sardonic → clinical, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
sardonic → cold, still cyberpunk
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
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Nova Swing
M. John Harrison2006
In a city bordering a reality-warping zone, a travel agent and a detective deal with illegal artifacts. The prose is dense and non-linear.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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Red Spider White Web
Misha1990
In a corporate-owned wasteland, an artist survives by scavenging. The prose is dense and focuses on body modification and urban decay.
sardonic → dreamlike, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
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A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess1962
A teenage gang leader is imprisoned and subjected to state-mandated psychological conditioning. The story is told in a slang called Nadsat.
Same sardonic register, still dystopian
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Riddley Walker
Russell Hoban1980
A twelve-year-old boy travels across a primitive, post-nuclear England. The story is written entirely in a broken, phonetic future dialect.
sardonic → meditative, still dystopian
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
sardonic → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Building a Second Brain
Tiago Forte2022
A guide to a digital organization system designed to store and retrieve ideas, notes, and information for long-term projects.
sardonic → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Last Question
Isaac Asimov2007
A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.
sardonic → meditative
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Long Run
Daniel Keys Moran1989
A genetically engineered outlaw with the ability to interface with computers runs from a global police force. He attempts a final heist.
sardonic → propulsive, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
sardonic → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
sardonic → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Get Jiro!
Anthony Bourdain2012
In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.
Same sardonic register, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
sardonic → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
sardonic → dreamlike
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- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
sardonic → elegiac
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
sardonic → earnest
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- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Hav
Jan Morris2006
A travel writer describes the culture and history of a fictional Mediterranean city-state before and after a massive political upheaval.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Kolyma tales
Varlam SHALAMOV1980
Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.
sardonic → clinical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
Heavier
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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.
Same sardonic register, still dystopian
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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.
sardonic → bleak, still dystopian
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
sardonic → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
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The Testament of Jessie Lamb
Jane Rogers2011
A teenager decides to volunteer for a medical program that will end her life to save humanity from a biological catastrophe.
sardonic → earnest, still dystopian
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
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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.
sardonic → cold, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
