The Anubis Gates

The paradox men

Charles L. Harness1955

An amnesiac thief in a future dictatorship discovers he is part of a time-loop involving a sun-bound spaceship.

Same propulsive register, still time travel

pace0·prose-1·bleak0

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.

propulsive → elegiac

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.

propulsive → clinical

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

propulsive → sardonic

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown2009

Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

Same propulsive register

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

The Martian

Andy Weir2011

A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

propulsive → wry

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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.

propulsive → wry

pace+1·prose-2·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.

propulsive → 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.

propulsive → meditative, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

The Habitation of the Blessed

Catherynne M. Valente2010

A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.

propulsive → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

Behold the Man

Michael Moorcock1968

A man uses a time machine to travel to 28 AD to meet Jesus. Finding only a disabled man who cannot fulfill the gospels, he takes the role himself.

propulsive → bleak, still time travel

pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

The Year of the Quiet Sun

Wilson Tucker1970

A social scientist travels forward in time to document the collapse of the United States through racial conflict and nuclear war.

propulsive → bleak, still time travel

pace-1·prose-1·bleak+2

The Gone World

Tom Sweterlitsch2018

An investigator travels to possible futures to solve a murder and stop an approaching apocalypse. The timeline changes based on her observations.

propulsive → bleak, still time travel

pace0·prose0·bleak+2