After
The Female Man
Joanna Russ1975
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Difference Engine
William Gibson1990
In 1855, the computer age arrives early via steam power. Three people hunt for a set of mysterious punched cards amidst a political conspiracy.
Same sardonic register, still alternate history
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Hydrogen Sonata
Iain Banks2012
As a civilization prepares to transcend physical reality, a soldier searches for an ancient man to clear her name of a massacre.
Same sardonic register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Past Master
R. A. Lafferty1968
In the year 2535, leaders of a failing utopia travel back in time to retrieve Thomas More. They hope he can save their society from collapse.
Same sardonic register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Yellow Blue Tibia
Adam Roberts2009
Soviet writers are forced by Stalin to invent an alien threat, only to see their fiction become reality decades later.
Same sardonic register, still alternate history
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Count Geiger's Blues
Michael Bishop1992
A high-brow art critic gains superpowers after being exposed to toxic waste. He struggles with his new identity while maintaining his elitism.
Same sardonic register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
sardonic → dreamlike, still alternate history
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
All Those Vanished Engines
Paul Park2014
Three linked stories follow the Park family through an alternate history where the American Civil War ended in a two-nation settlement.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Clockwork Rocket
Greg Egan2011
Scientists on a generation ship explore a universe with different laws of physics. The text includes diagrams and mathematical proofs.
sardonic → clinical
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
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.
sardonic → cold
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
sardonic → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers
Lois P. Frankel
A career coach lists 101 behaviors women use in the workplace that may hinder their advancement. Each entry provides a specific tip for change.
sardonic → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
sardonic → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
sardonic → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
sardonic → wry
pace+2·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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
sardonic → 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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
sardonic → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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, still alternate history
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- 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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
sardonic → 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.
sardonic → earnest
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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+2
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
Elvissey
Jack Womack1993
Travelers from a corporate dystopia visit an alternate 1954 to kidnap Elvis Presley. They find a version of him that is dangerous and unstable.
sardonic → bleak, still alternate history
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis1992
A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.
sardonic → bleak
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
sardonic → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell1996
A Jesuit priest joins a mission to a newly discovered planet. The story is told in flashbacks after he returns as the sole, traumatized survivor.
sardonic → elegiac
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
