LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Jericho Iteration

Allen Steele1994

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Mappa Mundi

    Justina Robson2001

    A scientist develops a way to map and reprogram the human mind. Governments and corporations fight to control the technology.

    Same tense register, still techno-thriller

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Naked Lunch: The Restored Text

    William S. Burroughs

    A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.

    tense → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • VAS

    Steve Tomasula2002

    A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.

    tense → clinical, still cyberpunk

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Playing with Fire

    Gena Showalter2006

    A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-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.

    tense → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • David and Goliath

    Malcolm Gladwell2013

    A series of case studies arguing that perceived disadvantages can become strengths. It covers topics from dyslexia to the civil rights movement.

    tense → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

tense → propulsive, still techno-thriller

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → propulsive, still cyberpunk

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Daemon

    Leinad Zeraus2006

    A deceased game designer leaves behind a computer program that begins killing people and restructuring society. It is a high-tech manhunt.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Lost in Time

    A.G. Riddle2022

    A man is exiled to the Triassic period for a murder he didn't commit while his daughter tries to bring him back.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

    An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → sardonic, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → bleak, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    Same tense register, still cyberpunk

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2