The Moon Pool

Shambleau, and others

C. L. Moore1953

A collection of pulp stories following space outlaw Northwest Smith as he encounters psychic predators and ancient horrors on other planets.

Same dreamlike register, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Rakesfall

Vajra Chandrasekera2024

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

Same dreamlike register, still science fantasy

pace-1·prose+1·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.

Same dreamlike register

pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

Star Maker

Olaf Stapledon1937

A narrator travels through space and time to observe the birth and death of civilizations across the universe.

dreamlike → elegiac, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

dreamlike → tense

pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

Wicked Appetite

Janet Evanovich2010

A Salem pastry chef discovers she is a 'finder' and must help a mysterious man locate ancient stones representing the seven deadly sins.

dreamlike → playful

pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

Real Murders

Charlaine Harris1990

A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

dreamlike → wry

pace0·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.

dreamlike → wry

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

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.

dreamlike → playful

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.

dreamlike → meditative

pace-2·prose+1·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.

dreamlike → playful

pace-2·prose+1·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.

dreamlike → playful

pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

Beyond the Aquila Rift

Alastair Reynolds2001

A spaceship crew wakes from cold sleep to find they have overshot their destination by light-years. They must face the reality of their location.

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

Negative Space

B.R. Yeager2020

Four teenagers in a decaying New Hampshire town use a drug made from local parasites. They navigate hallucinations and a string of suicides.

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

The Jaunt

Stephen King2009

A father explains the history of teleportation to his family while they wait to travel. He describes the danger of being awake during the trip.

dreamlike → tense, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose-1·bleak+2