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After

The Terminal Experiment

Robert J. Sawyer1995

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Children of Time

    Adrian Tchaikovsky2015

    A generation ship of humans flees a dying Earth to claim a terraformed planet now occupied by a civilization of evolved, intelligent spiders.

    Same propulsive register, still hard sci-fi

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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+2·bleak+1

  • The golden age

    John C. Wright2002

    In a far-future utopia, an immortal man discovers he has had his memories erased. He searches for his identity while defying a collective mind.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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+2·bleak+1

To recover

propulsive → playful, still mystery

3 more ↓

  • Vampires Are Forever

    Lynsay Sands2008

    A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Mane Event

    Shelly Laurenston2007

    A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Hot mahogany

    Stuart Woods2008

    A lawyer guards a former spy with amnesia who restores antique furniture. They uncover a conspiracy linked to the man's service in Vietnam.

    propulsive → wry, still mystery

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Accelerando

    Charles Stross2005

    Three generations of a family navigate the rapid evolution of technology toward a singularity. The pace accelerates as humanity is outpaced by AI.

    propulsive → wry, still hard sci-fi

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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-1·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.

    Same propulsive register

    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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Blood on the dining-room floor

    Gertrude Stein1948

    A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

    propulsive → playful, still mystery

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • White Mars, or, The mind set free

    Brian W. Aldiss1999

    A group of scientists and thinkers attempts to establish a utopian society on Mars after Earth is cut off by a global catastrophe.

    propulsive → earnest, still hard sci-fi

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Echopraxia

    Peter Watts2014

    A biologist is caught on a mission toward the sun alongside a pilot and a group of transhuman monks. It explores consciousness and evolution.

    propulsive → bleak, still hard sci-fi

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak, still hard sci-fi

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Killing Star

    Charles R. Pellegrino1995

    Relativistic missiles destroy Earth without warning. The few human survivors in the solar system are hunted by an alien species using logic.

    propulsive → bleak, still hard sci-fi

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2