LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Troika

Stepan Chapman1997

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Vurt

    Jeff Noon1993

    A man searches for his sister in a hallucinogenic Manchester by using illegal feathers to enter shared dreams. The prose is rhythmic and surreal.

    Same dreamlike register, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

dreamlike → cold, still cyberpunk

3 more ↓

  • VAS

    Steve Tomasula2002

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

    dreamlike → clinical, still cyberpunk

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Diaspora

    Greg Egan1997

    In the 30th century, a digital being is born into a society of software. When an astronomical disaster occurs, they seek a way to survive.

    dreamlike → elegiac, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • City of Saints and Madmen

    Jeff Vandermeer2001

    A collection of stories, histories, and pamphlets about the city of Ambergris. It uses found documents to build a surreal urban history.

    Same dreamlike register, still new weird

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → propulsive, still cyberpunk

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

dreamlike → propulsive, still cyberpunk

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    dreamlike → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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-2

  • 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·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → earnest

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Hav

    Jan Morris2006

    A travel writer describes the culture and history of a fictional Mediterranean city-state before and after a massive political upheaval.

    dreamlike → elegiac

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

  • 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.

    dreamlike → clinical

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → bleak, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • 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.

    dreamlike → tense, still cyberpunk

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Golem100

    Alfred Bester1980

    In a future city, a group of women accidentally summon a psychic monster that commits acts of extreme violence while investigators track it.

    dreamlike → sardonic, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1