After
VAS
Steve Tomasula2002
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
Same clinical register, still cyberpunk
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Queen of Angels
Greg Bear1990
In a future where nanotechnology can 'cure' mental illness, a detective hunts a murderer. A scientist enters the killer's mind via a digital link.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Nekropolis
Maureen F. McHugh2001
In a future Morocco, a chemically bonded servant falls in love with an artificial man. They attempt to escape their masters and the city.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Extremes
Christopher Priest1998
An FBI agent travels to England to investigate a mass shooting that mirrors her husband's death. She uses virtual reality to relive the events.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The caryatids
Bruce Sterling2009
In 2060, three cloned sisters struggle for influence on a dying Earth. Global factions clash over how to manage environmental collapse.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Killing time
Caleb Carr2000
In 2023, a criminologist investigates a digital disc that suggests major historical events and assassinations were faked using special effects.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells2023
A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.
clinical → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
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.
clinical → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
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.
clinical → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
clinical → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-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.
clinical → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
clinical → propulsive, still cyberpunk
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
Akira, Vol. 1
Katsuhiro Ōtomo1984
In a rebuilt post-WWIII Tokyo, two teenage bikers get caught in a government conspiracy after one develops psychic powers.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
clinical → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
clinical → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
clinical → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
clinical → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
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.
clinical → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-2bleak-2
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.
clinical → earnest
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Hav
Jan Morris2006
A travel writer describes the culture and history of a fictional Mediterranean city-state before and after a massive political upheaval.
clinical → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
Same clinical register
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-2bleak+1
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
clinical → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-2bleak+1
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.
clinical → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
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.
clinical → bleak, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+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.
clinical → tense, still cyberpunk
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+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.
clinical → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1