Vitals

Waiting

Frank M. Robinson1999

A man discovers a secret race of long-lived humans who have manipulated history and are now preparing to replace humanity.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Too Like the Lightning

Ada Palmer2016

In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.

tense → sardonic

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tense → bleak, still hard sci-fi

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Valis

Philip K. Dick1981

A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.

tense → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Walking Disaster

Jamie McGuire2013

This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.

tense → propulsive

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

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

Same tense register

pace0·prose-1·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.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

The Lake House

James Patterson

A veterinarian and an FBI agent protect six genetically engineered children who can fly. They are pursued by a global conspiracy.

tense → propulsive, still techno-thriller

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

tense → wry, still hard sci-fi

pace+1·prose+1·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.

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

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.

tense → earnest, still hard sci-fi

pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

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-2

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.

tense → bleak, still hard sci-fi

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

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.

tense → bleak, still hard sci-fi

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

tense → bleak, still hard sci-fi

pace0·prose0·bleak+1