After
White Queen
Gwyneth Jones1991
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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North Wind
Gwyneth Jones1994
Decades after an alien occupation of Earth, a woman is caught in the political tensions between humans and the Aleutians.
Same cold register, still first contact
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- pace0prose0bleak-1
An Alien Light
Nancy Kress1988
Aliens establish a walled city on a planet where two human factions are at war. They observe the humans to learn why they are so violent.
cold → clinical, still first contact
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Native Tongue
Suzette Haden Elgin1984
In a future where women have no rights, a group of female linguists secretly develops a new language to alter their reality.
Same cold register, still dystopian
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The Red Men
Matthew De Abaitua2007
A man works for a corporation that creates digital simulations of people. The 'Red Men' are uploads used to predict and control human behavior.
Same cold register, still dystopian
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1 more ↓ ↑
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Empire of Bones
Liz Williams2002
Aliens return to India to reclaim a species they genetically seeded. They search for a 'Receiver' who can hear their communications.
cold → meditative, still first contact
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Denser prose
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Rakesfall
Vajra Chandrasekera2024
Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.
cold → dreamlike
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Infinite Jest
David Foster Wallace1996
A sprawling narrative centered on a tennis academy, a halfway house, and a lethal film. The text includes hundreds of pages of detailed endnotes.
cold → sardonic, still dystopian
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
William S. Burroughs
A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.
cold → sardonic, still dystopian
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
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All Those Vanished Engines
Paul Park2014
Three linked stories follow the Park family through an alternate history where the American Civil War ended in a two-nation settlement.
cold → dreamlike
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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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
A Lie for a Lie
Helena Hunting2019
A professional hockey player and a woman reunite years after a summer fling that ended in a misunderstanding and a secret pregnancy.
cold → warm
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
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Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers
Lois P. Frankel
A career coach lists 101 behaviors women use in the workplace that may hinder their advancement. Each entry provides a specific tip for change.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
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The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
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Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Get Jiro!
Anthony Bourdain2012
In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.
cold → sardonic, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
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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.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
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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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
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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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino1972
Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.
cold → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
cold → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
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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.
cold → elegiac
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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.
cold → earnest
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Heavier
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The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood1985
In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.
Same cold register, still dystopian
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The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell1996
A Jesuit priest joins a mission to a newly discovered planet. The story is told in flashbacks after he returns as the sole, traumatized survivor.
cold → elegiac, still first contact
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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Watchmen
Alan Moore1986
Retired masked vigilantes investigate the murder of a former teammate. The story takes place in an alternate 1985 on the brink of nuclear war.
cold → bleak, still dystopian
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
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A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess1962
A teenage gang leader is imprisoned and subjected to state-mandated psychological conditioning. The story is told in a slang called Nadsat.
cold → sardonic, still dystopian
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
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The Testament of Jessie Lamb
Jane Rogers2011
A teenager decides to volunteer for a medical program that will end her life to save humanity from a biological catastrophe.
cold → earnest, still dystopian
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
