Peter Clines has been a go-to author for me for a while, particularly as a break between longer, more challenging reads. He has a fun, breezy writing style that feels like a more modern take on classic pulp sci-fi. It's heavy on twists and plots that remind me of The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.
I just finished Paradox Bound and head a great time with it, but I've only got one book of his left. I'm looking for other authors in the same general zone: fun, unironic, pulpy sci-fi with tight, fast-paced plots. A few other notes that make this harder:
- I don't like the Murderbot books. The humor feels extremely dated to me, and they feel like they're doing a lot of tropes ironically. I've read them all, and they get more earnest as they go, but the plots stay pretty loose and vague for my taste. The most recent book was solidly my favorite of them. Because I dislike these, I'm assuming Dungeon Crawler Carl and Bobiverse will also not be my thing, but if those are very different than the tone of their titles implies, I might try them.
- I have already read The Martian and Project Hail Mary. They're also heavy on comedy that doesn't really land for me, but in this case the plots are good enough that I don't really care. If I had not read it, Project Hail Mary would be a perfect suggestion.
- I hated Ready Player One.
- I've only read one Blake Crouch book — the first of Wayward Pines — but I thought it was just sort of fine. When a twist occurs, I'd like to be able to look back and say "oh, yeah, that makes total sense, should've seen it coming." At least in the first book, Crouch's writing seemed to rely heavily on not telling me vital information until seconds before the reveal. What I read did not make me want to read more, but if Pines isn't a good indicator of the general quality of his work then I'd be open to more.
- I loved The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which also fits very neatly in the kind of genre I'm looking for.
- I've loved Sarah Pinsker's short stories, but neither of her novels appeal to me — both feel just a little too dark based on their synopses.
I realize this is a really specific ask, but I would appreciate any suggestions you may have! Thanks in advance!
by OkapiAlloy