My very strange, but good friend, called me in a panic about not being as literate as she used to be. She asked me to suggest a book with these conditions:
– little to no romance, or no romance as the main feature
– (optional) strange (?) book. She said "similar to The Vegetarian" by Han Kang in strangeness.
– (flexible) not too long (not sure how long is too long but maybe in the like. 200-300 page range)
as for themes/genres she said "fantasy, or space, or cowboys, or ice(?)" any combination is acceptable.
I've considered Blood Meridian and Gideon the Ninth so far, but any suggestions would be highly appreciated!
by Specialist_Tiger623
5 Comments
Hmm. Maybe Prostho Plus? It’s a pretty short story, about a dentist who is abducted by aliens… and ends up doing alien dentistry. Including on a basically whale-like alien, whose teeth are bigger than he is. It at the very least checks the boxes of short, weird, and space. Oh, and no romance. There’s also the dentist’s assistant, but their relationship is strictly platonic
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin – not romance focused, very unique storytelling and world, set on a very cold/snowy/icy planet, 304 pages
Bunny by Mona Awad – not romance focused, very strange and surreal/horror, has magical realism (?) aspects kind of hard to explain, 305 pages
edit: just to note, both of those have themes about romance and connection but neither are romance books by any stretch, i also think the Locked Tomb series (as you mentioned) is a good pick! especially the second book
The murderbot book series hit all of these perfectly. They’re weird short sci fi books about a robot who has no interest in sex or romance
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven Peck
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is short, strange, features no romance, could be described as fantasy or at least fantastical, and is one if the best books I’ve read in years