I was talking with LLMs about fiction that I might like to write.

I think we may have settled on “metafiction”, defined via gemini:

Metafiction is a form of fiction that self-consciously addresses the nature of fiction itself, often by blurring the lines between reality and fiction or by exposing the mechanisms of storytelling.

My favorite stories are those where the plot is vague (so I can guess and think), the narrator/s are unreliable, there is a blurring of fiction/non-fiction, and often a mixture of formats/form factors (footnotes, letters, diaries, editor notes, etc.).

I also prefer those stories that lean towards horror/scifi, e.g. one kernel of the fantastic surrounded by a whole lot of normal people/places/events trying to deal with it. Or one unreliable narrator tying to deal with it.

The better I can capture what I like, the better I can figure out what I want to “create”.

Toward that end, I thought it might be interesting to list out some works I’ve consumed and enjoyed.

To start with:

  • “House of Leaves”, Mark Z. Danielewski. The exploration of the house is the best part. Also the layered structure of the narrative (video, academic, footnotes, editor).
  • “S.” by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. I love the story telling in margin notes, but it’s a pain to read.
  • “The Raw Shark Texts”, Steven Hall. The story telling spliss out into the text itself.
  • “There Is No Antimemetics Division”, qntm (Sam Hughes), I like SCPs but this is more than a bag of SCPs, it has some narrative structure and yet captures everything that is so fun about reading longer SCPs. Hard to describe why it’s so great.
  • “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”, Daniel Jame. The mix of narrative, letters, etc. and investigation of a mystery.
  • “Ficciones”, Jorge Luis Borges. The unreal/fantastical taken very seriously, like academic essays.
  • “An Early History of Ambergris” from “City of Saints and Madmen”, Jeff VanderMeer. Weird fiction + academic history + quotes + footnotes. Great story telling/writing and funny (discussed previously).

I’m sure there are others on my shelves.

To be clear, I’m not listing my favorite novels, just novels I enjoyed in a the structure I want to explore.

I asked deepseek to talk through the commonalities of these books. It was interesting.

The summary was something like:

  • Nonlinear or experimental narratives that challenge traditional storytelling.
  • Themes of identity, memory, and reality that delve into the philosophical and psychological.
  • Genre-blending stories that combine elements of horror, science fiction, and literary fiction.
  • Interactive or immersive formats that engage the reader in unique ways.
  • Puzzle-like structures that invite readers to piece together the story.

Perhaps “metafiction” is insufficient, it’s also: “epistolary” and “postmodern”.

Epistolary describes a literary work, most often a novel, that is written in the form of letters or other documents.

And:

Postmodern writing self-consciously breaks down traditional literary conventions and often explores themes of relativism, fragmentation, and the instability of meaning.

For example, I really like the epistolary nature of:

  • “Exegesis”, Astro Teller. Story telling via email between a human and an AI.
  • “The Illuminae Files Series”, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kris. Sorry telling via chat messages.

And many more, e.g. Dracula.

I also really like the comedy and post-modern nature of:

  • “Infinite Jest”, David Foster Wallace. Really funny, but too long and the footnotes are too hard to manage.
  • “Pale Fire”, Vladimir Nabokov. Very funny, and mad!

And more, but they leave less of a mark.

Then the cosmic horror/weird fiction, often combined with some kind of scientific investigation.

  • “The Call of Cthulhu”, H. P. Lovecraft. Investigation of a cult for an ancient god.
  • “Southern Reach”, Jeff VanderMeer. Science station trying hard to deal with the unexplainable, ineffable.

And many more.

I asked deepseek to try to describe this mix, give it a name:

“postmodern experimental horror” and “weird metafiction”

Also:

  • Ergodic Literature: A term coined by Espen J. Aarseth to describe texts that require non-trivial effort to navigate, often involving unconventional formats and reader participation.
  • Postmodern Weird Fiction: Combines the surreal, uncanny, or cosmic horror of weird fiction with postmodern narrative techniques.
  • Multimodal Fiction: Refers to works that use multiple formats (text, images, footnotes, etc.) to tell a story.
  • Literary Horror: Horror that emphasizes literary techniques, often blending genres and experimenting with form.

That’s my jam!

I asked for more examples of books that fit this “genre”.

Here are some that I have not and should be reading asap:

And some others that I’ve already read and enjoyed:

Then many many more examples.

I also asked for TV shows and Movies that fit and was inundated with all my favorites.

Got it. Locked in.