After
Akira, Vol. 1
Katsuhiro Ōtomo1984
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Equations of Life
Simon Morden2011
A Russian physics student in a post-apocalyptic London gets caught between warring factions. It is a fast-paced cyberpunk thriller.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Y The Last Man - Deluxe Edition, Book 1
Brian K. Vaughan2003
A plague kills every male mammal on Earth except for one man and his pet monkey. They travel across a collapsing society to find a cure.
Same propulsive register, still post-apocalyptic
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Crux
Ramez Naam2013
Global powers fight for control over a brain-interfacing drug while a group of post-human rebels attempts to survive a government crackdown.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Liege-Killer
Christopher Hinz1987
Genetically engineered assassins wake from stasis to hunt humans in orbital colonies. Two specialists must track them down.
Same propulsive register, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Plague War
Jeff Carlson1967
A researcher flees the American government to distribute a vaccine for a nanotech plague that has killed most of the population.
Same propulsive register, still post-apocalyptic
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
propulsive → sardonic
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
Shadow & Claw
Gene Wolfe1983
A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
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.
propulsive → sardonic
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
VAS
Steve Tomasula2002
A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.
propulsive → clinical, still cyberpunk
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
To recover
propulsive → earnest
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Prelude to Foundation
Isaac Asimov1988
Mathematician Hari Seldon flees across the planet Trantor while developing the science of psychohistory.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
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.
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
Neon Gods
Katee Robert2021
In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Wyrd Sisters
Terry Pratchett1988
Three witches intervene in the politics of a kingdom to ensure a hidden heir returns to the throne. It is a comedic subversion of Macbeth.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Dragon Bound
Thea Harrison2011
A woman steals a penny from a dragon's hoard, forcing her into the world of a powerful Wyr leader. It follows their immediate, forced connection.
Same propulsive register
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak-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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak-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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+3bleak-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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+3bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
propulsive → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Zone One
Colson Whitehead2011
A sweeper squad clears Manhattan of lingering zombies and catatonic 'stragglers.' The focus is on the protagonist's memories and the city's decay.
propulsive → elegiac, still post-apocalyptic
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
On the Beach
Nevil Shute1957
Survivors in Australia wait for a lethal radiation cloud to arrive after a nuclear war. They spend their final months in quiet, domestic routines.
propulsive → elegiac, still post-apocalyptic
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Walking Dead: Compendium One
Robert Kirkman2009
A sheriff wakes from a coma into a zombie apocalypse. He leads a group of survivors through various temporary shelters over several years.
propulsive → bleak, still post-apocalyptic
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
One Second After
William R. Forstchen2009
An EMP strike destroys the American power grid. A history professor attempts to manage the starvation and societal collapse of his small town.
propulsive → bleak, still post-apocalyptic
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
