LitQueuelitqueue

After

Borne

Jeff VanderMeer2017

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The jewels of Aptor

    Samuel R. Delany1962

    A poet and a thief join a sea voyage to a mutant-filled land to recover three magic jewels for a priestess.

    Same dreamlike register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • City of Saints and Madmen

    Jeff Vandermeer2001

    A collection of stories, histories, and pamphlets about the city of Ambergris. It uses found documents to build a surreal urban history.

    Same dreamlike register, still weird fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Rakesfall

    Vajra Chandrasekera2024

    Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Empty Space

    M. John Harrison2012

    Three interlocking timelines follow a widow in London, a detective in a neon city, and a pilot in deep space. The prose is dense and surreal.

    Same dreamlike register, still weird fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

dreamlike → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    dreamlike → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Comfort Book

    Matt Haig2021

    A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.

    dreamlike → warm

    pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Odessa Sea

    Clive Cussler2016

    Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    dreamlike → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

dreamlike → elegiac, still post-apocalyptic

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → bleak, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose-2·bleak+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.

    dreamlike → bleak, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Death of Grass

    John Christopher1956

    A virus kills the world's grass and grain, causing total societal collapse. A family attempts to flee London for a farm in the north.

    dreamlike → bleak, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1