LitQueuelitqueue

After

Dinner at Deviant's Palace

Tim Powers1985

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Lies, Inc.

    Philip K. Dick1984

    A businessman flies a spaceship to a colony planet to investigate if the one-way teleportation used by millions is a trap.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Valis

    Philip K. Dick1981

    A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.

    dreamlike → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Nova Express

    William S. Burroughs1964

    An experimental narrative uses the cut-up technique to depict a war between intergalactic criminals and the police. It is a collage of imagery.

    dreamlike → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Anna's return

    Marta Perry2010

    An unmarried woman returns to her Amish community with an adopted baby. She seeks forgiveness while hiding the child from a violent father.

    dreamlike → earnest

    pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Happy, Happy, Happy

    Phil Robertson2013

    The founder of Duck Commander recounts his life from a difficult upbringing to business success. He focuses on his faith and outdoor lifestyle.

    dreamlike → earnest

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Walking Disaster

    Jamie McGuire2013

    This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

dreamlike → propulsive, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Hell Divers

    Nicholas Sansbury Smith2016

    Skydivers jump from massive airships to a ruined Earth to scavenge parts for humanity's survival. One team is stranded in a hostile zone.

    dreamlike → tense, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • Akira, Vol. 1

    Katsuhiro Ōtomo1984

    In a rebuilt post-WWIII Tokyo, two teenage bikers get caught in a government conspiracy after one develops psychic powers.

    dreamlike → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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

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