LitQueuelitqueue

After

Horizon

Fran Wilde2017

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Bird Box

    Josh Malerman2001

    A mother and two children navigate a river while blindfolded to avoid seeing creatures that cause madness. The story jumps between two timelines.

    Same tense register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

tense → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

    A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • At Swim-Two-Birds

    Flann O'Brien1939

    A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.

    tense → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Love & Sleep

    John Crowley1994

    Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Stainless Steel Rat

    Harry Harrison1961

    A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.

    tense → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Star Nomad

    Lindsay Buroker2016

    A fighter pilot and a small crew of strangers attempt to escape a system-wide war in a freighter. It is a character-driven space adventure.

    tense → playful, still space opera

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Chilling Effect

    Valerie Valdes2019

    A spaceship captain completes dangerous missions to pay off a ransom for her kidnapped sister. The crew includes a pilot who is a sentient plant.

    tense → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Dungeon Crawler Carl

    Matt Dinniman2020

    Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.

    tense → sardonic

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Akira, Vol. 6

    Katsuhiro Ōtomo2001

    A psychic loses control of his body as military forces and superpowered rivals converge on Neo-Tokyo for a final battle.

    tense → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Mind's Eye

    Douglas E. Richards2014

    A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • The Habitation of the Blessed

    Catherynne M. Valente2010

    A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

    A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Moonwise

    Greer Gilman1991

    Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Poppy War

    R.F. Kuang2018

    A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.

    tense → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Traitor Baru Cormorant

    Seth Dickinson2015

    An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.

    tense → cold

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Song of Kali

    Dan Simmons1985

    An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.

    tense → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1