After
One Second After
William R. Forstchen2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Rise of the Governor
Jay Bonansinga2018
Philip Blake seeks shelter in a zombie-infested Georgia. The story tracks his transformation into a ruthless authoritarian leader.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Domain
James Herbert1984
Survivors of a nuclear attack on London hide in the subways, where they are hunted by swarms of mutated, man-eating rats.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Last President
John Barnes2013
Following a global disaster, the remnants of the US government struggle to maintain order. Various factions use technology to seize power.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
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.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
bleak → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
bleak → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
bleak → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
bleak → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Radiance
Catherynne M. Valente2015
A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.
bleak → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry, still survival
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
Sugar Cookie Murder
Joanne Fluke2003
During a community Christmas buffet in Minnesota, a man's ex-wife is found stabbed to death. A bakery owner investigates while sharing recipes.
bleak → playful, still small town
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Secondhand Spirits
Juliet Blackwell2009
A vintage shop owner who can feel the history of clothes uses her magic to solve a murder. She must find a killer while hiding her identity.
bleak → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
Alpine for you
Maddy Hunter2003
A woman leads a group of senior citizens on a tour of the Swiss Alps. When a passenger dies, she must investigate her fellow travelers.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry, still survival
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
bleak → tense, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
bleak → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
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.
bleak → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
bleak → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
bleak → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
bleak → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-3
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.
bleak → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-3
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
bleak → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
