After
Press enter
John Varley1997
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
Same tense register
- pace0prose0bleak0
A Burning
Megha Majumdar2020
Three people in India deal with the fallout of a terrorist attack. One is jailed for a Facebook post while another seeks political power.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Crucible
Arthur Miller1953
A play set during the Salem witch trials. A village turns on itself as accusations of witchcraft lead to public trials and executions.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Great Alone
Kristin Hannah2018
A family moves to the Alaskan wilderness in 1974. They face a harsh environment and the father's deteriorating mental state.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mohsin Hamid2007
A Pakistani man tells his life story to an American stranger in a Lahore cafe. He describes his time at Princeton and his career in New York.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Lies of Silence
Brian Moore1990
The IRA holds a hotel manager's wife hostage and forces him to deliver a car bomb. He must choose between his wife's life and the lives of others.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Umbrella
Will Self2013
A psychiatrist in 1971 treats a woman who has been catatonic for decades. The prose shifts between eras and consciousnesses without paragraph breaks.
tense → clinical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Don Quixote
Kathy Acker1986
A woman undergoes an abortion and adopts the persona of Don Quixote to pursue a quest in a fragmented, postmodern landscape.
tense → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
tense → bleak
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon1973
During the end of WWII, an American lieutenant's sexual encounters seem to predict where German V-2 rockets will fall. The narrative is fragmented.
tense → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace0prose+2bleak0
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James2014
A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.
tense → propulsive
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Fifty Shades Darker
E.L. James2011
A young woman resumes her relationship with a wealthy businessman while starting a new job. They navigate his past and his specific sexual needs.
tense → earnest
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells2023
A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.
tense → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
tense → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
Same tense register
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn2000
A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.
tense → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
Apex
Ramez Naam2015
Global revolutions erupt as a neural-link technology connects minds. A post-human scientist attempts to seize the world's digital systems.
tense → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
tense → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
tense → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Inferno
Dan Brown2013
An amnesiac professor follows clues hidden in Dante's Inferno to stop a global plague. He travels through Florence and Venice while being hunted.
tense → propulsive, still techno thriller
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Slower
- 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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
tense → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Umbrella
Will Self2013
A psychiatrist in 1971 treats a woman who has been catatonic for decades. The prose shifts between eras and consciousnesses without paragraph breaks.
tense → clinical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
tense → bleak
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje1992
Four people shelter in a ruined Italian villa at the end of WWII. They care for a burned, anonymous man who recounts his past in the desert.
tense → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
