After
The City, Not Long After
Pat Murphy1989
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
1Q84 (1Q84, #1-3)
Haruki Murakami
A woman and a man find themselves in a version of 1984 Tokyo with two moons. Their paths slowly converge amidst cults and supernatural events.
Same dreamlike register, still magical realism
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Empress of Mars
Kage Baker2008
A woman runs the only bar on a corporate-owned Mars colony. She manages her family and a diverse clientele while the planet is terraformed.
dreamlike → wry, still found family
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Hopeland
Ian McDonald2023
Two lovers are drawn together across decades and continents by a family of psychics and the threat of climate change.
Same dreamlike register, still magical realism
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Translation State
Ann Leckie2023
Three people from different cultures search for a missing diplomat in a galaxy of rigid social hierarchies. It focuses on biological identity.
dreamlike → tender, still found family
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Becky Chambers2019
Four astronauts explore four different exoplanets, using biological modifications to adapt their bodies to each new environment.
dreamlike → meditative, still found family
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
dreamlike → meditative, still magical realism
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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.
Same dreamlike register
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+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.
Same dreamlike register
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
This Girl
Colleen Hoover2013
A husband retells the story of his early relationship to his wife. It uses dual timelines to revisit events from the first book in the series.
dreamlike → earnest
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Score
Elle Kennedy2016
A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.
dreamlike → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
To Sir Phillip, With Love
Julia Quinn2003
Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.
dreamlike → warm
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
All Rhodes Lead Here
Mariana Zapata2021
A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.
dreamlike → warm
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Hannah's List
Debbie Macomber2010
A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.
dreamlike → warm
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-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.
dreamlike → tense, still post-apocalyptic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-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.
dreamlike → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
dreamlike → wry
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
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+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
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, still found family
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
dreamlike → meditative, still magical realism
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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.
Same dreamlike register
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
dreamlike → meditative, still magical realism
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury1946
A twelve-year-old boy experiences a series of vignettes over one summer in 1928 Illinois. The chapters focus on small-town life and aging.
dreamlike → elegiac, still magical realism
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
Heavier
dreamlike → elegiac, still post-apocalyptic
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
Zone One
Colson Whitehead2011
A sweeper squad clears Manhattan of lingering zombies and catatonic 'stragglers.' The focus is on the protagonist's memories and the city's decay.
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
On the Beach
Nevil Shute1957
Survivors in Australia wait for a lethal radiation cloud to arrive after a nuclear war. They spend their final months in quiet, domestic routines.
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
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
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
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
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
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
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
