After
The Gradual
Christopher Priest2016
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
We
Yevgeny Zamyatin1983
A mathematician in a glass-walled city keeps a diary as he begins to doubt the logic of his totalitarian state.
melancholy → cold, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Memory Police
Yoko Ogawa1994
Objects vanish from an island and from the residents' memories. A novelist hides her editor from the police who enforce the disappearances.
melancholy → elegiac, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Woman on the Edge of Time
Marge Piercy
A woman confined to a mental hospital in the 1970s communicates with a visitor from a future utopian society.
melancholy → earnest, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Weaver
Emmi Itäranta2016
On an island where dreaming is a crime, a weaver finds a girl with her name tattooed on her skin. She must hide her own forbidden dreams.
melancholy → dreamlike, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
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Doctor Rat
William Kotzwinkle1976
A laboratory rat loyal to his human captors defends the practice of vivisection while animals worldwide begin a bloody revolt.
melancholy → sardonic, still dystopian
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
melancholy → dreamlike
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente2006
A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
melancholy → meditative
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace0prose+1bleak-3
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.
melancholy → playful
pace0·prose+1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
melancholy → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
melancholy → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
melancholy → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
melancholy → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
melancholy → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
melancholy → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
melancholy → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
melancholy → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
melancholy → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
The Atlantis Gene
A.G. Riddle2013
A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.
melancholy → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Monster Hunter International
Larry Correia2007
An accountant kills his boss, who has become a werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts monsters for government bounties.
melancholy → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
melancholy → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Boneland
Alan Garner2012
An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.
melancholy → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
melancholy → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Among Others
Jo Walton2011
A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.
melancholy → tender
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
Tehanu
Ursula K. Le Guin1990
A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.
melancholy → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
