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After

The Night Eternal

Guillermo del Toro2011

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

1 more ↓

  • Aftertime

    Sophie Littlefield2011

    A woman wakes up in a post-apocalyptic California overrun by cannibals. She must track down her missing daughter in a landscape of total collapse.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

bleak → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Gormenghast

    Mervyn Peake1950

    A young heir and a social climber navigate the rigid rituals of a decaying, labyrinthine castle. The prose is dense and descriptive.

    bleak → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    James Hogg1824

    A religious fanatic becomes convinced he is predestined for salvation and commits crimes at the behest of a mysterious stranger.

    bleak → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    bleak → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

bleak → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    bleak → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Comfort Book

    Matt Haig2021

    A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.

    bleak → warm

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Odessa Sea

    Clive Cussler2016

    Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.

    bleak → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Patient Zero

    Jonathan Maberry2009

    A detective joins a secret government task force to stop a terrorist group using a bio-weapon that reanimates the dead. It is an action thriller.

    bleak → propulsive, still technothriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 28 Days Later

    Alex Garland2002

    A man wakes from a coma to find London deserted and overrun by humans infected with a rage virus. He joins a small group of survivors.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Intercepts

    T.J. Payne2020

    A worker at a government facility monitors human test subjects driven insane by sensory deprivation. The experiment enters his private life.

    bleak → tense, still technothriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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-1

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    bleak → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    bleak → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Walking Dead, Book Two

    Robert Kirkman2007

    Rick Grimes leads survivors to a prison for safety. They fortify the walls, but internal conflict and outside threats jeopardize the sanctuary.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Fall of the Governor: Part One

    Jay Bonansinga

    This novel tracks Philip Blake's transformation from a desperate father into the dictatorial villain known as the Governor.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • One

    Conrad Williams2009

    A man walks across a scorched, post-apocalyptic Britain to find his son. He encounters red rain, ruins, and cannibalism.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1