LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Walking Dead, Book Three

Robert Kirkman2007

5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier

More like it

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.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Denser prose

bleak → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Blindness

    José Saramago1999

    An epidemic of sudden blindness strikes a city, leading to the collapse of social order. A small group struggles to survive in a filthy asylum.

    Same bleak register

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

  • 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+3·bleak0

  • 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+3·bleak0

To recover

bleak → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Colour of Magic

    Terry Pratchett1983

    A failed wizard and a naive tourist travel across a flat world carried by a turtle. The story parodies fantasy tropes and clichés.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-3

  • Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000

    L. Ron Hubbard2000

    A human survivor leads a rebellion against the Psychlos, an alien race that has strip-mined Earth for a thousand years.

    bleak → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-3

  • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin recounts his life from his youth as a printer's apprentice to his work as a scientist and diplomat. He lists his daily habits.

    bleak → wry

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-3

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The remaining

    D. J Molles2014

    A soldier emerges from a bunker into a world where a bacterium has turned most people into predators. He attempts to find survivors.

    bleak → tense, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Battle Royale

    Koushun Takami1999

    A class of junior high students is trapped on an island and forced to kill each other until one remains. It follows several students' perspectives.

    bleak → propulsive, still survival horror

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 30 Days of Night

    Steve Niles2002

    Vampires attack an Alaskan town during a month of total darkness. The residents must survive a thirty-day siege without sunlight.

    bleak → tense, still survival horror

    pace+1·prose0·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+3·bleak-2

  • 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+3·bleak0

  • 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+3·bleak-2