After
The Walking Dead, Vol. 5: The Best Defense
Robert Kirkman
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Walking Dead, Vol. 8: Made To Suffer
Robert Kirkman
The Governor leads an all-out assault on the prison where Rick's group has taken refuge. It is a high-casualty siege story.
tense → bleak, still post-apocalyptic
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
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.
Same tense register, still post-apocalyptic
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same tense register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Resistance
William C. Dietz2009
In 1951, an American soldier joins the British resistance against an evolving alien species that has conquered Europe. It is a military war story.
Same tense register, still post-apocalyptic
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Red Hill
Jamie McGuire2013
Three groups of survivors attempt to reach a ranch during a sudden zombie outbreak. The story follows their separate paths to the same refuge.
Same tense register, still post-apocalyptic
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
tense → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski1998
A man finds a door in his house that should not exist. The story is told through layers of academic footnotes and a decaying manuscript.
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
Ambergris
Jeff VanderMeer2020
This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
tense → dark
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
tense → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
Ghost Stories
Henry James2001
A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
To recover
- pace0prose+1bleak-3
Skylark DuQuesne
Edward Elmer Smith1966
Two rival geniuses must unite their space fleets to stop an alien threat. It features planet-destroying weapons and faster-than-light travel.
tense → earnest
pace0·prose+1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose0bleak-3
Electric Idol
Katee Robert2022
In a modern-day Olympus, Eros is ordered to kill Psyche but chooses to enter a fake marriage with her to protect her from his mother.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-3
The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead (Zen of Zombie Series)
Scott Kenemore
A satirical self-help guide that uses the behavior of zombies as a model for achieving mindfulness and reducing stress.
tense → playful, still zombie fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-3
- pace-2prose+1bleak-3
The Book of Hope
Jane Goodall2021
A dialogue-based book where Jane Goodall discusses her life's work and her reasons for remaining optimistic about the environment.
tense → earnest
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-3
- pace-2prose+1bleak-3
The Man Who Quit Money
Mark Sundeen2012
A biography of Daniel Suelo, who abandoned currency in 2000. It follows his daily life scavenging and living in caves in the Utah wilderness.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak-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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+3bleak-3
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
tense → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak-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-3·prose+3·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak-2
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
tense → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-2
