After
After London
Richard Jefferies1885
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing slower
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Lost Everything
Brian Francis Slattery2012
A man travels a war-torn Susquehanna River by boat to find his son. The journey is slowed by climate collapse and military pursuit.
Same elegiac register, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
World Made by Hand
James Howard Kunstler2008
Residents of a small New York town navigate a summer without electricity or global trade. They rely on manual labor and local bartering.
elegiac → meditative, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
MaddAdam
Margaret Atwood2013
Survivors of a man-made plague defend their base against predators. The story concludes the history of the pandemic and the new human species.
elegiac → wry, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Story of General Dann and Mara's daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog
Doris Lessing2005
In a cooling, flooded world, a man travels north with a child-soldier and a dog to find knowledge for his struggling civilization.
elegiac → meditative, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Dog Stars
Peter Heller2012
A pilot and his dog live at a small airport after a flu pandemic kills most of humanity. He flies his Cessna into the unknown to find a radio signal.
Same elegiac register, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
elegiac → dreamlike
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+2prose+1bleak0
Star Maker
Olaf Stapledon1937
A narrator travels through space and time to observe the birth and death of civilizations across the universe.
Same elegiac register, still speculative fiction
pace+2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
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.
elegiac → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
Too Like the Lightning
Ada Palmer2016
In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.
elegiac → meditative
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Being a Green Mother
Piers Anthony1987
Orb, the daughter of Fate, assumes the role of Nature. She uses her magical songs to manage the world's ecology and confront a demonic threat.
elegiac → earnest
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
elegiac → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
elegiac → earnest
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
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.
elegiac → tense, still post-apocalyptic
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
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.
elegiac → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
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.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica
John Batchelor1983
A man born in Sweden travels south as Europe collapses into war. He eventually leads a group of refugees to found a new society in Antarctica.
elegiac → bleak, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood1985
In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.
elegiac → cold, still speculative fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
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.
Same elegiac register, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
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.
Same elegiac register, still post-apocalyptic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
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.
elegiac → bleak, still post-apocalyptic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
