After
Hav
Jan Morris2006
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing slower
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Fire on the Mountain
Terry Bisson1988
In an alternate 1959, a successful John Brown raid has led to a sovereign Black nation. The story follows a family during a Mars mission launch.
Same elegiac register, still alternate history
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
A Dream of John Ball / A king's Lesson
William Morris1888
A man dreams himself back to the 1381 Peasants' Revolt. He discusses social equality and the future of labor with the rebel leader John Ball.
Same elegiac register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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 literary
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Biography of X
Catherine Lacey2023
A widow investigates the secret life of her late wife, a famous artist, in an alternate United States that was divided by a wall.
Same elegiac register, still alternate history
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America
Robert Charles Wilson2009
In a post-oil America ruled by a repressive church, a young man chronicles the rise of his friend, the nephew of the President.
Same elegiac register, still alternate history
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
Denser prose
elegiac → dreamlike, still alternate history
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Radiance
Catherynne M. Valente2015
A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
All Those Vanished Engines
Paul Park2014
Three linked stories follow the Park family through an alternate history where the American Civil War ended in a two-nation settlement.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Rakesfall
Vajra Chandrasekera2024
Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.
elegiac → dreamlike, still literary
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Shadow & Claw
Gene Wolfe1983
A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.
elegiac → meditative
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose+1bleak+1
Perhaps the Stars
Ada Palmer2021
A global war between ideological factions reaches its conclusion. The story is told through a dense, 18th-century style narrative voice.
elegiac → meditative
pace+2·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
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-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection
Carol Burnett2010
The comedian shares anecdotes from her career in television and film. The book is a series of short chronological reflections.
elegiac → warm
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
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-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
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-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
Skin Game
Jim Butcher2014
Wizard Harry Dresden joins a team of villains to rob a vault in the Underworld. It is a fast-paced heist set in a modern fantasy Chicago.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
elegiac → playful
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+2prose0bleak+2
The Fifth Science
Exurb1a2019
Twelve stories trace the rise and fall of a human empire through the discovery of a science of the mind. It spans 100,000 years of history.
Same elegiac register, still literary
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+2prose0bleak+2
Elvissey
Jack Womack1993
Travelers from a corporate dystopia visit an alternate 1954 to kidnap Elvis Presley. They find a version of him that is dangerous and unstable.
elegiac → bleak, still alternate history
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
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
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis1992
A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.
elegiac → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+1bleak+2
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
elegiac → bleak
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2
