After
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
William S. Burroughs
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak0
A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess1962
A teenage gang leader is imprisoned and subjected to state-mandated psychological conditioning. The story is told in a slang called Nadsat.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
HARM
Brian Aldiss2007
A British Muslim man is detained and tortured in a secret prison. He hallucinates a second life on a distant planet to escape the pain.
sardonic → bleak, still satire
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Doctor Rat
William Kotzwinkle1976
A laboratory rat loyal to his human captors defends the practice of vivisection while animals worldwide begin a bloody revolt.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Bête
Adam Roberts2014
A farmer kills a cow that has been given artificial intelligence. He navigates a future where animals can argue for their own right to live.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Infinite Jest
David Foster Wallace1996
A sprawling narrative centered on a tennis academy, a halfway house, and a lethal film. The text includes hundreds of pages of detailed endnotes.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
To recover
sardonic → playful, still satire
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
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.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Year zero
Reid, Robert2012
Aliens discover that Earth's music is the best in the galaxy and they owe humanity trillions in copyright fines.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
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.
sardonic → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Neon Gods
Katee Robert2021
In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.
sardonic → tense
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Get Jiro!
Anthony Bourdain2012
In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
sardonic → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Red Rising
Pierce Brown2014
A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.
sardonic → propulsive, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
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.
sardonic → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
sardonic → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury1946
A twelve-year-old boy experiences a series of vignettes over one summer in 1928 Illinois. The chapters focus on small-town life and aging.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-2bleak-3
For Us, the Living
Robert A. Heinlein2003
A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.
sardonic → earnest
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Hav
Jan Morris2006
A travel writer describes the culture and history of a fictional Mediterranean city-state before and after a massive political upheaval.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Kolyma tales
Varlam SHALAMOV1980
Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.
sardonic → clinical
pace-1·prose0·bleak0